I've recently begun volunteering in a garden, and as it’s Volunteers Week I thought I’d share my first impressions of the experience.
Spoiler: I’m finding it very rewarding!
So far I’ve attended a couple of sessions of the Garden Club at Hospitalfield in Arbroath, a centre for contemporary art and ideas. It’s been on my radar for a while as the gardens have in the past few years been redesigned and planted by renowned horticulturist Nigel Dunnett (responsible for the Tower of London wildflower superbloom), and who advocates naturalistic planting and sustainability. I’ve admired both his work and the work of Hospitalfield from afar - and it’s only now that I’ve been able to get involved in a more hands-on way.
I lost my job in communications at a large media organisation last month and one of the first things I thought of, when I realised I may have an unthinkably generous amount of free time stretching in front of me, was that I wanted to volunteer in a local garden. I had a few in mind, but having just visited Hospitalfield and been really impressed with its gardens and grounds, I felt drawn to it immediately and decided to pluck up the courage to attend the next session of the Garden Club, which runs every Friday morning.
The sun quite literally shone on this opportunity - after turning up armed with my gardening gloves and trowel I found myself tiptoeing through the lush early growth of the wildflower meadow, to weed out thistles and other less desirable wildflowers. Crouching down beside a clump of scented narcissus, enjoying the birdsong, the occasional chat of the other volunteers and the sun on my neck, I felt happier than I had done on any day in any office I’ve ever worked in.
On my second week there I was tasked with planting out and creating supports for sweet peas - a job I’m more than familiar with, having grown them every year for the past 10 or so years! It was really satisfying to share my technique with the other gardeners and build some simple structures which (provided they stay upright!) will support the flowers which will admired by visitors during the next few months.
As well as working in the garden, I was fortunate enough to time my first volunteering sessions with a couple of workshops running afterwards, delving into the history of the garden as a site of herbal medicine and the uses and properties of the plants growing in the new Physic Garden. This is an area of growing which is brand new to me, so I loved learning about the way various common herbs and plants have been used down the years as natural remedies to heal and promote good health. The workshops were led by the deeply knowledgeable Terrill Dobson, who had been a guest on my podcast a number of years before - so it was great to see her again and enjoy the chance to get to know the garden, and the other volunteers, a bit better.
When I’ve considered volunteering before it’s always been a no-go; while working full time (or even part time) any spare hours I had needed to be spent in my own garden, never mind working for free in someone else’s! However, my views began to change recently when I realised that other gardens open to the public, whether formal gardens or botanic, would of course contain a much greater range of plants to look after and learn about, and species that I don’t grow in my own garden. I’m about to complete the RHS Level 2 qualification in Horticulture and there’s no practical element to it, especially when you’re studying online, so I realised that volunteering in a garden that’s quite different from my own could provide valuable experience.
There’s another important element to volunteering - getting to know some new people, and especially people with similar interests. Again, when you’re working full time it’s not easy to find time for this, and spare evenings or weekends are usually for catching up with existing friends and family. I’m an introvert and not a natural at meeting new people, so it was reassuring to discover I can join a group like this and fairly quickly find common ground - whether it’s the local garden events, shared successes and failures, or our admiration for Sarah Raven’s amazing dahlias.
So it’s been a mutually beneficial partnership as far as I’m concerned, giving some time to volunteer at Hospitalfield; if I’m honest I actually feel like I’m getting far more from the experience than I’m giving! It’s no hardship to me to spend time weeding or planting, and it's honestly been a joy to spend time in such a peaceful and beautiful place - and to meet some other friendly gardeners.
I imagine it’s a real challenge to maintain a large garden with just a small number of employees, and places like Hospitalfield rely on the groups of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers who turn up each week to help keep it looking good. I’m happy to play my part in that for as long as I have the time and ability - it's something I hope to keep in my weekly schedule for some time to come, and I would encourage anyone looking to expand their gardening experience, and to give something back to try it out. There will be a charity, community garden, estate or school somewhere near you which needs help, even just a couple of hours a week can make a positive difference - for them and for you.