Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2013 | Page 61

GARDENING

they’re planning, I’ll definitely be
visiting regularly to keep up with all
that’s happening.
It’s a year since the gardens became
a Community Interest Company
headed by John Curtis. One of the
first changes put in place was the
removal of parking charges and the
introduction of an entrance fee. This
has not been the most popular change
but has brought about an interesting
development. Visitors are no longer
anxiously watching the clock so they
are able to relax and spend more time
exploring the gardens or lingering in
the refurbished Edulis restaurant, the
Plantation café or simply enjoying the
chance to soak up some sun.
The plant collections are the raison
d’être for the gardens’ existence and
botanically the focus within the
gardens is gradually changing to
concentrate on plants from parts of
the world that have a similar climate
to the conditions in Ventnor. So
it is focusing on plants from the
Mediterranean, Australasia, South
Africa and parts of Asia.
This means there is still plenty to
see throughout the winter, as plants
from the Southern Hemisphere such
as Salvia dorisiana (fruit scented sage)
are beginning to flower in response to
the shorter hours of daylight.
The most recent area to be
developed is the new olive grove.
It has replaced a very uninteresting
space just below the propagation area
which previously felt like a no-man’s
land, by making clever use of the

natural geology of the site with great
lumps of crumbling limestone hauled
to the surface, and a collection of
olive trees that evoke the landscape of
Crete or Greece beautifully.
Even if you are not particularly
interested in plants there is still
plenty to enjoy; the recent sculpture
trail exhibition made me feel like
David Attenborough as I spied a
peacefully grazing rhino, armoured
and invincible, built from reclaimed
mini-digger parts, and a Sea Turtle
conjured from recycled spoons and
bicycle chains, straining its head
longingly towards the shore of
Steephill Cove.
Running a garden like this is an
expensive business and the first
bank of solar panels have now been
installed to help heat the propagation
greenhouses, the Temperate House
and other areas. LED lighting is also
being installed throughout the site to
reduce costs.
There are so many exciting and
ambitious plans for the gardens to
become a hub for all kinds of events
for local residents and holidaymakers
alike, but the one that intrigues
me the most is the plan for a
drive-through botanic garden on a
currently unused area of the site; you
heard it here first.

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