Two gardens

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Dear reader, 
I am a fan of imperfection.

Paving at the entrance to The Veddw


I had the privilege of visiting The Veddw a couple of weeks ago. I love this garden created by Anne Wareham and Charles Hawes, it is unique, unlike any other garden that I have visited in the UK.















The garden is full of reflection - reflection on the history of the land, reflection in the form of hedges mirroring the shape of the hills, and reflection of the sky and trees in the reflecting pool. This year there is the addition of reflecting balls on pillars in the meadow, a brave replacement for diseased trees. I think they work well and fit in with the ethos of the garden. What fascinated me is that you get to see yourself in the space.

The garden works in an architectural way. The plants are integral to the architecture. There are a lot of 'invasive' plants, which to my mind unify the spaces. It is not perfect - in the sense that there are 'weeds' and no neat edges, but this is what makes it so soulful, real. The only garden where I feel there is some similarity of feel is Plas Brodanw - the reason I say this is, that garden is also architectural, it has a real presence, if a bit faded.

Here in my small garden, I too have imperfection, weeds, and collapsing structures. The struggle for me is to try and resolve a small space in an interesting way. We have been here since 2001 and it is only in the last couple of years that the garden has begun to feel grounded. It is a space that gives me time for reflection.














Woodland seat - in the coal tip tradition

There is still some way to go. The Coal Tip Garden opens with the NGS on 1st and 2nd of June in conjunction with Rhos Y Bedw.




Paul

Comments

  1. Diana Studer26 May 2019 at 23:20

    I wish you kind weather and happy traffic for your open days.

    ReplyDelete

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