Date: 10 March 2004
Originally published in: Tiscali website (UK)
Written by:
Moderator: Hi everyone. Sorry we are a bit late, having slight trouble in the press office. Our first guest will be Kim, she’ll be here in a few mins. You can ask questions now if you like.
C4RL: How do I ask a question?
Moderator: just as you have done now. Just type and hit return
Moderator: Right everyone, Kim is now here.
kid_in_america: Kim, do you think any other pop stars will take up gardening and follow in your shoes?
Kim Wilde: Having been involved in the 80s revival tour I’ve been chatting to Heaven 17 TPAU, Go West and ABC and they’re all showing great promise as budding gardeners. They ask lots of questions and some have threatened to have me help them design their garden spaces.
dobbin: Kim – who would you say is the modern equivalent of Capability Brown or Gertrude Jekyll. Which gardeners will people be talking about in a hundred years or so? PS I am sure it will have nothing to do with decking…..
Kim Wilde: Certainly Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd are already legends in their own lifetime. The inspiration to all contemporary gardeners that I’m aware of, as well as myself.
Aniutka_27: My question is following: Are you not afraid of being a sex star for all your life? You are surely an intelligent woman and sexy girls are not considered as brainy or intelligent.
Kim Wilde: I’m sure Nigella Lawson wouldn’t agree with that statement as well as many other glamorous ladies who also have brains. Your statement is a crass generalisation.
DH1: Kim If you had to choose now would you be a pop star or a gardener?
Kim Wilde: At this stage in my life gardening seems to be me to be very much in my future. The Popworld I can take or leave but you can’t keep me out of the garden!
Cressida: We’re about to move into a rented house with a paved backyard, what plants would you suggest we could have in pots. We’re not gardeners so they have to be foolproof.
Kim Wilde: I’d go for a framework of tough evergreens such as fatsia or japonica or aucuba japonica. Yucca or cordyline will all survive pot culture – use a loam based compost such as John Innes No 3 slow release fertiliser… and augment with summer bedding for seasonal interest.
seadog: Is your father interested in gardening?
Kim Wilde: He’s a great lover of walking in the forest with his grandchildren and although he doesn’t know it I think he’s a gardener at heart. He enjoys my garden but seems confused by my change of direction.
spike: Kim if u always in garden when do you find time 2 do the ironing?
Kim Wilde: Generally I choose low maintenance clothes that look after themselves…a bit like the plants I choose for my garden!
DH1: Kim I love Japanese Maples but they keep dying on me what can I do?
Kim Wilde: They require a degree of shade to be really happy and they benefit from lots of organic matter incorporated into the soil. They need a sheltered position.
kid_in_america: How often should you mow a lawn at this time of year?
Kim Wilde: Once it dries out a bit more you can give the lawn it’s first mow with the blade set not too low. First rake over the lawn to get rid of any debris from the winter and airate with a fork to promote healthy grass growth as the weather warms up. A weed and feed product might be of help in a few weeks time.
DH1: Kim you said organic matter would that include manure?
Kim Wilde: It could be any well-rotted manure, garden compost and leaf mould.
kid_in_america: Do you think that yourself and the likes of Charlie Dimmock are bringing gardening to a younger audience?
Kim Wilde: I think certainly people who were young in the 80s might be inspired by us 80s chicks but things could change dramatically if Justin Timberlake started gardening!
harry123: do you still detox like in Thailand?
Kim Wilde: not to such an extreme way as I did there. I do a healthy 10 day detox which involves drinking freshly squeezed organic fruit and vegetables. I’ve done one in conjunction with Michael Stratton which is easily achievable, even with 2 kids running around, and leaves you feeling refreshed and cleansed. You automatically service your car regularly but very often take the most important engine in your life for granted – your body.
harry123: I thought I was cool the way you got into the whole thing How do I stop the urban foxes burying stuff in my lawn?
Kim Wilde: There are products to deter foxes. Choose aromatic plants eg Choisia , like cats pungent plants can sometimes put them off their tracks. Helichrysum, lavender, rosemary could all work but there are products on the market for this. Keep all refuse securely protected so as not to encourage them.
lin: are you doing any gardening programs at the moment or in the near future as i have a big garden in much need of advice.
Kim Wilde: no programmes at the moment but I’m involved in a big, permanent show garden design with Richard Holmes and together we’ve designed a garden inspired by the issues of global warming. The garden is in Lincolnshire in Spalding. It’s one of 5 permanent show gardens in a new retail and leisure park opening this spring.
Chris: how do you feel about people illegally downloading your music from the net?
Kim Wilde: The music industry has historically got a lot of flak for ripping off the public. Now the public are ripping off the music industry! 2 wrongs don’t make a right.
Moderator: Right, time for just 2 more questions, everyone!!!
bertram: how do I grow potatoes in old car tyres?
Kim Wilde: Potatoes grow well in all containers – car tyres are a great idea, stacking one on top of the other. The tubers can go in during April and be ready in a few months for summer. Plant them with some organic matter.
Moderator: And finally…
kid_in_america: How do you learn the basics of gardening?
Kim Wilde: I packed myself off to Horticultural college, Capel Manor in Enfield. Initially for short summer courses and thereafter a City and Guilds in Planting Design. However my best education has come from my own garden. As they say – you learn the best from your own mistakes. And I keep making them all the time!
harry123: wish you all the best!!!
Kim Wilde: Happy Gardening everyone!
fifi: good luck Kim!
Kim Wilde: Lovely talking to you all
Chris: we love you!!!!!111111111 make some more music
Moderator: Well she was nice
defproc: LOLOL
RoboCod: She typed very posh
Elastic_Refrigerator: how comes my questions are never asked
Moderator: Maybe she never picked it
seadog: I only got one of my questions answered!!
kaytee_cornwall24: hi Fiona
RoboCod: Ello fiona_typist
Chris: who is Fiona?
Moderator: Fiona typed for Kim