Gardener's thoughts - quality time with plants

71 days of meteorological summer

I’ve been continuing to read ‘The Well Gardened Mind’ by Sue Stuart-Smith and have been reflecting upon some points she raised.

“Nature pays no heed to our social structures: flowers bloom and fruits and vegetables grow regardless of an individuals status or class”.

I like the idea that nature isn’t judgemental. It’s a good friend, we spend our entire working week together. I discussed this idea with a friend who also works as gardener (a very good one at that, i’ll share a link to his website soon), concluding that he spends more time with the plants and trees in his gardens, then he does with his friends and family.

Each week, I work in the same gardens for two to four hours - generally every week or fortnight at the same time. Do the plants expect me? Do they wait thirsty and ready for watering, holding on until I arrive at midday? Does the robin wait on the fence for grubs?

Clematis viticella ‘I Am Lady J’

I am known for personifying plants, ‘Ms Rose’, ‘Mr Penstemon’, ‘Mrs Persicaria’, rather embarrassingly, I don’t filter this in front of my clients. They seem to enjoy this and refer to plants in the same way, telling me ‘Mr Acer’ needs a little TLC or ‘Ms Nepeta’ isn’t getting enough light.

I personify nature as it’s very much alive to me and each plant has a personality.

Personifying nature is important in creating respect. Nature is all around us, forming the air we breathe, the beautiful dawn song which sinks into our sleep, the cut flowers we bring into our home, even the naughty spider which creeps into our kitchen corners. Yet, there are those who treat nature with disregard, as though a thorn in one’s side.

I have been considering the relationship people have with nature, prompted by this book. Most people will have had cut flowers in their home, bringing a small part of nature inside to enjoy. Smith writes “Flowers are the simplest way to change the atmosphere in a room.”

I have considered flowers, especially gifting bouquets. They are romantic, respectful, mournful, congratulatory, thankful and thoughtful. Flowers grow from the earth, they never just appeared in the ground. It took years of evolution, a sheer determination to survive on this planet, taking on a variety of styles, shapes and colours.

Retuning back to Smith’s book, the second thoughtful point:

“The American garden writer, Robert Dash put his finger on it when he wrote that the root of gardening’s power ‘is that of reciprocal behaviour. We tend it in exchange for the gift of it.’ This type of relationship is important because it fosters a sense of respect for the other. We can feel we have earned our rewards and experience gratitude for the fruits of the earth. It is very different from a relationship based on exploitation which fosters a sense of entitlement, giving rise to the idea that we can take what we like from the earth.”

This idea really made me consider why I enjoy gardening so much. I prune the roses and lovingly tie them in, feed them with manure and granular feed and deadhead through the season.

In turn, the roses flower loyally through the summer. Of course, it is the ‘reciprocal’ relationship which I enjoy - tending the earth and the earth returning the favour with flowers, foliage and edible produce. There is certainly something to this ‘give what you get’ relationship.

Not much to report in the gardens this week, plenty of feeding with a hope to keep the plants flowering until late September.

I’ve been considering design for a variety of my clients. Now that most of the herbaceous plants have flowered, I’m able to see a few gaps in clients gardens. I will fill those gaps in Spring however, am taking a mental note of the type of plants I’d like to add and what I will move and divide during the dormant season.

Allotment

My true passion is gardening, rather than vegetable growing. I had turned a blind eye to my usual container display, believing this time wasted during my partner and I’s allotment visits.

However, this week I was gifted a few plants which re-ignited the fire for my container display. I began potting in my new plants and became pleasantly lost in the task. I dead headed, sweep the area and artfully positioned my rusted watering can on top of an old tree stump.

The containers feature heucherella, Japanese anemones, roses, arbutilon (i propagated this myself), hardy geraniums, astrantia, coleus and a repurposed tray of alpines. I don’t yet have a photograph to share as the plants were settling in, however once they have cheered up, I will include one in a newsletter.

My partner and I took a walk around the plot to see what my neighbours are up to. It was wonderful and extremely inspiring.

Allotments are charmingly DIY, full of repurposed items, plants sprout of unlikely places. They say a lot about the plot holders personality, some are meticulously mowed and plants tied in. Some are clearly cared for however appearance is less important. I’ve included a variety of some sights which warmed my heart for you to enjoy too.

This week we’ve been harvesting the last of the potatoes, lettuce, nasturtiums, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, a few pears and more raspberries. Last night, we ate a salad featuring mostly allotment produce and it was so rich in flavour. We both chewed with our eyes closed, savouring each bite. The flavour of the mustard leaf - tangy and spicy and the spinach leaf - crunchy and slightly bitter. The cucumber crunched between our teeth in such a satisfying way, what a luxury.

I have a very kind allotment neighbour who gifted us some produce too - beetroot, lettuce, purslane (an unusual type of salad crop) mini cucumbers and a variety of curious tomatoes. We came home with baskets of produce from the allotment that evening!

My pears and my neighbour's squash

Flower display

These flowers are all home grown at my allotment, in containers or in the ground. Including my much loved astrantia, japanese anemone, and two different types of roses. I have a neighbour which used to give away a lot of plants, putting them on the bench outside my house. I believe she bought them in flower and once they had finished, put them on the bench to fall into my happy hands.