Day two: This was a very long and full day. I think that I might have done about six hours of recording, that is interviewing and talking to people. I should add that Christine has been really brilliant and had not only arranged everything for my stay but also had set up a number of meetings ahead of my arrival.
First I met with Edmond Rube, who has been working at Pines Garden for one year but has been involved with Alistair Gould on various projects for fourteen years. His main responsibilities lie with the technical running of the Pines Calyx. However, as his technical expertise is rather wide spread, he also helps out in other areas. During the interview, I gained somewhat the impression that he didn’t fully trust my motives, which is a real shame. This led to rather more stereotypical and protective answers than I would have expected to come across in an organisation the size of Pines Garden.
After that, I talked to Chester Bradshaw who has been the main gardener for four years. I met him at the room which they use during their breaks. Next to being nicely heated, it also had a set of pin ups on the walls and I don’t know whether these or the actual content of this conversation might have made me perceive this interview somewhat dispiriting. To summarize briefly what we talked about: It became quite clear that Chester knows his job but also that he is neither particularly well informed on sustainability nor really interested in it. What he definitely cares about is the lawn and the lawn looks good. This made me think about how disjointed the agendas even within the core of the team working at the gardens are likely to be. In addition to that, I gradually became aware how much many of his answers were guided by his awareness of his place within the hierarchy at Pines Garden. By this there appears to be left little space for a personal vision of what could or should be done within the garden. What to add? Talk to a gardener if you were ever in doubt about the existence of a class system in Britain? All in all, this was still quite informative as it provided useful background information to the social structure of the garden.
Next I met Stan Lauder who is chairman of St. Margaret’s Society and his wife Stella. When I asked them how they actually use the garden, they said that they take their grandchildren and if I understood rightly they use it as a kind of playground. This is interesting insofar that it is a different way of engaging with the garden but also might indicate that there are not many public spaces with play facilities around.
