Lynne Allbutt

WRU Winger 'tries' Gardening

   World renowned Welsh winger, Shane Williams recalls fond childhood memories of the time spent with his grandparents.  “My Grandfather Emyrs, is a very keen gardener,” he explains,  “he is really good with his hands and used to build his own garden furniture,  bird tables and bird houses.  I used to love helping him and I could build a mean bird house myself,” he laughs, “though I haven’t built one since I was 18, so I’d be a bit slower now.”
Better known for his side-stepping than his sawing skills, the BBC Welsh Sports Personality of 2008, continues to talk about his granddad with obvious respect and reverence.  “He always had a lovely garden, he built paths and a pond and had a little allotment and I always wanted my own garden to be the same as his. To be honest I was gutted when he moved; he’s in his 70’s now but still potters about and builds quirky things in his shed.  I envy him a bit,” Shane admits, “it’s like he has his own little special World.” 
“I love gardening,” he continues, “Whenever I’ve bought a house I’ve made sure I’ve got a nice big garden. We’ve got a big front garden where we are now which takes a lot of work to keep it nice.  I maintain the grass and cut back the shrubs myself; I take my time with the mower and I’m not very good at getting straight lines,” he laughs “but at least I keep it tidy.  I’d love to grow veg at sometime but it would be difficult in this garden; the front gardens all show and the backs a bit small.” he explains.
Shane’s garden might not be ideal for veg but sounds perfect for children. “The kids love playing out in the garden, especially Georgie (3), she’s always busy; like a spinning top, I can’t keep up with her.” Adds the ‘wing-footed’ winger modestly.  “She loves fresh veg too, raw or cooked, and we want her brother Carter (7 months) to be the same.  I’ve never been a big fan of eating veg,” he admits with a familiar grin,  “but I remember always eating what Granddad grew and Nan cooked.  They had a great old fashioned relationship.  Granddad always working outside and Nan cooking whatever he grew and picking flowers for the house,” he recalls appreciatively. 
“I was lucky growing up in the Amman Valley; we were surrounded by woodland and fields and I had a football and rugby park just 4 or 500 yards from the house.  I was always outdoors, always on the go and always had a rugby or football with me.  Next door had horses and I remember kicking a ball around the paddock dodging the horses and horse muck.  I used to go home stinking!”
The first Welshman to be named the International Rugby Board’s World Player of the Year in 2008, concludes with a confession, “the plan is to go back to my grandparents lifestyle once the kids have grown up a bit.  We’ve got a big house on a nice estate at the moment and it’s easier whilst the kids are small.  But I have still got a house with 5 acres in the Amman Valley, with woodland and a stream running through it.   Mum is there at the moment but in a couple of years we’ll move back in and have my perfect home and garden.  I’ll be able to have my allotment and build bird houses in my own shed.”
Shane Williams launched the Shane Williams Rugby Academy in partnership with The Co-operative. For information or a place: Activate Sport 08003457480 or www.shanewilliamsrugbyacademy.co.uk

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene Column for the Western Mail (Media Wales) 27.02.10

Brand new Brassica

A UK supermarket recently announced that will be selling the first new vegetable for nearly ten years and the good news is that you can grow your own.  Described as a flower-like Brussel sprout, the Petit Posy brassica seed is available from www.thompson-morgan.com (online or from their 2010 seed catalogue) at just £2.99 per packet.  The brand new vegetable looks like a cross between Brussels sprouts and kale but tastes more like spring greens.  The loose buttons are easily picked of the stems and are delicious and nutritious, perfect in stir fries or as a steamed veg.   Extremely winter hardy, Petit Posy can be sown from late March through until early June providing delicious crops from mid November through until the New Year.

By Lynne Allbutt for the Western Mail 13.02.10 

Fill Your Woolly Pockets with Plants

Owners and founders of the Woolly Pocket planting system, Miguel and Rodney  Nelson  cheerfully admit to having no knowledge of plants before inventing their innovative products.  “I am an artist and my brother is a manufacturing expert,” explains Miguel, “we work well together, like Yin and Yang,” laughs the laid back Californian. “We are surrounded by people who do know their plants now though,” he continues, “gardeners have gravitated towards us, they love the product.”
“As an artist, I wanted to be able to decorate walls with plants but the only way was to grow a plant up a piece of wood or wire, so we invented our own breathable system.  We started with ‘Wally’, a big, soft sided, lined pocket that you hang on a wall, (indoors as well as outside) fill with soil and add your plants.   You can use a single pocket so you have a piece of living art, instead of a picture or a photo or you can group the pockets together to make a living wall that grows and breathes.   The pockets are made from recycled plastic bottles and are constructed so that the wall stays completely dry; even if you were to fill the pocket with water the wall wouldn’t get wet,” Miguel reassures me, “people were a bit nervous of that at first.  I believe everyone has a greener thumb than they think,” he adds, “and you don’t have to have a lot of knowledge to take care of plants in this system.  They are easier to look after than a cat, do or a child,” he grins. 
“We have created living walls for restaurants, Hotels and retail outlets as well as individuals,” he explains.  “And we are now supplying schools too.  Here in California, we have an ‘Edible School Yard’ programme where schools use an outside garden area as a classroom.  The problem is that there often isn’t much land available and there’s all the red tape and building codes to get through to build a garden in a yard.  With the Wallys, you just hang them on the wall or on the chain-link fence.  You can create a whole garden in an afternoon and with little cost.  Kids are encouraged to have their own Wally or pocket and different grades use them for different projects, from art to science or environmental.”
Miguel continues, in his soft Southern drawl, “We also offer free standing modules and even a living handbag.  We are into thinking about plants as friends or pets so we want the whole system to be fun and not hard work.  We have created a gardening container that is actually better for the plants than normal containers, the plants love them.  We have new products coming out next month and we’ve called them after people; so we have Steve, Brain and Tina. Plants are all around us, why wouldn’t we see them as friends?”
To find out more about the products and planting ideas pop into www.woollypocket.com  You can purchase your Wally from www.gardenbeet.co.uk   as they have paid the Duty and Tax.

As written by Lynne Allbutt for Green Scene in the Western Mail (Media Wales) 13th Jan 2010

Auntie Planty's Top Tip

“As the spring bulbs start to emerge and bloom, if you didn’t plant any in your garden last autumn, you’ll probably wish you had.  But don’t go without.  Garden Centres will be selling a varity of spring bulbs that will flower in pots and they are perfect for just sinking in the ground or tubs and window boxes, pots and all.  Instant colour and no one will ever know,” she laughs.

Did You Know?
A couple of Valerie’s garden favourite are Lonicera fragrantissima (Winter Honeysuckle) and snowdrops as she feels they both signify the end of the winter and are full of spring hope.  “And did you know that the leaves of snowdrops are actually pre-strengthened to enable them to push up through frozen ground, like little ice picks,” she adds. “They are equipped to get through the most hostile of grounds.”

Auntie Planty Calls a Spade a Spade

Writer, broadcaster and Garden Agony Aunt,  Valerie McBride-Munro admits to having had the affectionate title of Auntie Planty bestowed upon her by grateful gardeners.  “Men always laugh,” she adds “but I have the last laugh as it’s a name everyone remembers.”  Valerie is a fabulous mix of good old fashioned, hands on ethics as well as being well organized and focussed.  “My first husband was in the Army,” she explains “and I spent most of my adult life in the Far East.  I had a daily three hour radio show which was very popular and I loved doing it.  When I came back to the UK  I decided to qualify in Broadcast Journalism.  After a disappointing stint in the News Room at Pebble Mill,  I realised I had the communication skills but now I needed a speciality.  I had always loved plants and aged just ten years old spent all my pocket money on plants for a tiny little inner city garden in Belfast.  I was up against rough boys and dogs,” she recalls, “but I loved it; so it seemed natural to do a degree course in Horticulture at Pershore College.” 
“Army life teaches you to reinvent yourself every couple of years,” she adds, “it’s as though someone blows a whistle and says ‘right, everyone move’.  Wherever you settle,  you have to make another life.  I have been continually reinventing myself ever since.”
 It’s this down to earth approach that makes Valerie much sought after for her talks and tuition.   “I helped people solve their gardening problems on the radio, TV and in magazines and whilst it’s a great way to impart advice it’s always general and not dealing specifically with what one has in their own garden.  My aim is to get gardeners to create a garden as a place of pleasure for themselves and to establish ownership of their space.  People get daunted by perfect pictures of perfect gardens.  If people know ‘Why’ they’re doing something the ‘How to’ is far easier to learn. Under my tutelage, people wouldn’t prune roses at the wrong time of year because they would understand why they are doing it.   There could be 101 reasons why a plant looks miserable or dies and people tend to think it’s their fault.  It seldom is;  it’s usually down to the soil or a bug or even the weather.  If you have  yellowing leaves, where the yellow patches are on the plant will tell you what nutrient is missing.  With a bit of knowledge and understanding you can put most things right.” 
Valerie’s combined passion for plants and people also proves a great success at Kew Gardens where she is a guide.  “I enjoy sharing knowledge and I want to bring what people perceive as a complicated subject down to every day speak.  We have enormous fun, I love leaving happy people behind me.”
Be inspired and find out more about Auntie Planty at www.auntieplanty.com

Written by Lynne Allbutt for Green Scene, Western Mail, (Media Wales) 6th February 2010

Save Our Soils

“A garden is only as good as its soil.”  Clay soil will evoke frustration into the most enthusiastic of gardeners however, with a lot of love, care and commitment, it can actually be extremely productive.  Most gardeners will be familiar with its traits and the recommendation of incorporating sharp sand (not builder’s sand) and organic matter to improve aeration and drainage but there is a bit more to it than that.  With clay conditions, the structure of the subsoil is as important as the structure of the topsoil.   If you remedy the topsoil without rectifying the sub soil (where necessary) you will get water-logging at that lower level which will cause further problems.  Heavy compacted subsoil will need drainage measures implemented, tedious but essential.   The structure and friability (crumbli-ness; think of Cadbury’s Flake) of the topsoil is largely determined by levels of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and hydrogen.  This is known as the Cation Balance. The presence or lack of these elements can be revealed by professional soil analysis and is crucial to addressing soil problems of any sort, not just clay.    Invest in a Test - Basic soil testing kits to determine the ph of your soil, can be obtained from most garden centres, however I always recommend a professional soil analysis to be carried out especially if you are growing your own veg.  You can choose from several services at www.mrscrow.com and also buy products to remedy the results from there, (or call 01952 550050).  Each soil sample tested will cost £47.00 but consider it an investment.  It doesn’t matter how much work you put in above the ground, if the soil isn’t happy then you’ll never get a healthy, happy crop.

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column in Western Mail, (Media Wales) 30.01.2010

Wales's First Minister Talks about 'Physical' Labour

Used to addressing demands in the Political Arena, Wales’s First Minister, Carwyn  Jones also has a few challenges closer to home, in his garden.  “Our soil is very poor,” he explains, “We have got a large garden and in the 12 years we have lived here, I have planted lots of trees, fruit canes and got a vegetable patch going.  The trouble is,” he confides, is that the veg patch I had at our previous house was really easy digging and a pleasure to look after.  Now I’ve got really heavy clay so it’s hard work.  It doesn’t break down at all, I just about manage to turn it over but getting a tilth is impossible.”
“I have concentrated mainly on fruit and veg and planted a lot of soft fruit, plums, loganberries, pears and a lovely mulberry tree.  It only went in four years ago so it’ll be another 3 years before it fruits.  And as the soil is so alkaline, I’ve put blueberries in pots, in ericaceous compost.  I think the garden needs a bit more colour now so I’ve just bought some heathers but they’ll have to go in pots too,” he adds knowingly.
It appears Carwyn ‘knows his onions’ then?  “I can talk a good garden,” he laughs, adding quickly, “but I can’t grow pumpkins and all my peas died last year, every single one.   I’m still not sure why.  Possible causes sparked a lively debate at the local gardening club,” he adds humorously. “I think I’ll stick to root veg this year because of the soil.”
“And I’m determined to sort the lawn out this year too.  When the house was built they basically put a wall around a field for the garden, so the lawn is just a meadow.  It’s got everything growing in it, even bluebells, so it’s difficult to cut the grass.  I want to get a healthier and stronger lawn.”
 It appears gardening is a family affair, as Carwyn continues, “The kids grow sunflowers every year and have got their own herb garden under an old apple tree.  They do show an interest and certainly know their herbs, though I think turning the soil put them off a bit.  And Lisa, my wife, takes care of the pot plants and helps eat the veg.” He adds affectionately.
“It’s great for children to see where their food comes from, as well as experiencing and understanding the different seasons.  A lot more schools have got gardens now, which is great.  And there are the health benefits of course, not only do they get more exercise but I think they enjoy eating what they grow so that encourages a healthier diet too.”
Passionate about growing his own, the First Minister likes to cook his own too.  “I like cooking, when I have the time.   I think cooking skills are important and there’s nothing nicer than veg from the garden.  My Dad, Caron, does a lot of gardening too, so keeps us well supplied.  He’s got a greenhouse so he grows tomatoes and cucumbers as well as lots of radishes, lettuce, kidney beans and gibbons, or spring onions,” he adds. 
When I mention the advantage of trading with surplus veg,  Carwyn laughs, “Dad’s trading position is far stronger than mine, all I grew last year were potatoes to try to break up the heavy soil.  They were a great success though.  We are still eating our own potatoes.”  he adds proudly.

Written by Lynne Allbutt for Green Scene, Western Mail (Media Wales) 30th January 2010