Mrs. Whinfield, thank you very much for allowing me to visit your wonderful garden. It really helps me a lot to write an article on Dorset gardens for our paper. Now I wonder if I could ask you a few questions.
Yes, sure.
Could you tell me when you became interested in gardening?
Well, I was always interested in wild flowers and then in 1980 I read Margery Fish's book Cottage Garden Flowers, which is full of practical advice and personal opinions. But I was reading about plants that I didn't know, so I started to read as much as I could and get different writers' advice. I also used to visit Kew Gardens a lot. That was when we lived in Harrow, West London. I learned a lot from my visit. By the way, Dorset is one of England's three most beautiful towns, the other two being Wiltshire and Somerset. You must know what. I'm often invited to give talks to biology students in college.
Yes, certainly. That's why I came here. Now what was your first garden like?
It was a very tiny piece of land, which came with my house in Harrow, West London.
Do you grow many plants yourself?
I don't grow many plants from seeds. But I have several friends and we often give each other plants. My garden is a place which often reminds me of so many people through the plants they've given me.