Date: 22 May 2001
Originally published in: Daily Mirror (UK)
Written by: Richard Barber
On a strictly need-to-know basis, we need to know what the celebs have been spendnig their money on.
Kim Wilde, 40, pop singer turned gardener
What sort of shopper are you?
With two small children, I don’t have time to go shopping like I used to. It’s a luxury conducted at 100mph and armed with a list. The only thing I make time for is shopping for plants.
1. Plants
I spent around £ 40 on Bank Holiday Monday at a rally in Welwyn. There’s a great lady, a real plant enthusiast, who always has a good selection on offer. I bought some perennial poppies, a lovely coral colour when they flower, a giant thistle, and some ground cover plants for underneath our giant ash tree.
2. CD
I know it’s everyone’s favourite at the moment but I do like Coldplay’s album, Parachutes. My husband, Hal, bought it and left it in the car stereo. I was driving back from Birmingham the other day and I cranked up the volume. I love the songs and the lead singer’s voice and I especially love the roughly-played, jangly guitars.
3. Seeds
Packets of seeds are so cheap and you can get hundreds of flowers from them. I bought a National Trust selection at a local garden centre. I chose lady’s mantle, verbena bonariensis – a glamorous flower that grows to one-and-a-half metres with a violet bloom – and nasturtiums.
4. Book
Garden Colour Palette by Paul Williams (£ 17.99, Conran Octopus) is such a clever idea. It’s divided into three horizontal strips so you can flip backwards and forwards to see which plants go best with each other. It’s never far from my elbow. It allows me to experiment with colour and shape. Invaluable.
5. Hair comb
I’ll be helping to present some BBC programmes from the Chelsea Flower Show which starts on 22 May. I haven’t had time to buy any new clothes to wear, but when I saw a large hair comb decorated with a silk rose I couldn’t resist it. And it only cost £ 3.