Gardens are for sharing

I stole a half hour this afternoon and wandered round the plot with my camera.  The sun was shining, the sheets were dancing on the washing line and spring was calling me from every corner of the garden.  There was so much to look at, I did not know where to shoot next and as I clicked my way round (haphazardly it seems when I reviewed the results), it occurred to me that the impact of our garden is not only due to our efforts but the hard work of previous generations and our neighbours. 

The best feature of our garden by far is the view and we had no input into its creation!  It grabs your attention because our garden slopes down into the valley beyond, visitors often describe it as an 'infinity garden'.  Much of what we do ourselves is lost in the big picture, not that we mind at all.  We never tire of gazing across the hillside.  In the winter it is stark and dramatic, often with angry skies and in summer it is soft and hazy and peaceful.   Every season presents us swith something new to connect with.   

Our neighbours’ gardens are equally large and the boundaries on both sides are made up of many mature trees - some of which must have been planted a hundred years ago.  There are Privet and Hawthorne hedges which we cut low enough to enable us to chat with each other and share the resources. 

A bad photo of our gorgeous Magnolia Stellata

We have a lovely Magnolia Stellata which was planted by a former owner of Springfield.  It is currently a mass of white, star-shaped flowers and the scent follows us around the garden.  There can never be too many trees, particularly Magnolias and our acid soil suits them.  Both sets of neighbours have specimens, unamed because they are so old (the Magnolias, not our neighbours!)  Every year, just as our own beauty is fading, the others makes their entrance, with large, pale pink flowers which fill the air with a different perfume.   We love to borrow them and even if we planted a new variety, we would never see it reach such glorious maturity. 

Next door's huge magnolia which is all set to burst

On the opposite boundary, there is large Forsythia that we pass every day on the way to the greenhouse.   It is a shame that this shrub is unfashionable these days.  Maybe it is associated with suburbia or perhaps the fact that it is deciduous means people get bored with it when it has finished flowering.  But for me, the few short weeks its bright yellow brilliance assaults me is worth the lack of interest for the rest of the year.  We have planted one our own recently, further down the garden but it will be many years before it has such a wow factor.  Perhaps if people knew it was part of the olive family of trees, it would take on a much more exotic appeal.

A wonderful Forsythia spoilt by really bad photography

I need to take more time with my pics.  My excuse is that I only had half an hour today.  My mum used to say: 'Don't hurry, don't worry and don't forget to smell the roses......'  I should have listened to her more carefully.