Letters to garden makers

Dear Monty, I'm not sure that what I write makes any sense at all, I know I confuse Charles Hawes charleshawes@veddw.com , and I am in awe of those who write well. But life and our actions and reactions to its ebb and flow are sometimes difficult to make sense of, so I suppose this is a way of working things out. What follows is a record of responses over three days from last week to the environment both wild and gardened and having space to listen to what was being said. 17/5/14  Birdsong, streams and the movement of sea air through the trees - the only sounds to greet the senses this morning. I'm on a journey up to the top of the mountain, I need to go there, I have no plans or specific thoughts, I'm on the way to commune with angels. An adder basks on a sunny bank along the path, and cuckoo calls drift in echoes from either side of the mountain, and I'm softly buffeted by the wings of fritillaries. Oh Carn Ingli ! From up here in the still of the m...

Dear Monty, There has been a great discussion on  thinkingardens.co.uk  as a result of an interview with John Sales by Anne Wareham on the subject of design. It is worth having a look at. I was heartened that even though I'm an amateur garden maker like yourself Monty, that we too can be capable of bringing forth a design out of the ground with the aid of nature and an eye and a respect for our place within this paradise. I admit to my ignorance and pretension to grandeur, but like so many of us I just love the grounding and the joy and frustration that this 'slow ballet' or 'slow sculpture' of growing, pruning and cutting, 'success' and 'failure' affords. Instant gardens do not really exist, they are just brief fleeting moments of perfection. For what it's worth here is a quick tour of my embarrassing garden on this cold wet day in May. (all photos taken on Sony Xperia) If you don't like pink look away now The euphorbia...

Dear Monty, This feels like a one way conversation now you are twitterless. There is something about getting older that brings to the fore a sense of the past, the future remains open to possibilities as yet unknown. I have respect for my roots in the ancient past, but also have an appreciation of the contemporary. The craft of making has to a large extent left the artists hand and is instead given to others to make - doubtless talented and skilled. This has always happened, masters had their pupils. But there is an integrity to a vision being made visible directly by the artists hand and eye. A painting for Tristan I am new to gardens - but it is becoming clearer to me what I like or prefer to see in a garden and it involves a sense of structure, the art and craft of garden making. There are a mix of elements which please my eye in my still immature garden. Old newel posts in oak as finials on my raspberry supports, the uprights of which mimic the verticals of the tele...