Seaford gardener Geoff Stonebanks shares some gardening insights around the themes of spring and wellbeing

That is certainly something that I can relate to, preparing and opening my garden to visitors over the last 17 years. Achieving something in the garden and getting it just as I want it is incredibly satisfying. This was especially true a few years ago when transforming an area behind the house from a narrow pathway to an airy bright extended patio with railway sleepers. Whilst I employed a local team to do the landscaping based on my ideas and sketches, the joy and satisfaction at then being able to dress the new area was very rewarding.

We are also told that gardening can be very good for our physical health too.

Getting out in the garden can provide some much needed low-intensity exercise that can help improve your balance, strength, and flexibility. It can also help you maintain a healthy weight.

That said, I must have lost some weight and done plenty of exercise transforming this new area over the last few years to what it is today!

There’s a lot to be said too for using your garden to maintain some social connection, whether that be with friends and family, or like me, opening to the public to raise money for charity. Gardening can certainly help you connect with others and strengthen social relationships. Indeed, the gardening community is often a supportive place to be involved with, where people share their knowledge and plants too. Since I first opened my garden, back in 2009 for local charities and subsequently for the National Garden Scheme and Macmillan Cancer Support, I’ve shared my plot with over 23,000 garden visitors, many of whom return year after year and become more of a friend.

Whilst the process sometimes can become a little stressful getting ready for visitors, that very soon dissipates, once visitors turn up.

Whilst I have to confess that my plot is not really big enough now, having filled every available space with plants and sculpture, to grow my own, if you are lucky enough to either have the interest and/or space to grow your own, then you are very fortunate. There is no doubt that growing your own fruits and vegetables can help you eat a healthier, more balanced diet which, in the long-term, can only be good for you. That said, I may not have the space for vegetables but I do have 2 apple trees and a pear tree, plus a fig that all produce some fruit that we enjoy eating each year.

The medical profession are always saying that time in nature can truly benefit our well being too. This was especially true during the Covid 19 pandemic. I truly felt for all those families and individuals that were not lucky enough to be able to send time outdoors, within their own space. My garden became my sanctuary that year, a beautiful summer allowed us to get outside almost every day and enjoy the freedom that sadly many were not. At the time my 97 year old mother was living with us and she revelled in being able to get outside and read every day! Spending time outdoors can improve your mental and physical health, it can also help you breathe deeper too, all of which is incredibly positive.

I’ve recently read online that gardening is supposed to help prevent cognitive decline, so there’s hope for me yet! I suppose from my point of view there is a lot to remember when gardening, especially if welcoming visitors who are likely to want to know plant names. It always bugs me when one asks the name of a shrub and I can’t remember.

If, like me, you enjoy a bit of seclusion in your plot, you can create a wellbeing space in your own garden by using hedges, shrubs, walls, fences, or trellises to create that wonderful feeling of seclusion. I suppose originally, in my case the high, 6-feet, boundaries were as much to create a safe haven for our dog Chester but in hindsight it has certainly established a beautifully secluded safe haven for us all.

There are those that might like to create a journey to reach their wellbeing space to enhance the feeling of going somewhere else.

Moving on then to spring itself, it is a wonderful time of the year in the garden with some gorgeous plants making a statement. In the beach garden at the front of my house are two lovely clumps of iris.

Irises are loved for their sumptuous, colourful, and beautifully marked flowers. The Iris genus comprises a wide range of types that can be grown in a variety of locations, from pond margins and damp soil to borders, banks, pots and rockeries. Iris is the name of the Greek goddess of the rainbow and, aptly, iris flowers offer a wonderful spectrum of colours. Iris flowers also have a long association with French and English royalty, thanks to the Fleur-de-Lis symbol. Grown in the right spot, irises are easy to grow and long-lived. Most iris flowers bloom in summer, apart from the earliest bulbous types which flower in early spring.

Another spring beauty is the wallflower!

The best thing about these flowers is the fantastic scent! They make the perfect winter and spring bedding, keep picking and dead-heading and they'll flower for months. The plants come in a wonderful range of rich colours and make superb cut flowers. I reckon they look their best when planted in large drifts rather than dotted through garden borders, that said, those pictured are peeping out from under a hedge and spilling over a low wall. Why not try underplanting tulips with wallflowers for a truly different combination and a stunning spring display. These hardy plants are perfectly suited for the British climate, requiring minimal upkeep but offering maximum rewards. Why not infuse a touch of timeless British elegance into your garden.

Another garden favourite at this time of the year is the dramatic Euphorbia characias, commonly known as Mediterranean spurge. This stunning, evergreen perennial can grow to to 1.5m, with vertical or arching biennial stems, leafy throughout at first, then bare, almost woody at the base, densely leafy above, carrying flower heads in the second year. Its slender, blue-green, rather downy leaves are up to 15cm long. Then profuse flowers appear, in large, terminal, cylindrical heads in early spring which have petal-like bright yellow-green bracts surrounding the tiny flowers. The stems may be short-lived, but in my experience they more often than not often self-seed.

It is a real architectural perennial, perfect for adding a touch of drama to the border. Its bluish-green foliage looks fresh all year round too. It's ideal for growing in a sunny border or gravel garden, and is a good planting partner for kniphofias, which bear orange and yellow flowers. For best results grow in moist but well-drained soil, in full sun. Cut down the flower stems to ground level as the blooms fade. Take great care when handling the plant as the thick, white sap can irritate the eyes and skin.

Another garden favourite in the spring is the ever popular camellia. They are a perfect plant for a north-facing wall, where all mine are located, in large containers. Camellias are popular evergreen shrubs that produce a beautiful display of flowers from late winter to early spring, when little else is in flower. There are thousands of varieties to choose from, with white, pink or red flowers, which can either be single or double. Their shiny, evergreen leaves look great all year round. In their native range of south Asia, camellias are woodland plants, so do best in shade. This makes them useful for growing in shady parts of the garden or as part of a woodland border. They are acid-loving plants, which means they need to grow in acidic soil, ideally with a pH of around 6 to 6.5. If you're unsure whether you have acid soil or not, you can do a soil test. Alternatively, simply look at neighbouring gardens and see which plants are growing. If rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias are abundant, you will almost certainly have acidic soil. If they are not growing then you are likely to have alkaline soil and won't be able to grow camellias in the ground. However some camellia varieties can be grown in pots of ericaceous compost as indeed all mine are.

The shrubs do best in dappled shade or full shade. An area that gets morning shade is best as direct sun in the morning can dry out the developing flower buds too quickly. Choose a sheltered spot, as an exposed, windy position is likely to cause leaf and flower damage. The one pictured, I have had for over 30 years now and brought it with me from my garden in north London back in 2024.

Geoff’s garden, Driftwood, will open its garden gate for visitors, by arrangement only, from 1st June through until the 3rd August this summer. E-mail [email protected] to make a booking and enjoy his home made teas served on vintage china in the garden.