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What prompted you to write the book?
I’m a great sci-fi fan and I’ve always been interested in how we will grow food in space and on other celestial bodies. Films are great at creating futuristic landscapes, and for depicting life-support systems using biomaterial and creating closed-loop systems in space, so this sparked my interest in finding out whether real life dictates what we see in sci-fi films or vice-versa.
While researching this book, it made me realise that the future is already here, to some extent, especially when we look at how we disseminate information, and the use of AI to assist with gardening, watering, feeding and care and maintenance. It then raised the question, however, will we be replaced when it comes to the future of gardens and gardening. I hope the book reveals that it is not all doom and gloom for the human race and that from a gardening point of view we really do need to focus on being resilient gardeners who question and adapt at every stage, especially with our ever-changing climate.
What did you learn from writing the book?
So many things. When I looked at horticulture in a broader sense, including farming and plant genomics, to name just a couple, I could see ideas already being implemented, which only 20-30 years ago would have been seen as pure science fiction. Even looking at how a handheld device that we all use every day can potentially become an AI assistant or an AR (augmented reality) device in the not-too-distant future, blew my mind. Couple this with real-time data collection and harnessing the natural capabilities of living organisms to contribute to sustainable and eco-friendly monitoring solutions, and, suddenly, we can offer sustainable and innovative solutions.
What is the one idea that you’d like to share from the book?
The idea that we will never be replaced when it comes to the future of gardens and gardening. As a gardener and garden designer, I think the prospects for gardening in the near future are exciting. As we learn more about the natural world, how various life forms communicate with each other and how we can monitor and alter our practices, based on what we’ve learnt from plants, for the benefit of mankind, I do really think that we can improve our physical and mental, and for some their spiritual well-being. Gardens can never be seen as independent entities. They sit within a larger environment, while the Internet of Things (IoT, which involves connecting everyday physical objects to the internet, allowing them to collect, exchange and act upon data without requiring human intervention) holds tremendous potential to transform the way we interact with and nurture our outdoor spaces.
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I’ll read anything by…
Kahlil Gibran. His most well-known work, ‘The Prophet’, looks at love and marriage, work, sorrow and pain, property, freedom, prayer, the divided self and the boundless self. I’m not a religious man, but his work really touches me, especially in relation to the mysteries of life. I suppose that’s why I’m interested in what the future might hold for us.
What first sparked your interest in gardening?
I think, like most gardeners, my grandparents. On my father’s side, my grandad taught me about caring for the soil, how to sow seeds, take cuttings and how to support plants, while my nan, who was a flower arranger, taught me about colour, shape, form, texture and scent. On my mother’s side, my grandparents’ garden was full of roses. All my brother and I wanted to do was roll on the grass, but they insisted that we squish the greenfly and pick up any leaves. At the time, I didn’t realise that they were teaching me about plants and gardening, including pests and diseases, but their knowledge has stuck with me, and I share many of their ideas today. And, I still get a warm sensation every time I put together a flower arrangement in our house because I can still hear my nan telling me what to look for and what will look good next to each other.
What is your new garden like?
At the moment it’s completely blank. We moved into a newly converted barn three years ago and then acquired two naughty miniature wire-haired dachshunds who love to dig up everything and pull up grass from the lawn. I have, however, only in February of this year, designed the garden, because my husband was nagging me to show him what I had in mind. Hopefully, there will be enough sensory stimulation in the new garden to distract the dogs! The new garden will very much reflect the local flora found in Lincolnshire, using sustainable and locally sourced materials and planting a wide range of plants to increase biodiversity and attract as much wildlife as possible.
What’s your guilty gardening secret?
Watering and feeding my houseplants on a regular basis, especially during the summer. Because I’m always busy and not always home every week, and as my husband is not a keen gardener, my poor houseplants tend to get watered when they’re starting to wilt or when I stroll pass them and I often forget to feed them. I think this is a shared guilty secret with many gardeners. When I see healthy houseplants on social media, I turn to look at mine and my heart sinks. For this reason, I have opted for many cacti and succulents, as they’re very forgiving. Also, as we have underfloor heating, I have now lifted all of my houseplants off the ground using pot legs to prevent them from drying out too quickly. So, far, so good … now, I just need to remember to feed them!
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Also, I absolutely love dahlias. I blame my late paternal grandad because he used to grow them in abundance. This year I’m growing 50 different dahlias in shades of apricot, pink, cream and shots of deepest red. It’s the first time I’ve grown them since moving to north Lincolnshire, so fingers crossed. I also love fruit. I have a mouth full of sweet teeth, so I grow strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Primarily, so that when I go to pick them, I can have a sneaky mouthful away from my husband’s prying eyes. I’ve also recently added some espaliered fruit trees to the garden, plum, apple and pear, and have apricot, peach and nectarine trees on order, which I’m looking forward to growing. I grew all of these in our old garden in Kent, so I’ve done my research to find varieties that will survive the cooler weather up north.
What’s your biggest gardening mistake or failure?
I think like many gardeners, I make mistakes every time I’m out in the garden. Whether it be the wrong clothing for the gardening activity or the weather, to planting too closely in the hope to cover every centimetre of soil.
What’s in the pipeline?
A tour for the ‘Future of Gardens’ book, which I’m excited about, and I have another book coming out next spring, published by Quarto and another one on the go – both completely different to the Futures book. So, keep a look out! TV work keeps me extremely busy, so you’ll still see me on your screens. I have several ideas out with production companies as well, and, of course, we continue to design gardens all over the UK.
Out now: The Future of Gardens by Mark Lane, Melville House UK, £9.99
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