A career in marketing took him touring Europe and narrowed his hobbies to plants and gardens.
Back in Norfolk with her husband, three children and a home with real outdoor space, she was eager to follow her passion, so she took a course at Easton College near Norwich.
When he was expelled from the university program, his frustration turned to design so that he could continue his study of horticulture. After talking with other students and their teachers, he decided to create his own course.
“Two people signed up within a few hours. It was filled in a week,” Ruth said. "I should admit. I haven't done much market research even though I work in marketing! It was the return of a group of jurists and Hadath.
“I thought they were the most wonderful keepers and there were so many wonderful gardens in Norfolk. There must have been something there."
That “something” was the Norfolk Horticultural School. He rented a walled garden at Ketteringham Hall, near Wymondham, for the first four years and recently moved to land on Bixley Manor, near Norwich.
“Most people don't know he's here. You cannot see the palace through the trees in winter, except that it is completely hidden all year round. It's a real secret garden," Ruth said.
Surrounded by parkland, woodland and farmland, Bixley Manor was owned by the famous Mustard Coleman family and was the home of Sir Timothy and Lady Mary Coleman until their death in 2021.
The Norfolk School of Horticulture has leased some of the gardens and paddocks where generations of the Colman children have kept their ponies, as well as a converted school building and the historic Poulton and Pole greenhouse, which is believed to have been built. Norwich about 100 years ago.
It was joined by three new greenhouses in Norfolk, rebuilt after Ketteringham's move from Rhino Greenhouses to East Harling.
In recent weeks, staff and volunteers have also moved several thousand plants, ranging from small plants to 15-foot trees. Some of these have already been replanted, and as winter passes into spring, the paddock will become an educational garden with a pond, orchard, wild flower meadow, forest, raised beds made from former terraces, and four seasonal cut gardens. In spring, summer, autumn or winter, so that students can improve their skills.
There will also be a garden with organic flowers. The water collectors are complemented by a pipe system designed for the volunteer engineer's husband to collect rainwater from a large tunnel.
“After last year, everyone was worried about water use, and if there was one thing we couldn’t grow anymore, it was annuals that had to be grown from seed in a heated greenhouse, then transplanted several times, and then used a lot of water. ." Ruth said.
Instead, she recommends plants that show up year after year, like roses, herbs, and lemongrass.
Ruth grew up in Winfarthing, near Diss, where her father was a village chief and a passionate gardener. “If he does not come to the wedding, then he is in the garden.
“I was one of six children and each of us had our own gardens. I grew radishes in my country and still love growing radishes!”
The garden has been difficult to move, and Ruth hopes to find a permanent home just minutes from her home in Brammerton.
“One of the nice things about this place is that Sir Timothy was very fond of trees. There were amazing silver birches, white beams, cherry trees and beautiful cedars,” Ruth said.
Her husband Peter opened a business in another building on the Bixley estate. The reception team arranges care for the elderly.
Before founding the Norfolk School of Horticulture, Ruth volunteered for Citizens Advice and, as a prison visitor, helped create Age Space, an online organization that helps older parents find information about caring for them.
This was due to the growing weakness of his parents. “We had a lot to learn. There is Mamsnet for people with babies and toddlers, but I had a lot to learn to find support for my parents,” Ruth said.
Norfolk School of Horticulture grew out of Ruth's desire to learn gardening and is now a full-time job, meaning she never had time to do whatever she wanted in her garden!
That same year, Illustrated National Parks topped the list of places to take horticulture courses.
Courses are accredited by organizations such as the Royal Horticultural Society and Easton College and range from daytime courses (garden pruning and year-round flower gardening are two particularly popular ones) to a one-year diploma in garden design. .
The faculty includes gardening professionals with an international clientele, and Ruth said the typical student could be someone who recently retired on gardening leave, or even someone in their 20s. There are beginners, there are experienced, there are professionals.
“We had people with small city parks and we had three people open gardens for the national park and they really liked the trail,” Ruth said.
“I felt people would love what we were doing because I knew we had great teachers and a great place to learn. I think I was surprised that people like to go to school and how many people come back each time. That's all. feedback you can get!”
The school also has a group of volunteers, all former and current students.
“Some of them are now professional self-employed farmers and volunteering is a social thing for them,” Ruth said. “We have a regular volunteer day and every week we do different things: plant a new bed, remove existing weeds, cut bushes, plant seeds or harvest cuttings and try to teach our volunteers new skills so they have something to do. useful outside of their time.
It also provides individual gardening instructions for people, from specific ones (like how to plant certain borders) to spending weeks gardening with an expert.
“I didn't expect this,” Ruth said. “But there is something beautiful about people who love gardening.
“I have worked in many places and have never come across something like this, everyone communicates and stays in touch.” He built a network of Norfolk gardeners.
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