Wimbledon head gardener Martyn Falconer is the only man at the All England Club who welcomes a drop of rain.
While wet weather wreaks havoc with the tournament schedule, he is not disappointed with the occasional cloudburst to keep his spectacular flower displays in perfect condition.
Falconer oversees the delivery of 27 000 plants for the Championships in leafy southwest London to add to thousands already in place in the immaculate grounds.
Hydrangeas and petunias in blues, purples and whites tumble over the sides of hanging baskets and window boxes, filling herbaceous borders and floral installations.
Roses are scattered throughout the grounds and Boston ivy creeps over the outside walls of Centre Court to create the picture-perfect Grand Slam event.
Falconer, who has worked at the All England Club for 25 years, spending 11 years in his current role, says Wimbledon’s ethos is “tennis in an English garden”.
He manages a team of 10 permanent gardeners and two apprentices, which expands by around 10 in the lead-up to the tournament, which this year starts on June 30.
Falconer’s team was this week applying the final tweaks as the club prepares to throw open its doors to thousands of tennis fans from Monday.
“We’re making sure it looks lovely and presentable for everyone,” he said.
“It’s never-ending. And then from the Monday, once the public are in, we kind of take a little bit of a breath.
“But then every morning it’s watering and maintaining and deadheading and just making sure everything looks good for everyone coming on each day.”
The horticulture team keeps a stock of spare plants in reserve to replenish those that are damaged by the crowds that swarm the All England Club.
“We’ve got a nice selection of bits and pieces just in case of an accident,” said Falconer.
“We do get a lot of bums sat on the planters. Where there’s somewhere to park a bum, they will.
“We’ve got what we call a Wimbledon twist, so we can get a couple of days out of a hydrangea or a few plants. And then when it gets to the point of no more twisting, we’ll do a little swap around.”
Falconer’s aim is to have the grounds looking as pristine on the final day of the Championships as they do on day one.
‘There’s nothing like it’
Tradition plays a big role in the planting colour schemes but there is some room for innovation.
“Obviously we’ve got our greens and purples and whites, which are very Wimbledon,” he said.
“For us it’s more actually about the feel of being in an English garden. So that gives us a greater palette to work with, nothing too garish – we won’t go super bright oranges everywhere. But it allows us to bring in all those pastel colours, pinks, yellows.”
Wimbledon’s planting plans are months in the making.
“We can’t get them in too late because they grow too much,” said Falconer.
“So we need to do most of that growing here. So the nursery will pot them on, get them started, and then they come to us.”
The team is continuously assessing the performances of specific plant varieties but plans are carefully calibrated to make sure the grounds are always saturated with colour.
“We have enough variation that there’s always something doing something,” said Falconer.
“And hopefully most of it’s doing what we want it to do at the right time.”
Wimbledon’s head gardener said one of the challenges is adapting to a changing climate.
There have been weeks of warm, dry weather in the build-up to this year’s tournament.
“It’s challenging,” said Falconer.
“I’m the only one walking around looking for a little bit of rain I think at Wimbledon.”
He and his team might breathe a sigh of relief when the last fan leaves after the two-week tournament, but managing the 42-acre site at the All England Club is a year-round task.
“It’s a big site, so there’s a lot to do,” he said.
“Pruning, hedge-cutting, mulching, making sure it’s good and ready for the springtime.”
Despite the pressure, Falconer still gets a buzz from his work even after so many years.
“There’s nothing like it,” he said.
“You work to get it delivered and that first day when the public walk through the gate there’s a sigh of relief that it’s done but then you almost start again.”
Where does Wimbledon rank among your favourite sporting events of the year?
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By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
