Japanese-style, white garden

As a child, whenever it rained I asked to go outside and sit in a garden-chair under the apple-tree with my umbrella up, keeping me dry. I would stick out my hand from underneath its protection and let the raindrops splash onto my bare skin. My nostrils would flare, breathing in the wonderful earthy smell exuding all around from the garden's pores. The negative ions would calm me. I was melancholic and wistfully romantic from a precocious age!

Gardening itself I hated. I was in my thirties before I was converted. In fact I did not involve myself with or take any interest until after I became disabled. At first it was tending pots of herbs, but my collection grew. Now I find being in the garden, even if I cannot actually garden, thoroughly soothing. If I am able to do a wee bit of pottering or potting, I additionally feel a deep sense of achievement and satisfaction.

When my partner-as-was and I first started searching for somewhere to live together, one of the items on my list was a white garden. Don't get me wrong, I love coloured blooms. But I have always had a yen for foliage, going back to my days under the apple-tree: trees and shrubs do it for me. My desire was for a garden where the colours were provided by the differently hued leaves of various plants and that white would be the thread sewing these colours together.

 

Whilst the builders of our brand-new construction were less than helpful in providing adaptations to the property, even though we put a deposit down before a brick was laid, they did create a sort of ramp to the back door. What they did was create a sloped garden down to the garden-gate. However as the latter was diagonally opposite the back door, they in effect created an unconventionally sloped lawn space.

After eighteen months my very thoughtful ex decided we were going to have a garden that could accommodate my disabilities, with raised plant-beds and a ramp with a hand-rail. I sketched some ideas and a couple of plans which our chosen landscape-designer filled with plants and made concrete my dream.

Six-and-a-half years later, and the odd change of planting and the garden has matured to such an extent that there is now shade where shade was planned. And with some plants as anti-weed protection, for example woodruff in the shady area, and bark chippings elsewhere, I rarely have to do any weeding. Nonetheless, plants will compete with each other for the light, so I do need to tidy and prune from time to time. Initially this used to upset me as I do not like committing violent acts; but a long-time friend advised me to look at it as if giving the plants a hair-cut or manicure.

Unfortunately, I am often bed-bound and can at most just view the garden from my bedroom-window. Today, however, the sun came out in the late afternoon and the air warmed. I hobbled outside for an hour bringing order and filling up the garden-waste recycling-bin. And then I took some snap-shots.

For more images, see the following links:

The garden in June 2013.

The garden in May 2013.

The garden in April 2013.

The garden in October 2012.

The garden in late Summer 2012.

The garden in June 2012.

The garden in April 2012.

The garden in March 2012.

The garden in early Spring 2012.

The garden in November 2011.

The garden in June 2011.

RHS Tatton Show 2013

Last week was the North West of England's largest flower show. I had a fabulously enjoyable day in the company of old friends: it really was well worth the ensuing pain! The image above is of a mound of agapanthus which dominated the entrance to the main Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) marquee.

I have a few allergies and am uncertain whether agapanthus cause one of them. However, there were loads of ideas for garden planting. This year eryngiums were ubiquitous.

The stunning blue colour of the variety in the upper image, and taking into account having travelled several times through Los Picos (in northern Spain), would stimulate fond memories if planted in my garden. In the lower photograph is one of the eryngiums also known as sea-holly. These are silver-white, just perfect for my 'white' garden. Also handy as a barrier to potential trespassers given all those barbs! Oh splendid whiteness!

I should like a water-feature without attaching such to the water-supply and so had been looking at miniature ponds. In the first photo is a lovely example from Waterside Nursery (Leicestershire). The simplicity of the granite bowl would blend unobtrusively in my Japanese garden. Another example in the second picture from D'Arcy & Everest (Cambridgeshire) surrounded by miniature Alpine planting (their speciality) would also blend in if a different coloured stone were available. 

As ever at these events there were plenty of experimental displays. Here a wall of re-used wine-bottles - shimmering, tactile, æsthetic - proved to be a magnet as old & young were drawn to it, many with smiles on their faces. Me too! %)

The highlight of the whole event for myself was catching up in the flesh (as opposed to via social media) with 'old' friend Jacqui, hubby Dickie and Mum Sue. Jacqui is perhaps more widely and better known as The Hungry Gardener, a designer and builder of edible gardens. Her entry to the show this year was situated in the RHS Fruit & Vegetable Pavilion, the only set garden that was. It was entitled "The Garden-Party". Jacqui deservedly earned a silver medal (although personally I believe it merited a gold!). Note the cress-upholstered chairs and Sue's edible flower display! Fantastic! I just wish I had had the sense to purchase a lemon verbena, as I have been unable to source elsewhere for the past two years and mine perished in the deep winter a couple of years back. Maybe next year!

[Image description: chums seated on the grass during our first collapse.]

Now to the whingeing. It was nigh impossible to find any seating or even somewhere to eat/drink as the facilities just could not cope with the sheer numbers of visitors. For disabled folk like myself, this proved problematic. Eventually I had to just plonk myself on the grass. Thankfully I had a strong, burly guy to pull me back up. Given that the main audience for the show were shall we say the more mature end of the market, I believe the failure to provide adequate seating at least remiss and likely discriminatory. Interestingly, most of the garden designers had also failed to take account of disabled folks' needs. Heigh-ho!