Inheritance part II

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children

Anon

A tangible legacy left to me by my father was a few books on gardening. They provide a reference for the way in which instructional books, books on gardening in particular, were written and understood over the last ninety years.

Knowing George's love of gardening, his family gave him books that reflected his interests. The Wild Garden by Lys de Bray (1978) and beautifully illustrated by the author talks about gardening in Dorset, not far from where he lived in later life. The classic book by Beth Chatto, Garden Notebook (1988), outlines her personal thoughts about gardening in Essex, very close to where George farmed and gardened. The Garden Visitor's Companion by Louisa Jones (2009) reflects his hobby of visiting open gardens well into old age.

The books that give me more pleasure, however, are ones George read in the middle of the last century when he was learning his craft.

Garden Foes (below)

From his father, he inherited The Complete Amateur Gardener by H H Thomas (1924) 'Assisted by experts in Special Subjects With Coloured Frontispiece, 96 Full-page Illustrations from Photographs and Numerous Diagrams in the Text'. The text is written in a no-nonsense, declamatory style that leaves no room for doubt as to how deep to sow beans or which are the 'best' roses. Between some of the pages, there is a very yellowed newspaper article on 'The Greenhouse Cinerarias'. A slim volume of 14 pages published by the Ministry of agriculture and Fisheries in 1930, Some Beneficial Insects, has two most exquisitely painted illustrations, a surprisingly aesthetic touch for a Government pamphlet. Garden Foes by T W Sanders FLS (no date) has a few pages of adverts at the back. You could buy XL Pumps (the best lift and force pumps for the garden) that would pump 280 galls per hour, for £3 4s & 6d.

My favourite 'publication' is a cardboard contraption that is a kind of gardener's ready-reckoner. Two discs twist against each other, the outer showing the names of thirty four vegetables, the inner has windows which give the growing conditions (quality of soil, sowing distance and season, when to harvest etc) appropriate for the vegetable chosen. 

The back reads 'shewing fertilisers suitable for helping growth'. George was an organic farmer, so I am rather puzzled as to why he had a tool describing fertiliser distribution; perhaps he only used the front side of the disc.

Is there anyone out there who knows about this publication? The front of the disc says: In Your Garden, gardening at a glance, recommended by Mr C H Middleton, British Patent No 347324.

Inheritance

Here's a few flowers, but 'bout midnight, more;

The herbs that have on them cold dew o' the night

Are strewings fittest for graves.

You were as flowers, now wither'd; even so

These herblets shall, which we upon you strew.

The ground that gave them first has them again;

Their pleasures here are past, so is their pain. 

From Cymbeline by Shakespeare

Where do we get our inspirations from, our love of the things we are passionate about? From many places, of course, but I think I can trace my love of landscape and gardening directly to my father. He has recently died (at the age of 91), and this gives me a focus for my thoughts about him.

George, as he was known, was an organic farmer, who set up a small farm in the immediate post-war years. Among his crops was the peony Sarah Bernhardt and I remember long hours spent in the barn preparing them for transport to Covent Garden. They flower in June/July, and a big spray adorned his coffin.

Between the farm and the house where my sister Hilary and I grew up, there was a large garden with many beautiful and unusual trees and shrubs, a domestic orchard and a vegetable patch. How the Parrotia persica or the Escallonia looked this year compared with last, what to do about the ants in the lawn, wondering at the way a visiting flock of redwings and fieldfares could strip the remaining fruit from the pear tree - could all be the subject of household conversation.

Along with the farm produce, such as eggs, apples, pears and sweetcorn, the harvest from the vegetable patch was vital to provide food for our table. Hilary and I would be sent off to pick whatever was in season. Much of the summer produce like peas, carrots and soft fruit got eaten well before we got back to the house. We complained bitterly when we were asked to dig root vegetables in the winter. I haven't lost that feeling of pleasure associated with growing, followed immediately by eating, that comes from raising your own food, and I shall be sure to reserve some veg patches in my gardens

 

Visiting Open Gardens - part II

Cerne Abbas Open Gardens Weekend

If we make our goal to live a life of compassion and unconditional love,
then the world will indeed become a garden
where all kinds of flowers can bloom and grow.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

 
On the third weekend in June, many of our village's rich selection of gardens are open to the public. This has become a popular event in the calendar and attracts lots of visitors from around and about.

As newcomers to the village, Piers and I looked forward to the Open Gardens weekend with anticipation. A concentrated four hours took us round every one of the twenty seven, and each was a delight in its own way. The most amazing thing was the variety. The largest is probably half an acre, the smallest is pocket-handkerchief sized. Some have the River Cerne, (quite a small stream, in fact), flowing through, some have views of the surrounding hills, some partner the village vernacular and ecclesiastical architecture. Some are especially wildlife-friendly and one tiny garden gives onto a paddock where a three-week-old Shetland pony foal lives with a few older ponies.

Styles vary from the almost wild to the immaculately tamed, from those that have grown with their owners and previous owners, to those which are professionally designed, with artfully placed designer shrubs and scented plants in all the right places. Two gardens particularly appealed to me - a small patch of riverside wild-flower meadow and a cottage garden that seems to have been there for ever; but every garden had something to say.















All the gardeners are there to welcome the visitor and are keen to enthuse and answer questions. As one garden owner said: 'considering there are only about eight hundred people in the village, there's a high density of serious gardeners here'. Another said: 'opening the garden seems to come with the territory'. Every gardener has a passion for gardening and wants the fruits of their efforts to be offered to a wide public.

Visiting Open Gardens

Kind hearts are the gardens,

Kind thoughts are the roots,

Kind words are the blossoms,

Kind deeds are the fruits.
19th-century rhyme used in primary schools

 
A few weekends ago we visited Butts Cottage, Plush, one of the local gardens open for the National Garden Scheme. It is peaceful place, surrounded by mature trees, includes a stream and is set in the folded chalk hills of West Dorset. Could there be a better way to spend a dreamy couple of hours than in a beautiful garden where someone else has done all the hard work of bringing it to a peak of perfection?
















As we wander between the lush plantings, I wonder what leads a garden-lover to open their garden to the public? First, a generosity of spirit and a braveness to have one's handiwork scrutinized and criticized.  If one possesses an object of desire, should one not put it to some good use for others who don't have it?  Apart from giving pleasure to many people, the revenue raised by opening these gardens goes to worthwhile charities. But there must also be a great deal of pressure to present the very best.

 














The eaves-dropped remarks of fellow visitors are interesting. Most seem to be gardeners themselves and may be looking for inspiration for their own gardens. Some like to identify plants they haven't come across (the owner usually is very knowledgeable and has the RHS Gardeners' Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers by Christopher Brickell on hand). Some visitors say how much better they have seen a particular plant growing elsewhere!  Some head straight for the plant stall; I gravitate there as well, and brought back Polygonum bistorta (a type of knotweed) and kale plants this time. I prefer to buy plants locally grown in conditions I understand.

Given a change for the better in the weather, this promises to be a good summer for garden visiting.