This article is based upon an interview with Mr Harold Wragg, Nursery Manager, by Nicola Brooks in 1991.
Nicola Brooks interviewed Harold Wragg, nursery manager, in 1991 as part of her studies for a Teaching Diploma in Museum and Gallery Education at Warwick University. This article reviews the issues raised during the conversation.
Harold said that Leamington Spa was notable for having green areas all alongside the river Leam, from Victoria Park to Newbold Comyn. He was proud to have a role in maintaining a key part of this land. He went on to describe the current situation.
Harold regarded Jephson Gardens as the most prestigious park in the town. He proudly recalled that Mr W J Mitchell, who was the curator of the highly regarded Westonbirt National Arboretum in Gloucestershire, visited the Gardens 6 or 7 years ago (before 1991) and said that he was amazed at the variety of the trees.
East Lodge
Harold is employed by Warwick District Council. He became foreman of the team in 1972 and was appointed Nursery Manager in 1976. He has lived at East Lodge, at the Willes Road end of the gardens, since then (1). The lodge comes with the job and therefore, as explained later, he needs to win the garden contract every five years. Harold thought that the Heyday of the Gardens in recent times was probably through the 1970s and early 1980s. He highlighted that funding had been reduced from 1978
Harold produces all the ornamental plants in the nurseries for Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth and some villages in the district. He also looks after the planting and maintenance of Jephson Gardens. He is in the gardens every day, partly because he lives there but mainly because he cannot see what is going on from an office. There used to be a nursery at St Nicholas Park, Warwick, but now plants are all grown in the Jephson Gardens. There is also a tree and shrub nursery at Warwick, occupying 4.5 acres.
There are four staff in the nursery and five working in the gardens. A handyman drives the tractor and clears rubbish. It is very difficult to recruit apprentices and Harold is puzzled to know why. He has appointed only three out of the last 30 applicants. He thinks it may be the low pay but he also believes that teachers who advise on careers think that the work is unskilled, often send less bright children, and they do not appreciate that there is a lot of technology and other things to learn. He is always looking for good propagators for the nursery, and the jobs in the gardens are much more than simply planting and weeding.
Harold has only four more years left to do. He is sad to think that he is feeling quite pleased to be nearing the end of his career. Many recent changes have been upsetting. He has tried to maintain standards but has been hit by compulsory competitive tendering and general economising to meet reduced budgets. What is more, is that he will have to leave East Lodge when he retires (2). He doubts whether anyone else will want it for the tenure of a five year contract period. He did admit that the gardens at East Lodge are a bit neglected, in his words ”gone to pot”, because he is not confident of winning the contract in the longer term.
The soil in Jephson Gardens is mainly sandy loam; it needs the addition of quite a significant quantity of organic material and compost. It is intensively cultivated which takes a lot out of the soil. They make their own organic materials from leaf mould and horse manure but he buys in compost from the trade. It is better and cheaper to buy compost rather than trying to make it themselves. The stock is kept at the Warwick tree nursery.
The nursery produces about 40,000 plants in a year. Harold is responsible for producing plants, planting them and maintenance. His team also helps in other places such as Beauchamp gardens (now Christchurch gardens). The present greenhouses are only about ten years old. They are metal-framed and replaced timber buildings which were at the end of their life. There had been lots of maintenance carried out but they were life-expired. One continuing problem is that the nursery is totally enclosed by trees and the growing plants are starved of sunlight. They have to move plants around to remove them from the shade.
Guided Tours
Until recently, Harold enjoyed having visits from groups such as Townswomen’s Guilds and Women’s Institutes, and school parties. He would talk about Mr Willes and Dr Jephson and explain the takeover of the gardens by the council. He would also show them around the nursery growing areas. He found that children in the age-range 8 to 12 were the most interested. The visits have been curtailed because finance is limited. They did try charging £20 or £25 for each group but this was not attractive to them.
Problems for the Nursery and the Gardens
The main problem at the time (1991) was drunks. They would leave litter everywhere and they slept in shelters at night and left them in a mess. The entrance gates were locked at night but they climbed over the fences. It is very difficult to stop them.
Drought was a problem last year (1990) but they survived quite well by pumping water from the river. The fountains ran as normal from March to November, including the Czech fountain. Fountains are turned off in winter months because of the danger of damage from freezing in winter.
Floods can be a serious problem but they are rare. The last event was in 1967 (3). The water came up at about 6.30pm and it soon covered the back path opposite the post office. It came all over the gardens and was 18 inches deep over the frames in the greenhouses. They had to work hard to stop the edging sleepers floating away.
Vintage view with original trees
Trees
Mr Willes originally planted much of the land as an arboretum and there is still a wide variety of good trees. It is sometimes necessary to plant trees to replace those that are dying. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, they have not been able to plant any new trees for some years. Trees have been growing in the tree nursery and they are getting large; Harold is feeling desperate about what to do with them.
Changes
There have been many changes in recent years. Probably the main one was the recent adoption by the council of CCT (Compulsory Competitive Tendering) (4). The council now asks tenders for contracts for several services, including gardens and nursery, every five years. The contract could easily go to someone else instead of the in-house unit. The existing unit has the contract until 31st May 1995; just four years to go. It is difficult in this situation to have a continuation of pride and satisfaction in the job.
Nowadays, a lot more plans and decisions have to go through committees. People like Mr Wragg do not have as much say as in the past. Harold says “It has made a heck of a difference to the job and job satisfaction”.
Harold used to do all the planning and designs but now, with CCT, the client side develops the designs and decides what to grow. Harold does not believe that all the designs are good enough. The client side does not always get the numbers right. It is a complex task. Each bed has three types of plant, spot plants, main plants, and edging. There are 38 beds and they need 28,000 plants to a new design each year. Designers appear to lack practical expertise.
The outlook for the gardens is uncertain. It is very unlikely that Councillors will close them. There will possibly be more shrubs to replace the carpet beds and there may be more heathers and conifer beds. There are unlikely to be more trees. The client side wants a full review of the Gardens soon. There may be changes to some of the layout. There is one idea for a podium for music or theatre performances behind the aviary towards the Riverside restaurant.
Harold thinks that there is not much call at the time for activities like putting and croquet; they are out of fashion. Also, there are similar activity facilities at Newbold Comyn.
Another notable change was the removal some years ago of the turnstiles which charged one penny for entry and the discontinuation of the floral clock. The Lights of Leamington from 1951 to 1961 were a great success, but unlikely to be repeated. More recent changes include the purchase of new greenhouses, buying in of compost and plastic plant pots replacing terracotta.
Harold notes that attitudes to horticulture have changed and he strongly believes that a continuum is needed in gardens, but this will probably not happen with the new system. He recognises that it is necessary to keep expenditure low because that is good for poll tax payers, but gardens seem to be the first to be hit.
Harold finds that paperwork has increased and he gets less pleasure from the job. He thinks that the downward slope started with the introduction of a bonus scheme. The job has become more working for the income rather than satisfaction with the quality of work done.
There is ongoing discussion of new attractions such as mazes. Unfortunately, the latest plans for development were not available for discussion. Harold does not expect more recreational facilities at Jephson Gardens; there is more scope in Victoria Park, Mill Gardens and Newbold Comyn. There are a few items of playground equipment at the present which have been in position for about five years. More modern play equipment replaced old slides etc. Suggestion of Alan Pedley who was the Amenities Manager. Sadly, older children and yobbos use them and cause damage. It is mainly an ornamental garden and thankfully, people take more care.
Acknowledgements
The main thanks are for Harold Wragg and Nicola Brooks. Nicola was born locally and spent her early childhood in Leamington before returning to study history at Warwick University. She has lived in Leamington Spa since 1975.
Footnotes
1 The lodge was built about 1846 to the design by J G Jackson.
2 In 2023, East Lodge is a venue for the Leamington Studio Artists
3 The most recent serious flood was in 1998
4 CCT (Compulsory Competitive Tendering) was introduced for local councils by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 but this was initially limited to buildings and roads. It was extended to other services by that same government in 1988.
Transcribed by Michael Jeffs, November 2023