Field enjoys new lease of life as garden haven (From Worcester News)

Field enjoys new lease of life as garden haven

11:14am Monday 22nd June 2009 in

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SISTERS Liz Nicklin and Kate Phillips have spent nearly a decade turning a patch of farmland into a garden haven.

When they bought the one-acre plot in 2000 it was a cabbage field.

Today, Harrells Hardy Plants Nursery Garden, with its panoramic views over the local cricket ground and the river Avon, is an ever-changing array of colours, texture and form.

The south west facing garden is divided into separate beds, each with a different theme and name.

There is a water bed, a prairie bed and others grouped by colour.

“When we started we were planning quite formally,” said Ms Nicklin. “As we progressed, and we got a bit more experienced, it became a lot more naturalistic.

You can see it as you walk down the garden.”

Both sisters gave up their jobs to concentrate on the nursery garden, near Evesham. Their speciality is Hemerocallis – the day lily – which is widely planted throughout.

A few years ago Channel 4 filmed the sisters for a programme about people who make big changes midway through their lives. The show, Life Begins Again, is due to be re-aired this summer.

The nursery garden has also featured on BBC’s Gardeners’ World.

The sisters recently finished planting what they called “the last bed”, but Ms Nicklin admitted that a gardener’s work is never done.

“There are still a few things we’d like to do, or change,” she said. “I don’t think anyone’s garden is ever finished. You keep tweaking. You have new ideas and start planning all over again.”

Harrells Hardy Plants Nursery Garden is open every Sunday, from 10am to noon, and for private visits.

It opens for the National Garden Scheme tomorrow, Sunday, July 12, and Sunday, September 13. Call 07799 577120 or 07733 446606 for more information.

Harrells Hardy Plants Nursery Garden, Rudge Road, Evesham, WR11 4JR. Website: harrellshardyplants.co.uk.

Admission £2.50, children free.