Kim Wilde – from popstar to gardening expert

After the hectic years in the Eighties with monsterhits ‘Kids in America’ and ‘You Keep me Hangin ‘on’ Kim Wilde’s life has slowed down considerably. Heels have been replaced with wellies, for now Kim enjoys it best when she is clearing weeds in her large garden in Hertfordshire outside London.

The interest in gardening has grown so large that she not only won awards at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show, but also gave tips on the subject in a lot of TV programs and books.
But a month ago Kim picked up her stage clothes again and went out on the European tour.
When the tour arrived at the ferry Viking Line I book a cruise to talked to Kim somewhere between Stockholm and Åland.
I know nothing about gardens, so I take with me the gardener Jonas Ramström, which will help me to find out why Kim Wilde is so crazy to get dirt under fingernails.
Kim received us in a large suite on the ship Cinderella and speaks lovingly about his earthy interest. On the table is a vase with a single orange Gerbera.

Hi Kim! You dreamed of becoming gardeners before you became a pop star?
No, I always wanted to become a pop star. But I grew up in the country and was inspired when I saw my mother grow vegetables.

What is your favorite plant?
Trees. My garden has a great field and I wondered a long time what you do with that. So I started planting trees and hedges, to the benefit of animal and plant life. I have many birch trees and it all starts to become a woodland.
Now I have been gone a whole month, and when I left home there was not a single leaf on them. It mostly happens after all this time of year, so it should be fun to come home to my garden again. Me and my husband take care of it alone, but when I’m on tour a friend helps out.

The climate in England are a bit warmer than here. Do you grow your own exotic fruits?
No, but apples, plums and raspberries. I like raspberries, mmm ..

Do you have the same problem as us in Sweden with murdering snails and deer as the chaps eat up everything?
Fortunately, we do not have it yet but hares come and eat our apples, so we have had to put up chicken wire. Our dogs protect us, too.

What is the best thing you can do in a garden?
Ensure that the garden has many places to sit in for different occasions. You have to enjoy his garden. The most difficult thing is to fail to work, because you always see something that needs to be done.
I love to clear the weeds and dig in the soil. Our house is located on old agricultural land that has been cultivated since the Bronze Age and the Roman Empire. You find many interesting small finds. I usually collect all the tiny shards and stones around a tree. When you find a small stone with a hole in it may one wonder if a person made it or if it just turned out that way.

You can certainly sell the finds and earn a lot of cash!
Haha… No, I don’t believe that. But I usually show it to my kids. It makes them appreciate the beauty of nature and what surrounds us.

From the “Kids in America” to the kids in the garden then!
Yes, exactly!