At The Still Point of the Turning World
Knowing A Place For The First Time
It’s early April and I feel as if I’m just catching my breath after such a busy winter, so you might think I’d be dreading the prospect of the growing season ramping up from here on in; but after a tricky winter and a cold spring it feels exciting to finally be at a transitional point in the year. Daylight hours are increasing, temperatures are creeping up, and we’ve had just enough of the right kind of rain to get things moving. It has been a joy to watch the garden emerge, and it is one of the many things that makes me feel so fortunate to do such varied, interesting, and satisfying work. At the start of my second spring here at Preston Hall, as last summer’s brown stubble surges into verdant tufty growth and blossom begins to break, I am reminded of T.S. Eliot’s poem ‘Little Gidding’, and the lines:
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
Knowing a place for the first time is certainly how it feels to watch a garden unfold in spring, and the sense of elation it brings makes it hard to understand why anybody would choose to do anything but this.
But of course, there’s always plenty to do besides stare in wonderment: in early April we will sow seeds of tender annuals, and tentatively pot up the dahlia tubers to grow on under cover before planting out in early summer. As the month progresses we will continue to lift and divide herbaceous perennials, and plant up borders with exciting new acquisitions. One job I’m really looking forward to is planting of summer pots and containers - it’s always fun to think of new combinations to try and we have so many nice old pots here that it’s such a pleasure to do. In the next fortnight, hope against hope, I will plant out the autumn-sown sweet peas at the base of their supports, and I will try very hard to take basal cuttings of delphiniums and the good lupins (if I can remember which those are). There are a few last bits of mulching to do before the weeds start to take hold, and plenty of perennials to plant out to make space in the glasshouse.
Lastly, I couldn’t mention spring without saying how much we’re looking forward to welcoming you to the garden on the 7th and 8th of April. There will be a free easter egg hunt, as well as a climbing frame to keep little ones entertained. Our friends from Common Coffee will be back in the café serving up their wildly popular coffee, cakes, and toasties and there will the chance to buy produce from the garden and bunches of daffodils. It’s the days that people come to enjoy the garden that make it all worthwhile, so we do hope you will join us!
Kate