Light and momentary troubles

-
Dear Monty,

The recent rumblings in the social media networks about GW are probably justified in that it is the only mainstream gardening programme available to those people that still watch a television.

Technology is moving faster than I care to these days, so I still enjoy the slower pace of such programmes on t.v. Even if occasionally it sends me to sleep.

'Real' gardeners don't watch GW I am reliably informed, so that confirms my suspicion that I am only a gardener in my fantasy life.

Here are a few pictures of my garden that I do not garden, taken yesterday in high winds with our ugly house in the background.









There is a lot wrong with it, too much grass/weeds now that it has lost the overarching branches of the Pine. It needs reshaping and reforming, this is all part of the enjoyment for me, like making a painting...




I am beginning to feel better, my mind no longer in a negative spin, the emotions balanced.

Paul.

Comments

  1. Charles Hawes3 November 2013 at 16:25

    Hmm. So why do you think the "rumblings" might be justified?Monty might like to know your views.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paul Steer3 November 2013 at 19:36

      I think it needs more visits to other gardens of different flavour and style, we do seem to have a lot of Longmeadow and Glebe Cottage. It is also true that these days you can pick up gardening tips from a multitude sources

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pity the cabbage white

-
Image
Dear Monty, Having seen you protect your newly planted cabbages from cabbage white butterflies - it made me realise that I haven't seen many this year. Despite warmth yesterday - a brief interlude with blue sky and a light wind there was a dearth of butterflies in the coal tip garden. There were honey bees, bumble bees, wasps, hover flies, a gangly legged wasp, one hedge brown, one speckled wood and a common blue - that is all. Oh and a frog sheltering in the shady hosta and a silent peregrine falcon swooping overhead. What has happened to all the insects ? What has happened to all the aphids this year ? Is it just me that is missing them ? I have seen no ladybirds or ladybird larvae - because there have been so few aphids - was it the birds that have snaffled them ? I worry about the lack of insect numbers. We walked through a wild meadow full of meadow cranesbill and meadowsweet with the purple haze of knapweed in the grasses and yet there were one or two meadow br...
Read more

Letter to Monty Don 48

-
Image
Dear Monty, I know that despite these rambles being addressed to you, they never reach your eyes or heart, but this question is most certainly directed to you : Can nature be ugly ? I am pondering this question sitting in my cupboard of a 'studio' where I am putting the finishing touches to paintings of  British native orchids, pollinators and butterflies for an exhibition next weekend. Now I believe that you understand perfectly well the response you may get when you make statements on GW - including the one about spent buddleja flowers being 'ugly'. I too have always deadheaded my buddleja for the same reason, and as you said to promote new flower spikes. But this ugliness is an intrinsic part of nature - it sets seed to create the next generation, the flowers last but for a few days. Is this ugliness a kind of acknowledgement of the frailty of 'beauty' .... and the cutting off and tidying away a kind of denial ? ( Perhaps I think too much.) I ...
Read more

Monty, where does the road take us ?

-
Image
Monty, I see you have returned to France. Your film reminded me of my visits to Paris as an art student between 1981-83. It is a city that cannot fail to make an impression with its wide open streets, avenues of trees, the river and public gardens. I particularly remember Versailles with its long canal. At that time I was not aware of having a particular interest in gardens, but the gardens at Versailles were astonishing. I saw them in early morning light, when there were not that many people there. I also remember being intrigued by the garden at the Musee Rodin. Strangely for an art student, it was not the sculpture that caught my attention but the garden with pyramid shaped topiary. Perhaps what I was responding to was the sense of order, balance and harmony. It almost feels as though I was meant to visit, and that the encounters I had which were sensually intense, were pre-ordained. There is one incident, which has great significance only to me perhaps, but which was of ...
Read more