Mr Sharman grew up in Cambridgeshire in the 1960s and 1970s, when children were expected to entertain themselves and could set off for a day’s exploration, giving no one the slightest qualm: he recalls climbing up the middle of a hollow oak to emerge, sweeplike, at the top. Encouraged by his grandmother and aunt, he started gardening within the family plot aged four and, when the Sharmans moved to a larger garden, he got round the limitations of his allotted space by keeping chickens in mobile runs and growing vegetables on the bare patches they created.
Gardening all but took over his life in his teens—he sold his first plants aged 18—and formal training and ‘proper jobs’ in the horticultural industry followed. His own interests, however, always remained with the rare and curious—real plantsman’s plants—in which he was mentored by several great gardeners of the day. It was in 1985 that his mother drew his attention to a clump of snowdrops with yellow markings (instead of the usual green) growing at the Cambridgeshire hill fort site of Wandlebury Ring. They proved to be an entirely new variant of Galanthus plicatus and Mr Sharman’s article about them in The Garden, naming the clone ‘Wendy’s Gold’, drew the attention of the then very small number of serious galanthophiles.
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin January 20, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin January 20, 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Every picture tells a story
As the National Gallery prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in May, Carla Passino delves into the fascinating history of 10 of its paintings, from artistic triumphs to ugly ducklings and a clever fake
Flying between extremes
Revisiting the Norfolk of his childhood bright, but not as early as planned on an April morning, John Lewis-Stempel is entranced by the wildlife of the Broads and spots a crane so large it renders his binoculars redundant Illustration by Michael Frith
Satan on six legs
The prowling embodiment of Beelzebub, the Devil's coach horse beetle could absolve you of all your sins, says Ian Morton
Sometimes, less is more
FASHIONS in gardening come and go like those on the catwalk, they simply take a lot longer doing so: sometimes decades.
Dropping down to Derwentwater
The gardens of High Moss, Portinscale, Cumbria The home of Peter and Christine Hughes Non Morris visits a much-loved, Historically fascinating Arts-andCrafts garden, which has been imaginatively brought back to life
A Georgian legacy
Down in Wiltshire and Somerset, two country houses and estates have been well tended by their owners
Processions, proclamations and punishment
The wayside crosses that were once beacons in the British landscape have seldom survived the forces of Nature and iconoclasm. Lucien de Guise follows a trail of destruction
A sparkling collection
Guided by the nose of wine expert Harry Eyres, the COUNTRY LIFE team tasted some of England's finest sparkling wines and found elegance and finesse, with notes of hedgerows and seaside air, to compete with any fizz from across the Channel-surely, this is what we should be drinking now Qu
Hampering after summer
Lifting the lid on a sturdy hamper to find cold ham and ginger beer is a summer joy. Julie Harding meets the wicker weavers who make the dream come true
Life's a picnic
With picnic season fast approaching, it's time to elevate your alfresco feast to Michelin-star levels of deliciousness. Here, Paul Henderson asks a selection of the finest chefs to open up their picnic baskets and share some of their top tips for culinary success