BLOG EASTER SUNDAY

HERE’S MY GARDEN CREW:

Ben (L) and Noah (R) are my neighbours and they are terrific workers. This weekend they learned how to take all the matted leaves off the garden with those big cloth gloves; to cut up stuff for the compost and use that small rake. They very gently (and carefully) helped lift off masses of stuff including the leaves to get them ready for the compost. These guys are 9, and said “It’s been a pleasure working for you.” when they left. I love my neighbourhood.
It’s the kind of street where everybody helps out (including Claire who carried our groceries in yesterday; and Robert ever vigilant on the sump patrol.) ?I feel so really lucky. And I can actually see the garden again.
Everybody seems to be out this weekend working in the garden. It is a celebration of renewal in more ways than this. The snouts in the garden are poking their heads up everywhere including through the sticky ?mud. The trees I’d been worried about—the new Japanese maples and the chiononanthus— are showing buds in spite of the brutal treatment they’ve had. I can now see my way into what has to be done next: finally cutting stuff back.
I’m incredibly happy writing ?Thrift and thanks so much to the people who sent in fantastic tips which I hadn’t thought of or seen anywhere else. The neat thing about this book is it’s all stuff that works.
And I’m looking forward to my next tour with Linda Thorne: we’ve re-cast the trip to Tuscany in autumn. Have a look under Talks and Tours above and you’ll see the whole itinerary. It’s going to be a splurge of sensuality: food, wine and gardens. What could make anyone happier?