o b s e r v i n g - s e a s o n a l - c h a n g e
Nature can be so therapeutic on many levels and even more so within the private sanctuary of your own garden.
A place that we can escape to from the daily stress of life. Watching the ebb and flow of seasonal change outside as you potter.
I feel my garden works alongside my therapy treatments by creating a visual haven of wild planting such as Yarrow, Feverfew, Loveage, Rosemary and of course it wouldn’t be special without my very own Meadowsweet plant.
There are hidden pockets of seating, that moves with the seasonal light. A place to sip a freshly picked lemon balm tea, listening to the birds singing and allowing our busy minds to slowly calm us in a meditative way.
I’m looking forward to sharing my space with you. So if you want to sip a fresh plant tea and contemplate life for a while, you'll find this here.
M E A D O W S W E E T - D I A R I E S ( taken from last year at the end of June)
M O N D A Y
Despite a glorious end to June. Think the perfect ‘ English Summer’s Day’ It was a stark contrast to how July started.
Cool skies brooding with the threat of rain. A parched landscape hopeful below.
Grasses bleached beige, sway in the breeze. I wonder if I shall cut them as a dried flower arrangement, but think better of it and tend to the Dahlia’s instead. Growing them in pots has been one of my better decisions.
I’m eager to see their petals, but must wait patiently, else there will be nothing left for August at this rate.
Feverfew is a plenty this year. After months of rain some plants have been the better for it. I hear it makes a good tea. So I’ll head indoors later to research on how to harvest, dry and store some.
Apparently they are good for headaches and migraines which I do suffer from, so they’ll be a natural remedy to pop on my shelf when needed.
My feet got wet in my crocs when watering, but what should I expect from shoes that have holes in them!
T U E S D A Y
Silver headed rooks caw from a neighbours Pine tree.
Our one remaining chicken ‘Inky” crows at 6am. Something she has done since losing the flock. Nature’s alarm clock.
Today the air is cool. Perfect for welcoming client’s to the cabin. A sanctuary. A haven.
Roasted vegetables await to be put into a quiche. I think I’ll collect some herbs from the granite trough to sprinkle ontop.
Two days before a national election. The less said, the better.
Light rain fell for a whole two minutes. Watering with the cans will still be needed as that’s definitely not enough to quench thirsty pots.
W E D N E S D A Y
It’s not Summer to me without a view of Cosmos growing in pots. Those fronds of feathery green leaves, topped with tissue paper petals. I tried a new variety this year called ‘Love Song’ The key is keeping ‘Inky’ out of the pots where she hunts for grubs. We often say she is the ‘Bug Queen’ Because with almost sonic radar precision she tilts her head and knows where they hide.
I can see a Blackbird perched at the very top of a distant conifer singing their heart out. Such a beautiful melody.
Light rain, gently falls, releasing that pungent earthy mix after prolonged dry days.
The sweet peas have struggled to find momentum this year. Only now are they putting on a growth spurt. It might be that I have positioned them in the wrong spot but at least they are sheltered against the pallets of the bin store. Fingers crossed for scented blooms soon!
T H U R S D A Y
As I step out of the kitchen door I spot that the first of the Dahlia’s is out! A deep crimson, rich and velvety. Scarlett O’Hara springs to mind but this is much deeper almost similar to Chocolate Cosmos.
I wonder what made this pot bloom first. I am feeling rather smug that I chose pots over soil. Else I fear the snails and slugs would have eaten them before they had a chance to grow. Or else ‘Inky' with her talons would have scritch-scratched them right out of their bedding place!
They will still need a good dose from the watering can, and strangely I find it quite therapeutic to stand, as the water soaks into the soil. Waiting for it to begin bubbling or pooling at the base. Then I’m happy that I have given them a good drink.
Strong winds snap the towels on the washing line. I remembered to tack several pegs onto the clothing so that they wouldn’t fly off. Knickers in a neighbours hedge isn’t a good look.
I’ve decided against any sweeping, tidying jobs today. It’ll be futile in this wind.
Rain is being forecast. I know the birch trees, lawn and wider landscape will be grateful for a good drink. But let’s hope it doesn’t create humidity that sees us sitting in a stifling fog of damp warmth.
F R I D A Y
Heavy rain droplets form a sheet of glass mosaics on the window pane. The rain that was promised has arrived. It drips from the open edges onto the ledge creating a mini river that spills onto the deck below. You can hear nature sigh in relief.
At the back of the garden the ‘Meadowsweet’ plant has produced its signature pom poms of candy floss pinks and whites.
The Meadowsweet plant loves damp and marshy conditions. You can often spot a taller white variety along the stream that runs near St Andrews Church in East Hagbourne looping around towards the dis-used railway track towards Upton.
I genuinely hadn’t realised for many years how deeply tied the name ‘Meadowsweet’ would be for my little therapy cabin until I used a phone app to identify it growing in the garden.
I still continue with watering the Dahlia's as they have such robust bushy growth that I doubt little rain water will actually fill their pots.
Outside on the driveway amongst the bricks ‘Golden Rod’ has taken a hold again this year. I do love it and it’s majestic display, but am at a loss in how to relocate it, as it is right by the car doors. It has tips of firework yellow, that swish by you when you exit.
Winston our Cat + Inky both look bedraggled in sopping fur and feathers. I towel dry one whilst scurrying the other to the shelter of her coop. Chickens don’t fare well with wet feathers. Thank goodness it is mild and not Winter cold. I give her extra corn for sustenance and kibbles for the cat.
