For several weeks this summer I was weeding and dead heading in a garden in its first year of growth. It was planted in May 2010 and bedded in well and then faced 3 feet of snow in early December here in Edinburgh and a long very cold winter. Only two shrubs, an Azalea and a Deutzia did not make it. (I am not sure why – neither would be first on my list to turn up their toes) but nature can surprise you. I have really enjoyed watching the growth and flowering in the garden at very close quarters and evaluating different growth rates, some bulking up very quickly in their first year, eg Stachys byzantina and hardy geraniums, whilst others are taking their time, eg Veronicastrum virginicum Album – tall white flowering plumes.
I read a garden column in the ‘Eastern Daily Press’ the other day by Alan Gray, one of the owners of East Ruston Old Vicarage – a wonderful garden to visit who wrote “…The art of gardening is an ever-changing panoply of colour, shape, form, architectuality and a certain je ne sais quoi that sets a good gardener apart from an ordinary one.” Watching this garden unfold week by week and waiting for the ‘je ne sais quoi’ is really worth it. Anticipation in garden terms can never be under rated.
For details of the East Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens see www.e-ruston-oldvicaragegardens.co.uk
