Soil & Toil

 

 

When you take on your first garden there are some hard and fast rules but there’s nothing to stop you breaking all the rules and being an experimental maverick.  Anything goes really as all in all gardening’s a bit of an unknown quantity. 

There are a new young and funky generation of garden designers now coming through at the big shows, all trying to make their mark and put their stamp on designing. 

Gone are the beardy weirdies to make way for these new wave fashion forward kids all trying to be cleverly esoteric, knock off a few corners and blur the lines of the established hierarchy while going for GOLD in the arenas of horticultural. 

 
But are we really seeing anything new, or just niche? 

 

Isn't it all a bit passé and pastiche? 

 

With the pros all competing to be top banana leaf, the messages and inspirational representations all get a bit convoluted in the over-styling; especially for those who are happy with old school and just want to look at some pretty flower combinations. 

 

 

 

Do we want fast paced fashion forward design at home?  After all, you wouldn’t plant up your new garden and invite the neighbours in and explain to them:  

 

This is the water feature which signifies the flow between nature and spirituality, the alliums clasp the universe and the fig tree is mystic symbolism of creation, divinity and the symbiotic representation of the emergence of humanity transcending its ephemeral journey. 

 

Trust me, they’ll be after you with a net before you can say pergola. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But, it all goes to prove that everyone has different ideas so no need to ask “can I do this – or can I do that?”.  Yes you can – just do it.  You could end up with some costly mistakes but that can happen even if you read all the books and heed all the advice, so take a chance. 

 

For any Morse or Midsomer Murders fans you can approach it like all a bit like a murder mystery?? 

Will my tomatoes get struck down by Blight? 

Will I ever get my Wisteria into bloom? 

Will the slugs obliterate my Delphiniums?  

As every day’s a new day in the garden, you’ll just have to wait and see. 

We have two dwarf sunflowers this year planted next to each other in identical pots, in identical compost.  One is the first sunflower in the garden to bloom, the other has completely shrivelled away – what’s that all about?? 

BONKERS



Anyway, how ever the mop flops you’ll have unexpected successes and plenty of disappointments, so just enjoy yourself.

 

We had a mystery of our own a couple of weeks ago.  Every morning bucket loads of earth and compost were being scattered all across the path. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quick sweep to restore order.  Next day it’s all strewn everywhere again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It turned out to be a certain Mr/s Blackbird who were scratching around in the newly dug beds.  At first I thought they were foraging for nesting materials from the compost detritus, until it became obvious they were after the worms residing close to the surface of the freshly turned earth.  Which is fine, excepting of course if you’re a worm(!!!!!)  Not sure how much damage they were causing by also disturbing, at best, thieving, at worst, all the seeds newly sown in there a couple of weeks earlier. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doubt if the Springwatch Team’d agree though.  They’d likely have an O.B. Unit, 2 producers and a thermal imaging camera all over it. 

 

Me.  I’d even the score with another: two and twenty blackbirds, some hot water crust pastry and a nice drop of #gravy.  TWEET that my little bird brained, fine feathered friends.   

 

So enjoy your garden.  If I were ever asked for the best gardening advice (which believe me is unlikely).  I’d reply, Don’t procrastinate.  One thing I’ve learned is that if the weather is on your side, get outside and get your jobs done.  Before I found it a pleasure to be dithering about outside and instead it was a chore; I used to put off going out and tackling the weeding, clearing and tidying and instead fiddle about inside time wasting.  But if you want to complete a task and the weather is on your side then get out and get it done, because in this climate you have no guarantees that once it starts raining it won’t rain for 40 days (and 40 nights).  So get your tubs planted up, the herb garden weeded or your climbers tied in while the going’s good and then once it’s raining at least you can look out with satisfaction on a job well done and of course a bit of rain’s always welcome, because at least it saves us having to do any watering.  Another job done.