Hello my fellow garden lovers, how are you? My garden is about as ready as it’s ever going to be for the open garden this Sunday. Last evening I sat in the main garden running through the list with Mr C, it’s always satisfying to see a list checked, although I do keep adding to it, but I’m happy with the state of the garden. It’s not as prolific as it usually is- but then neither am I after this summer. It’s a bit crispy and not blooming as much- ditto, but it’s still beautiful in its sun beaten state.
As I sit and ponder the sparse raised beds and compare them to last year, a couple of things occur to me: One- that was last year and comparison can rob us of joy as things change, they simply cannot stay the same. And two- It’s time to walk away from the plans I’d once made, it’s time to embrace what we have now. This is the same in my garden and in my personal life and it’s no surprise that the realisation often hits at this point of the year, it’s the half way point, it’s also when I celebrate my birthday- I find my mind naturally starts the process of reassessing and coming up with ideas for change. One has to be able to accept change and adapt.
Life and the seasons are erratic. Seasons behave as they please, unpredictable and reminding us they are a force not to be reckoned with. And how much of our life do we really get to be in control of? It’s time to let some things go.
It’s been dawning on me for the past six months that I need to change how I garden, not just because of the harsh seasons but due to my lack of time since opening our bricks and mortar store, I simply don’t have enough hours in the day to spend on my garden. There is only one thing I refuse to comprise on and I will do whatever it takes to keep it in my life, if precious time is to be taken up in my garden- then it’s all for the rose. Give me a garden full of roses and I will be at peace. The rose brings me so much joy, the anticipation of them flowering each year, getting to smell each one in turn and watch it bloom through all it’s stages of life. And breathe.
So I’m changing a lot of what I love to grow, no longer will I invest in things that require too much water or attention, however, the rose will always remain- I’ve had to rethink how I grow them and where. My soil is very free draining which is lucky as the bottom of the garden can flood from the river, but in a heat wave it’s just a disaster for my roses. I have four new ones in the romantic border and they haven’t had a single bloom on them since planting them as bare roots earlier this year, despite being planted with lots of fertiliser and a good mulch of manure. I will leave them this year and see how they perform next season. All others I have moved to pots where I can lavish my attention on them. The rose shown above is my latest- St Ethelburga by Peter Beales Roses. It has a strong Turkish delight scent and the petals have a delightful translucency to them. It’s planted in a zinc tub and placed by the garden bench where I have my morning coffee. I hate watering the garden, like absolutely hate it! But the roses in pots, well I will do anything for them, it’s a love story you see, they are my soulmate of the garden.
So, the main garden will be quite different next year, I’m keeping my roses for the gravel garden up by the cottage and I’ve decided to plant more dahlias down in the main garden. Dahlias are hungry plants and so long as they are fed well, I’ve discovered they will tolerate not being watered. In hot dry conditions a dahlia will wilt, taking all the water from its leaves to its roots/tubers, it will look sorry for itself but come evening or the next morning with the cool of the night they perk right up again. In my experience one can get away with not watering dahlias for at least two or three days in a heatwave, making them my choice for filling a couple of the raised beds in the cutting garden, as I said in my last post, I’m no longer growing annuals. In another bed I’m going to create a herb garden and the rest I will turn over to veggies.
New little dahlia called fantasy nestled in with a new salvia called good hope, don’t they compliment each other beautifully. I like to group pots together and these two are placed by the rose St Ethelburga, they’re a happy little family. Grouping them together also makes watering easier. I use a mix of pots, some zinc, others old terracotta as I like the different textures working in harmony.
After the open garden this Sunday, I will let nature take its course, I will no longer water the beds- whatever is lost will be replaced with the survivors or something more resilient.
And my attention will turn to my roses. Next year I will build a rose garden- all in pots up in the gravel garden by the cottage where I can lavish my attention on them. When I’m head over heels in love- nothing is too much trouble. Every evening I inspect my roses, the obsession started when I was around four years old and was passed on from my grandmother. I’ve always been enraptured by roses, I guess that’s why they feature so heavily in my pottery and photography.
Well I’d best get on, I’m in the shop today but I’ll be spending tomorrow baking cakes, then when I write next, it will all be over, I’ll let you know how it went. If you’re local to Campton in Bedfordshire then why not pop over Sunday afternoon, I’ve put the link below, just search for Campton open gardens.
Emma
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