Episode 12 Fig Tree Off-Shoot
The 500 year old Fig tree at Lambeth Palace - home of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Nick Stewart Smith was the Head Gardener at Lambeth Palace Garden for seven years. On the 15th June 2023, he publishes his first book called The Thousand Year Old Garden - Inside The Secret Garden at Lambeth Palace. For 7 years he passed this enormous Fig tree every morning on the way to and from work. In fact it is three Fig trees which you can see if you look closely in amongst the branches. In 2020 he gave a cutting from this Fig tree to Sir David Attenborough, the man who had for him, ‘opened doors and windows’ on nature.
His book is available now. I asked Nick what he hopes readers will take away from his book?
Well, I hope they'll be entertained. I know that sounds like a... superficial aim but I don't think it is at all. I hope they will be entertained and get some pleasure from it. I hope it maybe will make them think about their own green space, whatever it is. One of the things I was keen to say is, look at me, I work in one of the oldest gardens in the world. It's huge. It's been here forever. But, however big your garden, however small, however new, however old, you can still interact with it in a way that is going to be beneficial with all the natural world that happens to be around you, whether it's in the middle of Liverpool, whether it's in some glorious Devon Moorland, there's still the thing of put nature in the centre of things. Don't just keep thinking it's something that is there to please you or to entertain you or for you to exploit in some way. That is what I'd hope they take away from it.
Lambeth Palace Garden is not open to the public but does have some open days. There is more information on this website.
If you missed the original Fig Tree episode then you can listen below.
This is the first of the Off-Shoot programmes and there will be more, including ones with Jean Levy who holds a national mint collection, a return to the topiary of Lucy Boston to find out more about her as a gardener, a look behind the scenes of winning a gold medal at Chelsea with Vicky Meads and her hostas.
I am now gathering plant stories for the second series so if you want to share one then do contact me: sally@ourplantstories.com