As a child, I was obsessed with ornamental birds and chickens. I would ask to go to Chatsworth House to see the Duchess of Devonshire’s poultry; and as a young teenager, I worked at a place called Newstead Abbey, which has peacocks. My love of colour and being outdoors led me into gardening. While I was learning the technical side at Kew Gardens, I started visiting my gardening idol, Sarah Raven, at Perch Hill Farm in Sussex. I was incredibly lucky to have three months house-sitting for her there. I learned to combine colours and forms in a container, using the floristry rule of a central heart or filler and a taller horizon.
It is essentially container gardening on a grand scale here at the Emma Bridgewater ceramics factory. I’m working with concrete, so I can’t dig down. Instead, I go up with raised beds and dustbins, and fill them with flowers in sultry, stained-glass colours. We are the only pottery with a cut-flower garden.
From March to mid-November, we don’t buy flowers for the factory shop. Most of the plants start off in a couple of greenhouses on the roof directly above a kiln. This is great for germinating seeds in winter, but more of a challenge in summer. There is no room in the garden for plants to look past their best. I can’t give the public any room to say their sweet peas, or whatever, are better than mine. This year I have used a lot of open-centred dahlias such as ‘Totally Tangerine’ and cosmos – ‘Antiquity’, ‘Double Click Cranberries’ and my favourite ‘Rubenza’. We can all help save bees by growing flowers like these, and if we can save the bees there is a hope for the environment.
As I mature as a gardener, I see the design value of foliage as a foil in a display. I am pleased with the strawberry sweetcorn, red millet and Panicum ‘Frosted Explosion’. Next year I want to incorporate golden hop, smoke bush and black elders.
Emma’s husband, Matthew, shares my love of chickens. We keep Dutch and lavender pekin bantams that are attractive and ideal for a smaller garden. They do little damage to plants, but don’t lay many eggs. My ultimate garden would have a muddy island for flamingos to nest but for now, I show off with jazzy dahlias and gladioli.
My favourite spot
Ironically, indoors. In the shop, when I have finished all the flower displays, I can catch up with the other staff. I am the only gardener here, but I am never lonely.
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