I Predict a (Garden) Riot

It’s around this time of year, later in June, that I start to loose control of the garden and it begins to descend into – what I call – somewhat manicured chaos.

In spring when the plants emerge and start growing again after the winter, the garden looks all neat, tidy, prim and proper. Well, it does if I have had chance to complete the winter clean-up before hand but that is rarely the case these days. As the weather warms, reluctantly at times, and the year advances, the plants fill out and many even start flowering.

The days heat up even more, in June they become really long, with around 17 hours of daylight, and it tips the plant growth from, “mildly manageable” into, “insane”.

We’re at this point now. The border edges that I spent so long trimming and sharpening in preparation for the NGS inspection visit are lost underneath a billowing overspill of exuberant plants. It’s easier to see the garden as an amorphous mass of leaf and flower as opposed to individuals.

and I just luxuriate in it all.

Through the influence of many garden visits, leafing through many gardening books, gardening TV and also looking online at garden pictures and reading blogs over the years, the romantic garden style emerged as the style for the garden and it really comes into play when the plants start to take over in June.

It continues through the summer, past the dog days and into autumn and early winter, at which point, garden chores take over again.

The garden creates its own incredible atmosphere just by it “being” as it is and doing what it wants, without me having to apply strict control, just a casual edit here and there. This is a very round-about way of saying, “the garden does exactly what I want it to do, by letting it ‘go’ after early summer”.

All the judicious work in the winter clean-up and in Spring preparation means the garden coasts beautifully into the summer months. I’m deliriously happy I don’t have to spend hours a day on it, I can finally sit in the sun and enjoy it some.

Which is exactly what I plan to do after I post this.