Really enjoying reading your Why do we garden.... husband and I bought a small home with a very sloping and wild garden (ex vineyard) in Northern Italy some years ago. We're managing and gardening it whenever we can get back there. We have so many ideas for it ... evolving and changing which is probably a good thing!
Hi Sue, thanks so much for connecting. I'm delighted you enjoyed reading my piece. I was interested to hear about your garden in Italy. It's always a challenge trying to care for a garden when we are not there all the time isn't it? We had a garden in France many years ago and each time we arrived, I had to try to tame it back into some semblance of order, knowing I would be leaving it again soon and that it would re-wild itself! Hope you continue to enjoy my writing
Ah thank you so much for your feedback and comment! Thats so interesting that you had a similar experience in France! Yes my husband and I totally appreciate how exhausting it can be when you visit a holiday place or similar to try to maintain. Each time we left our place in Italy we thought we'd pruned enough to slow the growth yet...! We managed to tame a bit but the hours and physical exertion- the best workout ever! :)
Have to add whilst we lived & worked in Asia till last December, CL was my monthly 'bible' and I devoured all the gardening pages- was distraught if it ever sold out one month! Have a lovely weekend.
Hi Susy, Country Living is no longer the same publication without you as Editor. Your taste and design vision is extraordinary and I miss it. I’ve saved every one of your issues and frequently look back for inspiration. Your influence Is evident in every room of my New York City apartment and Long Island beach cottage. Thank you for your memorable contribution to British design. www.marakurtzstudio.com
Oh my goodness, how very kind of you! That makes me happy and sad in equal measure. Happy that you loved it so much and sad that you feel it isn't what it used to be. It's hard for me to be objective about it - I'm far too close to comment. What I can say is that making magazines is so much more challenging these days with fewer staff, smaller budgets and limited resources. I loved my 24 years on Country Living - it was my dream job and I always knew it would be very hard to step away from it when the time came. I feel very honoured that you obviously derived so much pleasure from the magazine over the years. Thanks for keeping the copies. I had several fabulous teams of talented people during my tenure, some of them with me for 19 or 20 years, and each and every one of them contributed their own particular talents to make up the end product that you clearly enjoyed so much. I'm assuming you've read part one of my pieces about working in magazines? I will be writing about Country Living in a future piece. Thank so much for connecting Mara and I hope you continue to enjoy my writing both here and in Country Living.
You've brought back so many happy memories Suzy! The Sunday morning ritual of picking the mint, trying to get to sleep on summer evenings when you could hear the sounds from the garden, and picking raspberries to go on the breakfast cereal ... but I don't miss picking the black currants and spending what seemed like hours picking the currants off the stems with forks!
Isn't it funny how similar our experiences are? I guess it was very much of the time when the post war generation were used to "Digging for Victory" and growing their own produce.
It really is isn't it! I remember half our suburban garden was grass for playing games and putting up a tent made from an old curtain and the other half was for fruit and vegetables. I still love gardening and the joy and peace it offers - but I wonder if our children will inherit that same love?
Oh gosh yes, I too remember making tents. We used the wooden clothes drying rack and old sheets! Also, camping overnight in the garden in a thin two-person tent when we were a bit older (although still only about nine or ten) and we used to go walkabout in the middle of the night in our pyjamas, scrumping for apples and plums! I think gardening will continue to be a salve for people of all ages and generations as the world becomes an even more crazy place
My gardening experiences started very badly with our first garden that was full of clay soil - in my ignorance the plants and seeds I planted came to nothing (!), although I had pots and pots of summer colour which were the envy of everyone who saw them. The next garden was much better, but with two children most of it was lawn, although I planted some wonderful borders full of perennials that I was rather proud of. More pots of colour too. Next I completely replanted a cottage garden and having inherited a wonderful cedar greenhouse, I experimented with growing vegetables and flowers from seed. This was amazingly therapeutic in a year when I was not only very unwell, but my wonderful father died very badly. That greenhouse saved me…and there were many pots of colour too. Moving on, we moved again last year and probably inherited the most challenging garden yet - no flower beds and astroturf! Today it’s covered in proper grass and I’ve been planting like crazy to get flowerbeds full of colour. It’s going to take time, I’m sure lots will get moved around and many changes will be made, but I can’t wait to see how it turns out. And of course there will be pots full of summer colour too.
Thanks so much for sharing your gardening experiences, Anne, How wonderful to say "That greenhouse saved me...." As we know, gardening gets many people in that way: planting and growing things offers great therapy and repair in times of difficulty, indeed the charity Thrive is based on horticulture to help people's mental health. You're brave to keep moving on and making new gardens. Good luck with it all!
Wow that resonates entirely with me; for I grew up in a suburban plot - relatively small at the back and wider at the front from its corner position of a 1930s house which my parents bought for £2000 and which we sold last month for £400000. Mum was schooled by her grandmother with her own plot at 4 in the walled garden of Newport House Topsham. She was a gardener from birth and grew all things herbaceous.including primroses which naturalised to remind her of Devon in Bristol . My father dabbled in webs lettuces and bemoaned the slugs ( he was not ever a gardener but tried for mummy’s sake. My first garden was right at the point and I grew sunflowers and marigolds. Our first cottage was approved my Mummy for its overgrown garden and its potential- a heart over head moment for us all.There, with her encouragement, I experimented and transformed it- she would come to Plymouth when she could armed with ferns and divided perennials- some of which I still have. With help from her money we purchased Diptford Green a year after she died- she’d been helping us look but sadly didn’t see this house. Here over 24 years I have again transformed a garden and now have a thriving vegetable garden as well as all things herbaceous. Granny’s sister ( my great aunt) came her once and I have her sedum and Michaelmas daisies even now. Gardening is in the genes and an inherited treasure of remembrance x
How lovely to hear your gardening story Ruth: it does indeed sound very similar to mine. A shame your mother never got to see the house she helped you buy, but it must feel good knowing that she probably would have approved. Your mention of plants that hold memories for you is so key - I have several plants that people have given me and I think of them every time I pass their shrub/plant in the garden. My experience is that gardeners just love to pass on their learnings, and their plants to one another. It's so satisfying when one is dividing plants, to be able to pot the extras up and give them to others.
Really enjoying reading your Why do we garden.... husband and I bought a small home with a very sloping and wild garden (ex vineyard) in Northern Italy some years ago. We're managing and gardening it whenever we can get back there. We have so many ideas for it ... evolving and changing which is probably a good thing!
Hi Sue, thanks so much for connecting. I'm delighted you enjoyed reading my piece. I was interested to hear about your garden in Italy. It's always a challenge trying to care for a garden when we are not there all the time isn't it? We had a garden in France many years ago and each time we arrived, I had to try to tame it back into some semblance of order, knowing I would be leaving it again soon and that it would re-wild itself! Hope you continue to enjoy my writing
Ah thank you so much for your feedback and comment! Thats so interesting that you had a similar experience in France! Yes my husband and I totally appreciate how exhausting it can be when you visit a holiday place or similar to try to maintain. Each time we left our place in Italy we thought we'd pruned enough to slow the growth yet...! We managed to tame a bit but the hours and physical exertion- the best workout ever! :)
Have to add whilst we lived & worked in Asia till last December, CL was my monthly 'bible' and I devoured all the gardening pages- was distraught if it ever sold out one month! Have a lovely weekend.
Hi Susy, Country Living is no longer the same publication without you as Editor. Your taste and design vision is extraordinary and I miss it. I’ve saved every one of your issues and frequently look back for inspiration. Your influence Is evident in every room of my New York City apartment and Long Island beach cottage. Thank you for your memorable contribution to British design. www.marakurtzstudio.com
Oh my goodness, how very kind of you! That makes me happy and sad in equal measure. Happy that you loved it so much and sad that you feel it isn't what it used to be. It's hard for me to be objective about it - I'm far too close to comment. What I can say is that making magazines is so much more challenging these days with fewer staff, smaller budgets and limited resources. I loved my 24 years on Country Living - it was my dream job and I always knew it would be very hard to step away from it when the time came. I feel very honoured that you obviously derived so much pleasure from the magazine over the years. Thanks for keeping the copies. I had several fabulous teams of talented people during my tenure, some of them with me for 19 or 20 years, and each and every one of them contributed their own particular talents to make up the end product that you clearly enjoyed so much. I'm assuming you've read part one of my pieces about working in magazines? I will be writing about Country Living in a future piece. Thank so much for connecting Mara and I hope you continue to enjoy my writing both here and in Country Living.
You've brought back so many happy memories Suzy! The Sunday morning ritual of picking the mint, trying to get to sleep on summer evenings when you could hear the sounds from the garden, and picking raspberries to go on the breakfast cereal ... but I don't miss picking the black currants and spending what seemed like hours picking the currants off the stems with forks!
Delighted I provoked happy memories for you!
Isn't it funny how similar our experiences are? I guess it was very much of the time when the post war generation were used to "Digging for Victory" and growing their own produce.
It really is isn't it! I remember half our suburban garden was grass for playing games and putting up a tent made from an old curtain and the other half was for fruit and vegetables. I still love gardening and the joy and peace it offers - but I wonder if our children will inherit that same love?
Oh gosh yes, I too remember making tents. We used the wooden clothes drying rack and old sheets! Also, camping overnight in the garden in a thin two-person tent when we were a bit older (although still only about nine or ten) and we used to go walkabout in the middle of the night in our pyjamas, scrumping for apples and plums! I think gardening will continue to be a salve for people of all ages and generations as the world becomes an even more crazy place
My gardening experiences started very badly with our first garden that was full of clay soil - in my ignorance the plants and seeds I planted came to nothing (!), although I had pots and pots of summer colour which were the envy of everyone who saw them. The next garden was much better, but with two children most of it was lawn, although I planted some wonderful borders full of perennials that I was rather proud of. More pots of colour too. Next I completely replanted a cottage garden and having inherited a wonderful cedar greenhouse, I experimented with growing vegetables and flowers from seed. This was amazingly therapeutic in a year when I was not only very unwell, but my wonderful father died very badly. That greenhouse saved me…and there were many pots of colour too. Moving on, we moved again last year and probably inherited the most challenging garden yet - no flower beds and astroturf! Today it’s covered in proper grass and I’ve been planting like crazy to get flowerbeds full of colour. It’s going to take time, I’m sure lots will get moved around and many changes will be made, but I can’t wait to see how it turns out. And of course there will be pots full of summer colour too.
Thanks so much for sharing your gardening experiences, Anne, How wonderful to say "That greenhouse saved me...." As we know, gardening gets many people in that way: planting and growing things offers great therapy and repair in times of difficulty, indeed the charity Thrive is based on horticulture to help people's mental health. You're brave to keep moving on and making new gardens. Good luck with it all!
Oh I loved this because it was so similar to my childhood experiences,thank you.
Great to hear that Chris - thank you. I'm so glad it struck a chord with you.
Wow that resonates entirely with me; for I grew up in a suburban plot - relatively small at the back and wider at the front from its corner position of a 1930s house which my parents bought for £2000 and which we sold last month for £400000. Mum was schooled by her grandmother with her own plot at 4 in the walled garden of Newport House Topsham. She was a gardener from birth and grew all things herbaceous.including primroses which naturalised to remind her of Devon in Bristol . My father dabbled in webs lettuces and bemoaned the slugs ( he was not ever a gardener but tried for mummy’s sake. My first garden was right at the point and I grew sunflowers and marigolds. Our first cottage was approved my Mummy for its overgrown garden and its potential- a heart over head moment for us all.There, with her encouragement, I experimented and transformed it- she would come to Plymouth when she could armed with ferns and divided perennials- some of which I still have. With help from her money we purchased Diptford Green a year after she died- she’d been helping us look but sadly didn’t see this house. Here over 24 years I have again transformed a garden and now have a thriving vegetable garden as well as all things herbaceous. Granny’s sister ( my great aunt) came her once and I have her sedum and Michaelmas daisies even now. Gardening is in the genes and an inherited treasure of remembrance x
How lovely to hear your gardening story Ruth: it does indeed sound very similar to mine. A shame your mother never got to see the house she helped you buy, but it must feel good knowing that she probably would have approved. Your mention of plants that hold memories for you is so key - I have several plants that people have given me and I think of them every time I pass their shrub/plant in the garden. My experience is that gardeners just love to pass on their learnings, and their plants to one another. It's so satisfying when one is dividing plants, to be able to pot the extras up and give them to others.
Maybe check out my poetry on Wordpress www.runningintheslowlanelife.com