Radio 2 presenter, Zoe Ball is enjoying her beautiful new garden having moved from Brighton to a village in the Sussex countryside. She proudly posted on Instagram an image of the courtyard area with its wisteria-clad red brick walls and pots of topiary lollipop trees. It certainly looks like an inviting space, with wicker sofas and a table – an inviting spot for Zoe to share drinks with friends.
Zoe was planning to contribute to ‘A Garden for Friendship’ at the 2020 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Unfortunately, as we all know, Chelsea has been cancelled this year so we just have to hope that the garden, designed by Jo Thompson, will have a chance to be included next year.
The garden would have celebrated how gardening can bring people together and the positive impact it can have on our mental health. Imagined as a street, it would have shown the idea of being able to step outside your door and strike up a gardening conversation with neighbours and share tips. For the next few weeks, or maybe months, we gardeners will have to have those conversations online or on the phone.
Such is Zoe’s love of gardening that on her recent Desert Island Discs appearance she chose a potting shed, secateurs, a trowel and some seeds as her luxury. ‘I get great thrill from gardening and maybe I could eventually live off the land, what a lovely idea,’ she said. It’s a far cry from her wild party days!
Potpourri Magazine
The unexpected gardener - Zoe Ball
