Wealth Management: Blog – In conversation with: Nick Bailey

Sophie Kilvert - Client Adviser

This week, in what would have been the lead up to RHS Chelsea Flower Show, I spoke with horticulturalist Nick Bailey. Alongside baking and virtual get-togethers, one of the biggest lockdown trends has been the resurgence in people donning their gardening gloves. Nick gave me his take on this boost in gardening activity, as well as advice on what to plant at this time of year and the alternative arrangements for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. A full list of referenced plants and garden content can be found below the article.

Nick Bailey's horticultural career spans an impressive 25 years, in which he has shifted effortlessly between garden design, broadcasting and writing. He is an award-winning columnist, best-selling author and, in 2016, received a Silver Gilt Medal for designing a Main Avenue Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

I recently had the opportunity to speak to Nick and asked him about what we should be planting now, both to take advantage of the glorious weather and to guarantee some flowering for summer. He explained that May is a great month for a whole range of plants, as we transition from spring to summer. Edibles like courgettes and runner beans, if planted now, will grow throughout June and be harvestable as early as July. Hardy annual seed mixes, which are sown directly into the garden, can transform depleted ground into 'man-made meadows' and produce flowers that can bloom from June until October, also serving as fantastic provisions for pollinators.

For those looking to revive their lawns after winter, Nick advised bolstering the grass with a high nitrogen feed and scarifying the lawn to remove moss and other debris. For smaller outdoor spaces, Nick recommended starting out with a big, statement tree or pot, however counterintuitive this may seem, to anchor the smaller elements and help layer the space. While bedding options are in short supply this year, there are plenty of resilient herbaceous species that will bloom year-on-year. Nick's book 365 Days of Colour is dedicated to plants which will deliver non-stop colour throughout the season, such as Geranium Rozanne, Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve' and a South African shrub called Anisodontea 'El Rayo'.

To get rid of pests without using slug pellets, Nick suggested venturing out on a damp evening and gathering slugs yourself or using beer traps or nematodes. To liven up our homes, as well as our gardens, Nick suggested low-maintenance tropical plants, such as Mother-in-Law's Tongue, Cylindrica, Zamioculas and Phalaenopsis, all of which have an extraordinary capacity to soak up pollutants and emit oxygen while being extremely durable and in need of minimal care.

While many of us might be rediscovering the mental and physical health benefits of gardening as a respite from gloomy news updates, Nick admitted that as the garden is his workplace, it inevitably comes with its own amount of stress. But though he may worry over clients' gardens, his own garden remains a place of solace. He shared that gardening forces us to engage with the growing process, helping us to recognise that we are part of this planet and have a place in its ecosystem. He has developed a helpful meditation routine where he sits quietly in his garden and takes time to isolate each sense, focusing on the sound of birdsong, the smell of the flowers, the sensation of the breeze or the grass. Exercises such as this help us feel present and grounded. The persistence and continuity of nature can be a reassuring constant during times of uncertainty.

We also touched on the polarised experience of the gardening industry; the costs of wasted and unsold plants may total £700 million by the end of June, yet sales of certain seeds and herbaceous options are booming and TV audiences for gardening shows have increased monumentally. This led us on to the unfortunate cancellation of RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which Nick described as “the pinnacle of global horticulture”, originally scheduled for next week. The long-standing event, which Nick has attended for the past twenty years in various capacities, is a testament to the preeminence of British horticulture and horticultural broadcasting. However, gardening fans will not be left disappointed as there will be interactive events online and a week's worth of programming to showcase the most iconic gardens, presented by Nick and other regulars. To supplement this feast of gardening content, Nick recommended Tamsin Westhorpe's podcast Fresh from the Pod and gardeners who are using social media to share their expertise and own gardens.

Plant recommendations

Edibles to plant in May: strawberries, runner beans, squash, courgette

Outdoor terrace/balcony

• Geranium Rozanne - Blue cup-shaped flowers with white centre and shades of burgundy. Ground-covering with tumbling flowers so ideal for a pot or window box. Flowers in May/June until November, great for pollinators. 
• Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve' - perennial wall flower which flowers 365 days of the year about two years. Great alternative for bedding plants. 
• Anisodontea 'El Rayo' - In the Hibiscus family from South Africa. 2m tall shrub with pink cup shaped flower with purple blotch at base. Flowers all year round. 

Indoors

• Mother-in-Law's Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata) - Succulent perennial with evergreen, lathery leaves with short, sword like leaves. Robust, absorbs pollutants and emits oxygen.  
• Cylindrica (Sansevieria cylindrica) - Succulent perennial with evergreen cylindrical leaves. Robust, absorbs pollutants and emits oxygen.  
• Zamioculas Zamiifolia - Robust perennial plant from East Africa with leathery leaves.  
• Phalaenopsis (moth orchid)- Provides instant flowers, lasting two or three months. Once flowers have faded, feel down the stem for a bobble (which is a new stem). Prune down to there and it will then re-flower and survive for another few months.  

Nick Bailey's Book

365 Days of Colour In Your Garden, Nick Bailey 

RHS Chelsea Flower Show Coverage

Virtual Chelsea Flower Show

• Sunday 17 and Sunday 24 May (BBC One): Two 60-minute programmes presented by Sophie Raworth and Joe Swift
• Monday 18 - Friday 22 May (BBC One):  45 minutes a day presented by Nicki Chapman
• Monday 18 - Friday 22 May (BBC Two): 60 minutes a day presented by Monty Don and Joe Swift