Remembrance

We say much with flowers.  Throughout history, all over the world, we have celebrated life or remembered special moments by leaving, giving or planting flowers.

My Mother passed away recently at the grand old age of 94.  She showed little real interest in gardens as such but had the uncanny ability of being able to take cuttings and grow seeds.  She had the gift that whatever she sowed grew wonderfully well. 

Her garden was also full of Bluebells and I have dug up many to replant in my own garden.  They are something that I will always remember her by for she passed away when her Bluebells were breaking into a profusion of flower.   

There is something very symbolic about plants that reach deep into our soul.  That make us use them to remember and bring back memories of those we love or have lost.  My Bluebells will always remind me of my Mother.  

Natural havens

I would like to see more native wild plants introduced to the garden here at Ordnance House and have been talking to Plantlife.  They are an organisation that describes itself as speaking up for our wild flowers, plants and fungi.  Their aim is to raise the profile of these wonderful native assets, celebrate their beauty and protect their future.  The patron of Plantlife is HRH The Prince of Wales.

As a small boy, I grew up in a small North Hampshire village surrounded by meadows, lush hedgerows, gentle meandering chalk streams and crystal clear watercress beds.  Those times moulded the way of see the world and what I feel passionately about today.  Those long ago days are the reason I garden.

But as the population of this small island grows and neighbourhoods expand and encroach into the countryside, as road networks swell to cope with the increase in traffic, the need to preserve, protect and manage the delicate eco systems of our natural habitats becomes hugely important.  But each of us who are lucky enough to have our own gardens can help too.  So, Vanessa and I plan to begin a process of introducing more wild plants into the garden.

Having met with Dr. Trevor Dines of Plantlife, who visited us in early February, it seems that we are already growing 31 different native species with 54 separate varieties in our garden.  This means that 16% of our plants are of native origin.  The list includes Yarrow, Sneezewort, Columbine, Quaking-grass, Clustered Bellflower, Foxgloves, Bloody Crane's-bill, Lyme Grass, Great Burnet, Meadow Clary and Scabiosa.

As with all new projects, it will take time to expand and increase the number and variety of native species.  We do not expect results overnight.  But it will be an interesting project and a new venture worth exploring.  Every little helps I feel, especially when it comes to supporting the native flora and fauna of this beautiful land. A land which we often take for granted and abuse all to often.

Emergence

We have arrived at the end of February and the bonds and shackles of Winter have loosened.  Each day is lengthening as we move away from a long period of wind and rain.  But the garden has survived remarkably intact and undamaged.

There is a soft mildness on the cheek now on sunnier days and the feel is now that Spring is slowly taking its fresh and gentle grip.  Things are emerging.

Signs of growth are everywhere in the garden.  Buds are swelling and leaves appearing.  When we come to look back on the pictures of this time later in the year it will look cold and stark.  But for us right here and now, these small signs of growth are small treasures.

All gardeners have plans and schemes at this time of year.  They are the gardeners' new year resolution 8 weeks late.  Ours will be to add more native wild flowers and create specific habitats.  Become even more productive in the veg patch and grow a wider variety.  Sow, cultivate and grow-on more from seeds.  Improve the lawns and grass areas. 

It is nice to plan and look ahead to Spring and Summer and how they each unwrap themselves.  Hugely anticipated presents indeed.

Welcome back Jack

A decent frost this Winter has been as rare as hens' teeth!  From last November well into this January we have had wind and rain sweep, almost daily, across the garden.  So the recent cold snap with below zero temperatures has been a change for the better.  Welcome back Jack Frost!

The garden needs the scouring effect of frost to rid it of mould and blight.  But on a clear, glistening morning the garden does look lovely and bejewelled.  The monochromatic feel of the garden on such mornings is hugely atmospheric and creates a beautiful composition.

We have been busy dividing and moving plants to ensure that the beds and borders do not become crowded with more dominant plants.  The Achilleas are just such an example and Achillea 'Mondpagode' and Achillea 'Cerise Queen' both appear to have spread and become congested in some areas of the main herbaceous bed.  But this is good news for we can divide and create new plants at no cost, replanting them in parts of the garden that can accommodate these lovely plants.  That's what I call a good return on an investment.

Adding value

I always tend to be drawn to plants, shrubs and trees that add value. Plants that flower longer, have extended seasonal interest and which come and come again.  At this dreary, dull, dank and gloomy time of year there is no better example of adding value than a Viburnum.  We grow Viburnum Tinus around the garden as a backdrop to beds and borders, but we also grow it as standards.  These lolly pops, dotted around the garden, are now bedecked with abundant clusters of deep pink buds opening to small starry white flowers.  They are lovely and penetrate the dark days of winter.

My favourite is 'Eve Price' whose flowers are followed by perfectly formed small dark blue berries.  But the great value is that Viburnum Tinus looks good all year round as the leathery dark green leaves create a perfect hedge or standard which in turn provide punctuation marks and eye catchers around the garden throughout the year. 

We have grown them in our old garden on heavy clay and north facing and now here at Ordnance House, chalky and sharp draining with a south facing aspect.  They are terrific value and completely adaptable. 

I have also been using the flowers to add interest to our Christmas wreaths as their delicacy sparkles alongside the berries of holly and other evergreens.  There you go, the perfect gift for Christmas.  A plant that is long lived, does well on all soils and all conditions.  That's what I call adding value.  Go buy one as a gift for someone this Christmas or why not treat yourself?
  

Every cloud

They say that every cloud has a silver lining.  Well, it is hard to imagine that the leaden grey skies and sullen clouds of the past weeks have any kind of silver lining.  It has been dank, dark, wet and windy and getting out into the garden of late has been difficult.  But if there is a bright side then our sharp draining soil has helped provide small windows of opportunity to be able to enjoy the garden and work in it.  When these windows open, we are able to cut back and clear the beds and borders allowing in light and air flow which provides good ventilation.

All the hedges have now been cut and shaped and look sharp and neat.  There is a feeling of order and good housekeeping.  All the bulbs are in the ground or potted up.  Everything is put to bed to sleep ready to awake again in Spring. But even with such slumber I can see the buds appearing and the shoots showing.  Sure signs of a new year with the promise that brings. 

Amazingly out Nepeta (Walker's Low) still looks lovely, forming the edge of our central path that disects the garden.  The ornamental pears (Chanticleer) still look great with their green leaves clinging on and extending the season.  They seem almost evergreen and are amongst my favourite trees.

But my tonic for these dark short days are gerdening magazines and books supplemented by the moving feast of colour from gardening programmes on television.  These vibrant jewels on dark Winter evenings are a real treasue for me.  They are the injection of horticulture that helps me survive the long Winter.

Time travel

The clocks have fallen back, the leaves are beginning to fall.  The nights are longer and the time we have to work in the garden has become short. 

We are busy planting bulbs - Tulip, Narcissus, Crocus, Anemone.  But at this time of year you really do have to visualise what these small bulbs will look like when in flower next spring.  We plant them in drifts weaving their way through beds, borders and established plants.  Not everything has died back or been cut to the ground so a picture is possible to develop in your mind.  But there is a feeling of transportation from now into next Spring when planting bulbs.

But the garden has certainly shifted.  The rain blasts the leaves, the wind strips them away.  Such is the change of seasons.  However, the garden still has colour and on a sunny day a most pleasant place to potter and enjoy.  That is the great thing about gardening.  It takes you outside when instincts seem to want you to stay indoors.