Imagine going back in time to when coal mining was a thriving industry in the north of England. After a long hard day down the pit in pitch darkness, the first thing almost every miner wanted to do was get out in the daylight and breathe in the fresh air, and what better way to do this than by getting stuck into some serious gardening.
Through the necessity of feeding their families and sheer survival, miners found huge enjoyment in gardening, it was one of the biggest things in almost every miner’s life. This garden aims to take you back to a time and place where miners cohabited in tiny adjoining cottages and worked alongside each other both down the pit and above ground, tending to the land around their home.
An allotment style scenario demonstrates the methodical and productive way in which miners gardened with lots of produce, growing crops to feed their family alongside different types of flowers for cutting to brighten the family home. This eye-catching combination of everyday life fused with gardening provides the focal point of this feature garden, with the facacde of two cottages providing the backdrop.
The cottages and the productive garden environment will be nestled within a more natural fringe of wild native trees, wildflower habitat and a few rusty remains of the mining industry that has in more recent times ceased to exist. This garden reflects on how pits that have closed in South Yorkshire have been transformed into nature reserves, which are incredibly beneficial to wildlife.
The colour scheme will be an eclectic mix of traditional cut flower varieties including dahlia’s, marigolds and roses, using colours that contrast and harmonise to create an eye-catching display.
Plants will be grown by a community project specialising in growing produce while offering sanctuary to locals and other community groups and offering fruit and veg boxes in the Yorkshire Dales. Cut flowers will be grown by a florist who supplies homegrown flowers both online and to the local area. Trees grown on the Lincolnshire/ Cambridge border will be used within the garden.
Following the show, parts of the garden will be used within the grounds of Wentworth Woodhouse and parts will be gifted to a community gardening project in North Yorkshire where many different community groups work alongside local residents to grow fruit, veg and flowers and to offer a retreat to minorities such as refugees and communities from urban areas.
