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By Martyn Cox
Long-time denizens of Southsea will remember Portsmouth in Bloom, an annual competition that recognised the gardening prowess of residents, business owners, allotment holders, schools and the like. Set up in the mid 1960s, the contest ran until the late 2010s before disappearing.
Well, the good news is that it’s making a return this year as part of Portsmouth100, a year-long programme of events celebrating the city’s centenary. It’s being run by Portsmouth City Council in partnership with Portsmouth News and Portsmouth Water, with expert guidance from myself.
In the past, the competition had many categories for people to enter – there were a mind-blowing 36 in 2004 – but the revived event has just 10 with an emphasis on gardens that are eco-friendly, making a difference to wildlife and the environment.
Whether you fancy entering the competition or not, it’s easy to become a greener gardener, working with nature, rather than against it. For example, filling gaps with wildlife friendly plants, ditching chemical pesticides and taking a more relaxed approach to maintenance, will all make a big difference.
Many of us treat water as an infinite resource, splashing it around the garden without a second thought. However, it should be considered a precious resource and used with care. In my experience, targeted watering (aiming just above the root zone) is far more effective and less wasteful.
Another way to reduce your consumption of mains water (something that I know concerns those with a water meter) is to install a water butt. It’s easy to attach one to the down pipe of a house or any garden building fitted with gutters. If one butt isn’t enough, join more together with a linking kit.
In my own garden, I have reduced my reliance upon mains water by creating a gravel garden, based on the look of the shingle beach at Eastney. The space used to be a 3.5 x 3.5m lawn, but I removed it a few years ago and covered the ground with 7.5cm layer of local Solent gold gravel.
Once the shingle was in place, I added some drought tolerant plants. Among them were red valerian and sea kale, both common sights on our beach, along with Mediterranean species like phlomis and Euphorbia myrsinites. After they’ve established, these plants never require watering.
As much as I love lawns, turf is thirsty and goes brown at the mere mention of drought. Gravel gardens look good all year round and don’t require feeding or mowing. In fact, all they need is the occasional rake, meaning I get more time to relax in summer. Result!
Martyn Cox is an award-winning garden writer, author and presenter, who runs his own garden maintenance, mentoring and consultancy business in Southsea. He can be found on Instagram @gardenwithmartyn.
Posted in: Home & Garden
