When I was a child one of the most boring places in the world for me was a garden centre. We used to have trips to various local ones with my grandparents during the holidays. Looking at plants, plant pots, seeds, etc., was a fairly dull exercise. The only small glimmer of light was the fact that most of them had a play area.
Fast forward to 2016 and I started to take an interest in the fairly large piece of land that I bought along with my house. Garden centres suddenly became a slightly more interesting place to be. Eight years on and quite honestly I still have very little idea of what I’m doing with the garden. I hear about or see different plants, buy them, stick them in the ground and hope for the best most of the time! It usually works out fine.
I went out into the garden earlier today. In the last few years I have slowly got rid of the rubbish and cleaned up all of the different areas and it now has some shape to it. Much of what I need to do now is to just maintain it and keep it tidy. I planted bulbs in the late summer/early autumn which are starting to peep through the soil. The snowdrops I planted last year and in earlier years are all up and flowering; the crocuses will be blooming soon and the daffodils and tulips not long after. Those little signs of spring are great to see.
In May last year we had to clear Granda’s house after he passed away. The yard/garden was full of pots as well as borders with various plants. I took most of the pots and they now stand in my yard. They have bloomed throughout the year with lots of different plants. Grandma had looked for a periwinkle a few years ago and that sits in one of the pots. She had wanted sedum one year and I have quite a few different varieties around the garden. She passed away in January 2019 and a few days before she had asked my sister about the snowdrops. Everything seemed to flower a little earlier that year. My sister took a photo of the snowdrops to show her. Today when I went out there was a little clump of snowdrops flowering delicately away in a couple of the pots. One of the pots looked like it didn’t have anything in it earlier in the year but they were obviously just hidden below the surface waiting to make me smile today. Grandma also had a peony in the garden which flowered a little earlier in 2019 just in time for what would have been her birthday. It’s a plant that now lives in my Mam’s garden but I think it’s one that I need to buy for mine. My parents’ garden is full of plants that were given to Mam from other people too and therefore is full of memories of different people. There’s a plant that she bought at a summer fayre when I was at primary school which had come from my Year 5 teacher’s garden, among others.
One of the aims I have for this year with my garden is to propagate plants rather than buying lots. I need to take cuttings and plant seeds wherever possible. I want to fill a small plot and the pots with plants that remind me of my grandparents. I also want to take a cutting or two from the plant that belonged to my teacher (I’ll be down to collect that in a few weeks’ time, Mam!) and possibly a few more from various places. I’d like to fill the garden full of memories of different people while trying not to spend too much money in the process.
Next week I’m going to start planting seeds and potting up the cuttings that I took from fuchsias from Granda’s garden. I’m going to spend a little bit of time planning where I’m going to plant different plants in the garden and the yard. I’m just ready to get back outside and get on with the jobs that need to be done!
I love this Sarah and the idea of having plants that bring back memories of our loved ones is so lovely, I might have to adopt it. Today I am going to buy some daffodils that are half grown as I’ve been meaning to plant bulbs for years and never get around to it so this might be the answer!
Our snowdrops were given to us by my husbands mum (they are at the end of their best now, but whenever they pop up they make me think of her)
I bought some very cheap indoor mini daffodils when shopping in Morrisons and put them in a pot on our doorstep and a few on what’s now known as ‘Charlie’s garden’ named after our beloved springer spaniel.
It looks lovely. Thank you for the inspiration! 💕