COLUMNIST: DAVID GALLACHER AND TOM WILLIAMSON
Like all gardeners, we are still constantly learning and the garden has taught us many lessons, lessons which we would love to share with you.
Our garden is about the plants, plants are the heart of the garden, they are why we garden.
We like to arrange them so they look good, we are plant lovers. Never feel as if that is somehow less worthy: embrace it, and garden for the plants and wildlife.
If you are not out there really looking at your plants on a regular basis, you are not going to know what is going on, and small problems – weeds, pests, diseases – will soon become big problems.
Nothing can teach you as much about your plants as the plants themselves. If you are paying attention, and the more you look closely at them, the more you will enjoy them.
Lots of mistakes. Learn from them and it will lessen the sting, plus you will do better next time. And forgive yourself. Not everything is within your control, and no one is perfect – just like in the rest of life.
Adding new plants to the garden is fun, but since plants are always growing and changing (and we all make mistakes!), it is good to keep looking at your garden with a critical eye to prune this and move that. Without editing, no garden will ever look its best – and sometimes you need to be ruthless about it.
Your garden is not only your garden but it can a home to nature too. You do not have to have a wildflower garden to encourage wildlife, you can have a garden that invites wildlife into your garden. Hundreds of tiny creatures live in your garden: bees, ants, worms, spiders, birds, and mammals.
Most of them are good for the garden, and many are friends. Instead of rampaging through their world, look out for them – it will make your gardening more interesting and satisfying.
Learn to love it. Weeds will always be a part of your garden, and once you accept that, plan for it, and keep after them, you may find that what was once a dreaded chore is relaxing, even soothing, and gives you time to enjoy your garden up close while your thoughts wander freely.
Some weeds can be encouraged as a food source for wildlife so a few left in those unused corners can become part of the garden.
We all love spring, but it is not much fun when it gets so busy that you feel rushed and overwhelmed. Learn to garden longer in the autumn, doing as much as possible then so there is not as much to do it in spring, and then start again as early as possible in the spring. You may have to push yourself to get out there, but the payoff is worth it, and you will come to actually enjoy doing it.
Looking ahead is one of the greatest pleasures in gardening, so make the most of it.
Daydream about your newly-planted bulbs all winter long, admire your buds as much as your flowers, and enjoy not only the garden you have now but the one you are constantly planting and reshaping in your imagination.
It is easy to get seduced by photos of a spectacular garden, especially Chelsea-style show gardens, but remember they are not always real, and reality often falls short of these rosy visions, and that can be discouraging.
Learn to be content in your own, real greenspace, and you will be a much happier gardener.
I think both Tom and I were born to be gardeners, but we got some important inspiration and encouragement along the way from family and friends.
Tom’s Hidden Garden is our way of passing on what little knowledge we have, with the aim of encouraging novice and experienced gardeners to realise the potential in any garden small or large.
You can pass that gift along too, and I can promise you that it will bring you enormous joy as well.
Your garden is one of the few places in life where you can truly follow your own heart, and I think you will find it is a lot more fun when you do that.
Located in Bonnybridge, Central Scotland, is a small garden with over 630 different plants, 200 containers, and 30 hanging baskets. Tom Williamson has been developing the garden over the last 35 years, working with David Gallacher over the last 10 to create its unique look.
Tom is a keen gardener, planting where he thinks a plant will be happy. David is a time-served gardener in commercial gardens and landscaping. In their regular column, Tom and David unlock the secrets of their garden and their success with plants.
For more updates on their garden, follow David and Tom in ‘Tom’s Hidden Garden’ Facebook Group.