The final episode in this saga has been my major retirement project. In Wales, the cottage has expanded over the years and in 2003 I took advantage of having builders with machines around to clear out much of the vegetation that had appeared over thirty years of neglect. Now I could design a garden. My plan used the old vegetable garden area which is sunken below the surrounding hillside, and so protected from the constant wind. Shrubs and flowers fill the banks and a lawn is broken up by curved stone walls and a semi-circular vegetable garden. The climate is fairly wet and windy but very mild so that I can grow plants from many different parts of the world, from agapanthus and watsonia, to huge euphorbias – and all my old favorites from gardening in New England. Plants that thrive in Zone 4… or even up to Zone 9 … will grow for me there. Vegetables on the other hand, can be more tricky. Summers are cool and so many squash, eggplant, and even tomatoes, won’t grow fast enough to ripen by the time I leave in the fall. (I do grow tomatoes in a greenhouse.) But reliable and boring brassicas will grow right through the winter.
A final note on gardening on two sides of the Atlantic during a pandemic… This past year, our son and daughter who live in London rushed their families down to the Welsh cottage as soon as a lockdown was threatened. Four adults and four small girls, aged from 11 to 2. The “lockdown commune” was very busy, handling virtual schooling, juggling work and children,… and of course, looking after Granny Liz’s garden! There were many gardening projects for the little girls and our son was particularly proud of his seedlings. When we finally made it to Wales in July, we found a few things looked a little different from usual. The lawn was a beautiful wild-flower meadow – and the vegetable garden had been much tended. Their great pride was the crop of lettuces, ready to eat. Hundreds of seeds had been sown. Dozens of seedlings had germinated. And every single one had been cherished and planted out – at the same time! So we arrived to find at least 75 perfect lettuce plants, ready to be eaten immediately!
One thing I’ve learned from my various garden moves is a kind of acceptance. Gardens have an ephemeral life of their own. We can encourage them to cooperate with us for as long as we are there to pay attention to them, but no garden is forever. Just as our gardens evolve with us, they will evolve after us. So let’s accept the vagaries of nature and simply enjoy each garden day.
A final note on gardening on two sides of the Atlantic during a pandemic… This past year, our son and daughter who live in London rushed their families down to the Welsh cottage as soon as a lockdown was threatened. Four adults and four small girls, aged from 11 to 2. The “lockdown commune” was very busy, handling virtual schooling, juggling work and children,… and of course, looking after Granny Liz’s garden! There were many gardening projects for the little girls and our son was particularly proud of his seedlings. When we finally made it to Wales in July, we found a few things looked a little different from usual. The lawn was a beautiful wild-flower meadow – and the vegetable garden had been much tended. Their great pride was the crop of lettuces, ready to eat. Hundreds of seeds had been sown. Dozens of seedlings had germinated. And every single one had been cherished and planted out – at the same time! So we arrived to find at least 75 perfect lettuce plants, ready to be eaten immediately!
One thing I’ve learned from my various garden moves is a kind of acceptance. Gardens have an ephemeral life of their own. We can encourage them to cooperate with us for as long as we are there to pay attention to them, but no garden is forever. Just as our gardens evolve with us, they will evolve after us. So let’s accept the vagaries of nature and simply enjoy each garden day.
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