Dick Sellars, gardener

1920 - 2010

One of the most experienced gardeners in Bourne was Dick Sellars who turned his own plot alongside his cottage home into a secluded haven of flowers and plants which was frequently visited by others wishing to improve their own skills.

Derrick Sellars, always known as Dick, saw military service with the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War of 1939-45 and after demobilisation in 1946, he worked as a market gardener running Westwood Nurseries in West Street, becoming a familiar figure as a stallholder on the weekly markets in Oakham and Bourne where he sold his fruit and vegetables with his wife Margery. On retiring in 1984, he moved to Read's Cottage at Number 32, Main Street, Dyke, where his work began in transforming the surrounding derelict land into a traditional English cottage garden.

This idyllic picture was his inspiration and after fifteen years of hard work, he turned it into a showpiece admired by thousands. The building was originally a pair of cottages built around 1850 and soon they were transformed into a comfortable home surrounded by this astonishing garden. It was no more than 100 ft by 50 ft but was full of shaded walks, shrubs, trees and flowers, and a surprise around every turn.

When he started work on the neglected plot he dug down eighteen inches to turn the land and then used stone to make his features although he left the concrete paths which would have been too much trouble to take out. He therefore decorated these paths with various building materials to make them look attractive and then brought in hundreds of containers of all shapes and sizes which enabled him ring the changes by moving individual plants from place to place to suit his mood and their needs. "Container growing is an art", he said. "You have got to understand every plant but the beauty is that you can rearrange the garden whenever you like."

Such was the acclaim the garden received that Dick began opening it to the public to share his pleasure and his expertise, an idea that proved to be so popular that it became an annual event, sometimes two and three times a year.

During his life, he maintained a keen interest in conservation, becoming an active member of Bourne Civic Society when it was formed in 1977 and was one of the organisers of the 1981 Heritage Exhibition at the Red Hall, providing many of the exhibits including a display of his magnificent collection of lead soldiers. He was also a founder member of the Bourne Outdoor Pool Preservation Trust, maintaining the gardens about the pool for many years, a member of the South Lincolnshire Garden Society and vice-president of the Bourne Garden Club whose entries became an annual event at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show from 1988 onwards, winning 13 silver and bronze medals.

He as also an active sportsman and swimmer, also playing golf at Stoke Rochford Golf Club where he was captain in 1970-71 and was also an honorary member of the Sleaford club. Other pursuits in which he excelled were watercolour painting, calligraphy and woodworking as well as writing a regular gardening column for The Local newspaper. Dick also made headlines during the summer of 1992 by spending several days cleaning out the Bourne Eau along South Street during a period of drought when the dry spell exposed the mud and turned the waterway into an eyesore for which he, and his willing helper, Cyril Clay, were given the annual Rose Bowl Award by the Rotary Club of Bourne.

But most of his life was spent in his own garden and with the help of his wife continued with his open days when visitors paid £1 each for the privilege of looking round and perhaps picking up a few tips and buying the odd plant while the proceeds went to one of their favourite charities. Anyone who has ever turned a sod or clipped a hedge will know that gardening is hard work, even though it may be a labour of love. But with Dick Sellars, this garden became his hobby, his obsession, perhaps his master, but his creation was a beautiful one and a testament to the unique character of cottage gardens that lives on in England today.

Dick became less active in his final years and the open days came to an end. He died at home on 14th August 2010, aged 90, and after a funeral service at the Abbey Church, he was buried in the town cemetery. The garden remained a feature of Read's Cottage for a time but eventually his widow, Margery, found the work too much and moved to smaller accommodation in Exeter Gardens, Bourne, where she died in August 2013, aged 83. The cottage has since been sold and the garden that Dick Sellars created has largely disappeared.
 

See also     Dyke Village     The 1981 Heritage Exhibition