The Artistry of Gardening Long Seasons: Extending the Joy of Scouse Flowerings across City spaces

Fergus Mustafa Garrett, Gardener Supremo at Great Dixter, hailed the very best of British Gardens by Monty Don in 2025, talks about how to create long seasons of interest by the layering of plants to make gardens work hard and mimic the wild, with relevance to transforming Liverpool’s public realm.

As Patron of Scouse Flowerhouse, Fergus has been generously gifting plants to members of Great Dixter and Scouse Flowerhouse working to wild the commons of Liverpool, co-creating an urban mosaic of wildflower habitat. He says:

“Gardeners have not mimicked the wild enough! We need to come out of our comfort zone to do this type of long season planting. It can be done in a gentle way and in a way which requires little maintenance. You don’t have to do the 7-8 layers which we are trying to attempt at Dixter. It’s the ecological principles that count. It’s about assimilating what happens in wild communities – very much taking further the way which Christo assimilated the best of garden practices in his writing. Starting with snowdrops and cyclamen, and moving through the seasons and even with the use of annuals and self-seeding plants, to make every square meter work hard, with natural processes and a helping hand.”

Event Outline: The focus of the event is a keynote lecture by Fergus Garrett. Some active ecological gardeners will present spaces in Liverpool they want to flower for longer seasons and there will be the opportunity for the audience to ask questions in a discussion before a drinks reception from 6.15pm in the Museum of Liverpool atrium.

Invitation to Groups: We welcome groups to this event. Please email events@scouseflowerhouse.com with the number of people and name of your group. If you want to show pictures of your garden or contribute to the panel discussion please also email this address.

Accessing a Pay It Forward Ticket: Thanks to the generosity of others, a limited number of Pay It Forward tickets are available at no cost. These tickets are intended for those who would not otherwise be able to attend. We don’t require proof of need. If this applies to you, please email events@scouseflowerhouse.com with the subject line “Pay It Forward Ticket Request”, and we’ll be in touch to confirm your spot.

Refunds: We know that life happens! If you’re no longer able to attend, you can request a full refund up to 7 days before the event.

Alternatively, if you’d like to pay your ticket forward, we’ll offer it to another community member who is excited to take part. Just get in touch and we’ll take care of the rest. Thank you for helping us keep this event accessible.