Sunil There’s been quite a gap since the last time I wrote and for good reason too. See, while the title says “a good sit down” and indicates that I’ve had one in the time I haven’t been writing, the reality is anything but. The other reason for the title is that I do happen to have a rather nice picture of the outdoor set we have, that I would like to sit down on, after removing the contribution by the birds:
The reason for the longer-than-usual period of absence is that there is a great change and upheaval coming for us, for the house and for the garden. It kicked off a few weeks ago and has been the focus of my attention. This blog has been unfortunately neglected in the mean time.
You see, now the garden is no longer for me and my enjoyment, it is now an advert, there purely for appeal. Borders have been weeded, grass cut short and edges trimmed. The patio is swept, the pots tidied away, seed trays have been cleared. There has been no collecting of seed, no sowing of new trays, no cuttings, no autumn bulb plantings or pots set up for next spring. Everything is kept as pristine as possible. It is no longer a “working” garden.
If all goes to plan, the sun will be setting on my time in this garden. My days working, caring, tending and enjoying it are numbered. It seems appropriate that as the last of the summer slips into autumn and the garden begins to drift off to sleep, so I might tuck it into bed and say good night to it for the very last time.
26 comments
Where are you moving to? Will there be a new garden for you and your family? I hope you don’t stop gardening or blogging!
Yes, you could say that I got my wish for a bigger garden! It’s not huge (some would say it is), but it will keep me occupied for a long time. Don’t worry, only my own funeral would stop me gardening and you can bet that I’ll be blogging about it (the new garden, that is – not my funeral)!
I have all the same questions as Tammy. This post sounds so sad! I’m hoping that, ultimately, this will be a good thing.
Hello Emily, it’s one of the best examples of taking the good with the bad. On one had I’m having to leave my first garden that I nurtured from a blank canvas over the course of four years (or is it five?) and on the other hand, I’m given the opportunity to take a new large blank canvas and create a beautiful garden from it. The current garden can fit into the new one many times over!
You’re moving! Bigger garden I hope?!!
Hello Mrs Mac, yes, it definitely will be. While I maintain that size doesn’t matter, in this case, it definitely does!
I hope the change is for the better. Will you not take cuttings? Wishing you well.
Hello, yes the new garden I have my eye on is currently a large plot (for me) and a blank canvas, with a great aspect! I’m trying to stop all the plans from whirling around in my head! We’ll be taking some plants with us, but I’ll also be relying on seeds and cuttings from friendly gardens for stock.
Just one thing. Once gone, never go back! Keep that lovely little garden in your head, and in your pics. Someone else will do something else, so it will never be the garden you left behind. Good luck with the new one. I am still planting and planning 10 years later, but love doing it, and even changing the things that seemed fine the first year! No pics of mine this year, as that spell of really hot weather did for nearly everything (not dead, but bloomed and over in the 4 week heatwave!), and I have mostly green left! Except for my lovely yellow clematis, which so far has never let me down.
Hi Mrs. Mac, I definitely agree with you on this point – best to look forward to the new and not risk being disappointed. This blog is a record of the garden over the last few years and I’ll look over the archives when my memories fade. I hope I fare better with clematis in the next garden because as you know, I’m not very good with them!
Sunil, I am excited and sad for you at the same time. As you know I had to leave my beautiful cottage garden in Maryland and because of the timing, didn’t get to take any favorite plants with me. But starting over can be a good thing. We learn from our mistakes and are free to go in new directions. But Susan’s advice is good – don’t go back. I’ve had the opportunity to see my Maryland garden again but declined. I want to remember it at its prettiest. Keep us posted.
Hi Lynn, I agree with you, I will keep the memories of the garden as I remember it and I have this blog to help. The new garden will definitely be a start over and I’m hoping that the experience and knowledge I gained from working in this first garden with make the process of creating the next one much smoother and cheaper!
Just a thought. Other gardens are always fun, and in blogland I found this one in Norway! http://miaslandliv.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-max=2013-08-08T18:19:00%2B02:00
Hi Mrs. Mac, thanks for the link, I’ll definitely take a look!
Sunil, you are young and you will look on your first garden as an early triumph. Now you will take all that you have learned and start a new canvas. I am on my fourth garden, but it was my 3rd garden that I poured my heart and soul into, and that was so very, very hard to leave, so I understand the bittersweet feelings your family may experience. The other readers recommend that you don’t go back, but I visited my garden in my dreams! (Most often I was back in the peony border digging up tubers). I still go to Google map and visit that garden, and I see my boxwood circles and the apple trees – it can be a happy thing too.
Hello Jayne, it is bittersweet. I’m looking forward to have a much bigger space to garden in – especially as it’s a blank canvas, but in order for that to happen, this garden has to be left behind. I’m excited about the big plans I can make for the big space. There’s room to accommodate a much greater selection of plants that I like and hopefully, it will be a very long time before I have to start cramming things in due to a lack of space. I’m trying not to dwell too much on how the new owners may or many not take care of what I have created in the time I have ben here.
Good luck on your move. I look forward to seeing your new garden.
Hi, thanks, I do too. while I have an idea of where it’s going to be but nothing’s certain until the day we pack up where we are at the moment and move on out to gardens new.
Hi Sunil
We are on the same adventure. What’s wrong with everyone, we need a clue as to where you are going. Only joking, (well a little bit) Enjoy your new garden and keep us up to date.
Hi Alistair, we’re relocating even further south to a milder and wetter climate (well, almost everywhere else in the UK is wetter than where we are). The range of plants we can grow should be similar to what I can manage at the moment, but there should be less manual watering involved and the winter winds won’t be as harsh as they are in East Anglia.
Sunil, looks like I’ve found your blog at the completely wrong time. Popped over from Alistair’s blog. I wish you well in your move and will have to subscribe to watch your progress in the new garden. Good Luck!!
Hello Angie, I am taking a bit of a break from blog writing at the moment as the relocation stuff takes priority, but don’t let that stop you from musing through the available archives. I hope you have fun reading around my mis-adventures in this garden.
I wish you well Sunil and hope to catch up with you when we are settled in our new place.
Hello Alistair, likewise too. As you started first, I’ll follow up behind you and I’ll catch up with you when we’ve settled in our new place.
Sunil, best wishes to you as you move. I hope all goes smoothly — or as smoothly as is reasonable to expect, at any rate! I look forward to seeing your new visions take shape.
Hi Stacy, we’re still in the early stages, but things are moving in the right direction. I’ve not been writing much at the moment and aback-log is building. I’m sure I will have lots to report after the dust has settled and as I get started in a new garden.