– With this shrub your home will smell like Wimbledon
The lawn is the star of the tennis paradise, but the flowers create the lovely atmosphere. What lies behind it all and what hobby gardeners can learn.
Published: 04.07.2024, 20:14
The splendor of flowers greets you everywhere: colorful hydrangeas in the All England Club.
Photo: Alessandro della Valle (Keystone)
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At five in the morning, tennis fans are still in bed, dreaming of strawberries with whipped cream, picnics on Henman Hill and serve-volleys. The All England Club is already a hive of activity. Head gardener Martyn Falconer and his 21-strong crew tend to and water the flowers on the huge grounds and plant new ones where they have been crushed or holes have appeared. “Sometimes you wonder if someone has taken a few flowers,” says Falconer. Despite the warning signs. “But most people treat them with great respect.”
Just so there are no misunderstandings: the 44-year-old is responsible for the flowers, not the grass pitches. “It’s a completely different team,” Falconer explains. “Sometimes we raise them: you are only responsible for one plant, but we are responsible for thousands.”
You could put it this way: the grass courts are the stars of Wimbledon, but the flowers provide the flair. Pots of plants in the colors of Wimbledon hang everywhere: purple, white and green. Sometimes yellow is added as a variation. The colorful hydrangeas add even more color. And the ivy that covers the center court is wine red or green, depending on the sunlight and the time of year.
He has been the head gardener at Wimbledon since 2014: Martyn Falconer is turning the club into a garden paradise.
Foto: Alamy Stock Photo
The English love their gardens. “We were already bringing plants from all over the world to Britain in the Victorian era,” says Falconer, who completed a part-time master’s degree in horticulture in 2017. “It’s a cultural thing. Everyone has a garden here, and everyone is a little expert in the field. We have a lot of good people in the UK who cultivate horticulture and increase expertise.”
The Wimbledon grounds are planted all year round, after all, tours are held here and the members, who pay a lot of money, want to move around in a well-kept environment. But the flowers only bloom as profusely as they do now during the championships. The first deliveries of flowers arrive a good six weeks before the start of the tournament, and a total of over 28,000 plants are ordered each year especially for the tennis tournament. “In addition, there are 9,000 or 10,000 petunias for the hanging flower baskets,” Falconer calculates.
A crew of 21 gardeners cares for the flowers on the site.
Foto: Julian Finney (Getty Images)
Many plants are imported from the Netherlands, and the Dutch dominate the market for hydrangeas. The flowers are loaded onto ships in Rotterdam. The head gardener is not willing or allowed to say how much it all costs. He simply says: “Wimbledon is worth it.”
After the Championships, employees can buy the flowers, and the proceeds go to the Wimbledon Foundation, which supports other foundations. The remaining flowers are given away to retirement homes, schools or community gardens. “We have almost no waste,” says Falconer.
For the father of two daughters, this is the 24th edition of Wimbledon, the tenth as head gardener. For a long time, an external company was responsible for the floral decorations, but in 2014 the tournament took over the planting and Falconer took the lead. Although his name would have made him more suited to being a falconer. Rufus the falcon drives away the pigeons at Wimbledon and even has his own Instagram channel. “Falconer instead of gardener?” Falconer smiles wryly at the joke. He has probably heard it a few times before.
Everything has to be right here: Roger Federer celebrates his 2017 title on the flower-decorated balcony.
Photo: Peter Klaunzer (Keystone)
In any case, he is proud that he and his crew have received more and more praise for their work in recent years. The flowers have never been as visible as they are now. The tradition was somewhat neglected at Wimbledon for years. When Falconer took over as the new boss, he reminded the management that the motto of Wimbledon is: tennis in an English garden. He was given a larger budget and more say, and attention was also paid to how the newly constructed courts could be decorated with flowers.
His favorite place at the All England Club is the terrace of the clubhouse, where the champions celebrate with their trophies: Ivy clings to the wall of the house, the balcony is covered in flowers. “It’s especially important that everything is just right,” says Falconer. “Because these photos go around the world.”
The most popular with guests are the flowerpot-covered arbors between Centre Court and Court 1, where you can relax on benches and enjoy a sparkling sip from a plastic champagne glass. If you want to stimulate your sense of smell, you can find what you’re looking for nearby at the pergola planted with Chinese star jasmine. If you stand under the pergola when it’s raining, you can smell the jasmine even more intensely. You’re practically sprayed with the sweet scent.
Smelling it can be addictive: a pergola with the sweet Chinese star jasmine.
Foto: Luke Count
The shrub is very popular in the Wimbledon area and can be found on the walls of many houses. However, star jasmine should only be smelled and not touched (or washed afterward) because it is poisonous. Therefore, it is not recommended to plant it in homes with children or pets.
And what other tips can Falconer, the gardener with a master’s degree, give? He himself cultivates a bonsai tree at home and says: “I can highly recommend hydrangeas. Ivy is not recommended because it grows so quickly and is a lot of work.” Does he talk to the flowers, which is supposed to help? Falconer smiles. “Communication is important. But I limit myself to my team.”
More about Wimbledon
Simon Graf is deputy head of the sports department and has been reporting on ice hockey and tennis since 1994. He studied history and German at the University of Zurich and has written several sports books. His latest is “Inspiration Federer”.More information@SimonGraf1
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2024-07-04 18:14:08
#Wimbledon #Martyn #Falconer #tennis #paradise
