Highgrove Gardens is thrilled to launch a new feature that focuses on the Highgrove gardeners, who work diligently behind the scenes to keep the spectacular gardens in top condition.
Mel, who works in the Kitchen Garden, a well-known area favoured by visitors on a tour of the gardens, is our first gardener under the spotlight.
Mel started as a trainee at Highgrove as part of the WFGA's "Women Retrain as a Gardener" programme, which offers women a chance to learn practical gardening skills in a working garden.
“I worked two days a week for a year and did everything from pruning roses and clematis to propagating vegetables," says Mel.
"A position for a full-time Kitchen Gardener then became available, which led me to where I am today!"
Mel has recently been working on the salad bed in the Kitchen Garden that will provide fresh produce for the Orchard Tea Room at Highgrove. "This is an exciting project we are trialling this year, offering visitors fresh and organic salad grown right here in the garden," says Mel.
Mel raises plants as 'catch crops', which involves planting crops in a bed before putting in the main crop to make the most of a garden bed that lies idle for a few months of the year. Brussel sprouts are one of the vegetables now being grown, and they will be used for the Christmas dining events later this year.
The new salad bed is full of a variety of colours and flavours. "We hope to provide something different and unique for visitors," explains Mel.
"We aim to grow 'speckled trout' lettuce, which is green in colour with a marbled red pattern, so this will be something different for visitors to enjoy."
Other vegetable varieties Mel has selected include pak choi, chard, and giant red mustard, which will give a punchy flavour and look exciting mixed into salads.
Along with growing vegetables in the new salad bed, Mel is also growing edible flowers like boreage and calendula.
"One of the best parts of my job is growing vegetables and following the journey of a crop from sowing the seed to harvesting," explains Mel.
"I enjoy growing food, and it's exciting for visitors at Highgrove to see what we grow and then eat it!"
"We are really excited about providing the restaurant with organic and sustainable vegetables as well as delicious salads."
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