Phlox, anemone, hydrangea, amelanchier, hawthorn, nepeta, witch hazel, bay, hyssop, lovage, aster, gillenia, kolkwitzia, miscanthus, veronicastrum - a long and thirsty list of over 500 plants waiting to be planted into the new beds either side of the house. Waiting on the contractors - 5 months late starting; waiting on topsoil - a national shortage; waiting on the weather- the guys are almost finished but it’s been over 30’ all week and I can’t plant into hot dry soil; all of which is significant really only to us, or me, as Neil is stuck in Dubai broiling in 45’+ heat, and yet the project here seems to morph and shadow the world outside where we now wait to hear what we can and cannot do post “Freedom Day”, wait to see what is now not available because of national or global shortages, wait to see if the four vaccinations I have had (two in Dubai and two here in the U.K.) will make any difference whatsoever to my ability to travel to see Neil and return here without pricy incarceration in a grim hotel.
Which is not to say that excitement levels aren’t very high at the imminent completion of phase 2 of the Works…. These will be conventional rectangular beds, running either side of the long house, and present less of a challenge terrain-wise than did the steeply banked, 360’-viewed terrace beds. The west side, while bathed in sunshine, is more overlooked and less used: here will be a couple of large herb beds, edged with lavender in full sun, and nepeta (catmint) where the huge lime tree casts its shade. Towards the small patio area I plan hydrangeas and roses, campanulas and calamint - good natured stalwarts which will enjoy the shelter here, and complement climbing honeysuckle and roses framing the huge windows which punctuate the building.
On the east side, next to the main gateway and drive, there will ultimately be two very large beds. For now, for ease of management, the beds are fully dug out to 400mm (the norm is 200mm) but will be 50% laid to turf, with beds symmetrically either side of the front steps and at the boundary wall.
Time for some more traditional cottage garden style planting here - and that style lends itself to the light on this side, so a shady north-eastern corner will be filled with silvers and whites and pale pinks to brighten it, while the steps will have the scent of narcissi, roses, peonies, and phlox either side. All rather softer and gentler than the blaze of colour further south at the main terrace, and fun to be thinking and plant-painting in a different part of the colour wheel.
That blaze of colour is providing many lessons too, as the year rolls around. You learn quickly to observe and make your own judgements on your own piece of ground: it doesn’t matter how many books you read, they are (for most of us) not written in your own garden; no-one has any control of the weather, especially these days; and plants will very much do exactly what they want to do, your beautiful plans notwithstanding. My deep cerise achillea in the hot bed is starting to revert to its original form and coming through a kind of sickly blancmange pink - the lemon balm is so over the moon happy it is almost strangling the Gertrude Jekyll roses - the verbena hastata which is supposed to hover around 1.5m in height is en route to 2m and obscuring its neighbours - three spiraea shrubs planted in identical conditions at the same time have apparently conspired to kill off one of their trio. Death aside, most times a little tweak or a move resolves the issue, and sometimes you can revel in a happy mistake, such as the tiny plants delivered to me last year as borage seedlings which turned out to be extravagantly expansive cardoons, now towering over the potting shed bed and Neil’s demi lune beds. I will have to move a crab apple tree and a hydrangea to make room for one of the giants near the potting shed, but who cares - they make me smile every time I look at them.
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