Tuesday 29 June 2021

Garden gate.


There are very few things that lift my spirit more than a beautiful English garden.

I think many Englishmen/women have an inbuilt understanding of gardens; I'm sure other nationalities do too, but not in the same way. We seem to have some Jekyll-Juice running through our veins.


Other than in lofty circles, the French seem to have little understanding of garden design. The most common 'design' being an open area, equidistantly dotted with an endless variety of different exotic conifers. It's a strange concept that seems to have been adopted almost throughout France.

Of course the best gardens are 'old' ones; age has a wonderful effect on them. I don't think I've ever seen a modern garden that comes close. What could compare to an ancient brick walled garden; unfortunately very few of us have the pleasure of owning such delights. All we can do is to design our own gardens in such a way that they will age well, and hopefully mature into something like the above.


I remember well, when I was planning to build our 'tower', a local wisenheimer woman (who's own grounds were extremely tedious) telling me that we'd ruin the garden. In fact it's made all the difference, and has become one of its more important features, and (dare I say it) is actually much admired. Give it another 100 years, and it'll look great. 

Our current garden is the first I've designed and built from scratch, so I sincerely hope it matures nicely.

We'll see; or at least someone else will!


14 comments:

  1. Most of us have constraints of one sort or another that has a significant effect on the garden design. My constraints are diverse: a desire not to eliminate the fabulous view of the sea and the Mainland mountains and the other is the wind which can be both exceptionally strong and bitterly cold.

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    1. I imagine the wind prohibits the growth of certain trees. I remember someone at college moving to one of the Scottish islands, then returning down South to visit the Forestry Commission to see if they could advise about tree planting. They weren't much help.

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  2. We were fortunate that when we moved into our last house thirty years ago the gardens were well established and just developed with a little nudge here and there.
    I am not sure what we shall have in our next home, especially as I doubt we will be around for another thirty years to develop a thing of beauty!

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    1. Inheriting an established garden is ideal. Here we had neither a house, nor a garden; just a tiny ruin and a field. It's not the world's best garden (I know nothing of flowers), but it's pleasant enough.

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  3. Kind of you to create a garden that will be at its best after you have gone. Our English style gardens aren't bad but are somewhat restricted by the occasional killer hot days. At least our winter is cold enough here for English garden plants to flourish.

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  4. More, but people here want strappy leaved gardens in their own homes now, not English style gardens.

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    1. There is no reason why any Aussie would want an English style garden; much as no Englishman would want an Aussie style garden.

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  5. You are right about age adding beauty to gardens - season by season, decade by decade.

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    1. A NZ friend of mine once said that it was very easy to achieve that perfect English lawn. You find a flat area, sow it with grass seed, then mow for 200 years.

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  6. I agree Cro - doesn't happen overnight - you can plant, learn by a mistake and move the mistake, maybe (but not in your lifetime) someone in the future will say -'a perfect garden' - I'm trying but not there yet by a long chalk.

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    1. I'm a classic 'learn by mistakes' person. I plant, pull up, plant again, etc. A garden is never finished.

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  7. I love your tower with the climbing plants. Makes a very pleasing picture.
    Fortunately our front garden already had roses, geraniums and lemon trees. I just encourage as much greenery as possible.
    Flower gardens are not a thing here. But pots of basil and geraniums and trailing bougainvillias in mid summer are delightful

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    1. I love 'jungley' greenery; the more the better. It's a matter of keeping it under control. There are some nice flowers to come against the tower; mostly Hibiscus.

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  8. We moved here this year, and the previous owner was into low maintenance gardening. Some shrubby type plantings, pots of Sage and a couple of roses in pots. In come I, and it's all change as I love old fashioned roses, clematis, and am a cottage gardener. It's a work in progress but is panning out nicely.

    Your tower and plantings look lovely. Soft coloured brick is a good background for a garden.

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