My dad always said to me:
“Son, to be happy for a few hours…get a drink. To be happy for a few years…get a spouse. To be happy forever…get a garden”
A lot of my family and ancestors appeared to have been either musicians or gardeners in their spare time; I have been lucky – as I enjoy both! I spend a large part of my working week as a musician, but yet, love spending time in the garden whenever I get the chance.
I have recently enjoyed creating winter window boxes for the front of the house – as well as filling the stone pots with winter plants including evergreens, miniature conifers, pansies, violas, primulas, cyclamens to name but a few ;-) in the back garden. I love colour all year round.
I also really love how a garden changes continually throughout the year – and I have just collaged this little collection of photographs taken in the short time we’ve been in this house.
As well as plants, I also love buying ‘accessories’ for the garden – and have recently purchased a second mangle (this time for the front garden), a vintage rusty milk churn and an old Victorian iron wheel (that most probably belonged to an old wheel barrow) all cheaply off eBay. I love how they give the garden added character.
We have bulbs coming up already – so am looking forward to seeing the next chapter of this garden’s evolution too!
Gorgeous! It already looks like you’ve been there for years.
In our house, it is Mr. T. who is the gardener. He toils for hours doing lots of digging and chopping and performing mysterious alchemy in the greenhouse. I am the sort of gardener who wanders around with a trug and a pair of secateurs snipping off the occasional bloom to display in the house. As evidence, I have lost count of the number of strong leather gardening gloves he has worn out since we have been together, whereas I still have the same pair!
Love your rusty milk churn – good old Ebay.
alan this is gorgeous!! u definitely have a well-desereved slice of paradise on earth.
Love it, impressive. And what’s going on in the shed? I don’t have my own garden, but a ‘yarden’ and some courtyard pots. One day I would love a garden and a pair of concrete squirrels on the gate posts!
Hi Al and Happy Weekend!….your garden is beautiful….I love all the color…We had our yard professionally landscaped (only because we are idiots and can kill off anything) but I got all annuals….so no color except for a few roses…but we do have our “Boy with the Dolphin” in a little park like setting next to the pool….it’s hideous….we inherited it and although it’s bronze and marble and shoots water from the Dolphins mouth and came from Florence Italy the Boss thought his mom was looking down from above and approving of where he resides……but it’s still hideous.
I love your garden. It’s beautifully shaped, I’ve been trying to get the oval shape to work with our strip of a terraced house garden. And the colour! Just lovely.
I wish I had the patience/desire to create a lovely garden like yours, but I don’t. That’s Mike’s domain. I do thingd that requires a computer and he keeps the yard looking good. It’s a good partnership.
You are such a talented person, Al – musician AND gardener, or rather landscape artist, too! I really admire your ability to see what will work in your home and your garden – LOVE the collage!