Mr Fothergill’s Nation of Gardeners has, this month, had its first bloom of the campaign!

Mr Fothergill’s Nation of Gardeners started in October 2013 and has a network of keen amateur gardeners in all of the mainland UK regions stretching from Moray in the Scottish Highlands to North Devon and from Wales across to East Anglia.

Each month the gardeners receive a parcel of seeds, bulbs and plants and they are asked to plant them on approximately the same date. The results are compared to identify regional variation. The ultimate goal is to produce the first ever growing map of the UK, showing what grows best, where and when.

On 15 February the Devon representative reported that they had had their first broad bean bloom from their initial package from Mr Fothergill’s back in October. This was the first bloom from the whole Nation of Gardeners campaign. The Ilfracombe gardener speculated that the broad beans had perhaps been helped along the way by an incredibly mild winter or the fact that they had used a beach wind break to shelter them from the storms.

As well as being a means of comparing growth patterns and results across the country, the Nation of Gardeners has also recently taken to using the campaign as a means of monitoring the regional weather too, with the representatives in Suffolk and Pontypridd comparing weather statistics that they had recorded. They found that in January, the Pontypridd gardener saw an incredible 352mm of rainfall whereas the Suffolk gardener had 81.5mm.

Tim Jeffries, commercial director of Mr Fothergill’s Seeds, commented: “Using regions as a comparison point is a perfect example of the value and purpose of the Nation of Gardeners campaign. It is very interesting to chart how regional variations are being to show. The main purpose is to record the growth of the monthly parcels but the extra information that we receive, for example, the monthly rainfall figures really adds another dimension.”

The Nation of Gardeners compare both growing results and different methods. The gardeners are asked to plant in multiple ways, for example in pots and in open ground to see the difference between the two. This has shown that the broad beans in Hertfordshire are growing far better in the pot, which was also true of Ceredigion where the strawberries planted in pots are doing better than those in open ground.

The gardeners are also asked to trial plant variations. In November, they received two different types of strawberry runners; Buddy and Sweetheart. Early growth reports saw both types of the strawberry doing well. The awful January weather really tested them and has led to some strong variations. Many of the gardeners came to the conclusion that the Buddy plants were stronger and “better swimmers” than the Sweethearts, with both Renfrewshire and Hertfordshire losing nearly all there Sweethearts to the extremely wet weather whilst their Buddys survived.

Although the regional variations, such as the Devonshire first bloom, are fascinating they are a snapshot and do not reflect a scientifically based horticultural trial.

Follow the progress of the Nation of Gardeners at their blog at http://blog.mr-fothergills.co.uk or search #NationOfGardeners on Twitter.