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Gardening, 101: Pachysandra terminalis
Sunday, 21 SeptemberThis weekend has been a busy one: I have been planting Pachysandra terminalis aka Japanese spurge throughout the gardens. Kind friends had presented me with an enormous tarp full of them, dug up from their own garden, which they thought I might appreciate.Well, I certainly appreciated it, but I had to work fast to get it planted. Pachysandra spreads very quickly by stolons,…
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Gardening, 101: Anthurium Felix-femina
Saturday, 20 SeptemberIn the back garden, I have observed Anthurium felix-femina aka ‘Lady Fern’ slowly unfolding their delicate, tender fronds of marvellous rich green. They are so small, so tiny, and yet so incredibly tough and hardy. They have survived the winter and the marauding squirrels. They have survived neglect, and strange, unruly weather patterns..Well, not that much neglect. .Now, it…
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Gardening, 101: Hyacinthus orientalis 'Delft Blue'
Thursday, 18 AprilToday I made a remarkable observation in my garden: the Hyacinthus orientalus ‘Delft Blue’ and ‘Blue Jacket’ have come into full blossom, in remarkable shades of blue which they did not present last spring. These were only planted in the autumn of 2022, and bloomed for the first time in the spring of 2023. They have taken on a startling new dimension and beauty..I have fallen in…
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Gardening, 101: The Empress
Syringa vulgaris “The Empress”
Friday, 12 AprilToday I discovered a truly marvellous surprise in the front garden. There is a very large, very old Syringa vulgaris which I have named “The Empress”. I do not know the cultivar; it is a very old bush, and when I first came to The Cottage ten years ago, it towered over my head and hovered over the drive, brushing the sides of my motorcar each time I…
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Gardening, 101: Pulmonaria officionalis
Wednesday, 10 AprilToday I learned that plants are really quite tough and hardy, and will do their absolute best to survive even in the most trying of circumstances. This magnificent Pulmonaria officionalis is blooming wonderfully in the front garden, tucked under the shade of the Taxus canadensis trees, and producing more and more lovely rose-coloured blossoms each day. .I truly did not tend to…
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Gardening, 101: A Little Something-Something
Saturday, 6 AprilThe weather was very fine today. There was plentiful sunshine, and very few clouds. It is still cold, but in the garden, all is well..At last, at last, it is time for a drink out of doors..And so, here we are with a brimming glass of very good twelve-year-old Scotch and a very peaceful evening at The Cottage. As I look upon my gardens, I am overwhelmed. Not only by the staggering…
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When One Door Closes....
WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES....#God #ThankYouGod #blessed #grateful #Joshua #mybrother #myfriend #heaven #earth #death #life #resurrection #rejoice #Christmas #blessings #thankful #brother #friend #always #forever
Tuesday, 6 February
In the final year of my undergraduate term, I designed a house I named ‘Janus’: a portion of which looked to the future in a postmodern fantasy of infinitely divided gables, white stucco walls and square, Scottish Baronial windows deeply set, and of which another portion looked to the past vis-à-vis a courtyard, inaccessible yet glazed with frosted, rose-coloured glass and…
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Gardening, 101: Taxus canadensis 'Canadian Yew'
#God #ThankYouGod #gardening #garden #gardens #gardendesign #gardeninspiration #gardenersofinstagram #instagarden #nature #natural #beauty #flower #floral #backyardgarden #gardenlove #gardenlife #landscaping #mygarden #flowers #perennials #blessed
SUNDAY, 14 JANUARY
There is a curious aspect of this photograph which I did not realise until this morning; the profile of the Taxus canadensis ‘Canadian Yew’ trees along the east side of The Cottage resembles nothing so much as the silhouette of the water in Hokusai’s ‘The Great Wave’.
‘The Great Wave’ is a remarkable work; it has inspired countless imitations (usually less remarkable) and is…
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The Last Card
THE LAST CARD #God #ThankYouGod #blessed #grateful #Joshua #mybrother #myfriend #heaven #earth #death #life #resurrection #rejoice #Christmas #blessings #thankful #brother #friend #always #forever
Wednesday, 20 December
When all the Christmas cards have been written and folded, addressed, stamped, and mailed, there remains upon my work-table one final card, one final accomplishment yet to be accomplished: a single card, bearing neither name nor note, blank, empty, staring up at me at my chair.
Each year I design a new card and have it printed, with envelopes and seals and linings all…
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Gardening, 101: Pachysandra terminalis 'Japanese Spurge'
GARDENING, 101: JAPANESE SPURGE #God #ThankYouGod #blessed #grateful #garden #flowers #design #inspiration #life #love #nature #foliage #green #plant #growth #earth #cottage #house #home #refuge #shelter #english #country
SATURDAY, 25 NOVEMBER
The Pachysandra terminalis ‘Japanese Spurge’ is growing and spreading beautifully in the back garden along the fence on the east side; a year ago, this was a thicket of brambles and wild grapevines.
Now, it is a pleasantly shady spot with hosta, heuchera, Matteuccia struthiopteris, corydalis, Kerria japonica, and erythronium (I didn’t plant the erythronium; they just sort…
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Happy Birthday in Heaven
Wednesday, 22 November
Happy Birthday in Heaven to my Brother & Friend Joshua Paul ‘JP Smith’, who would have celebrated his 48th birthday today.
Josh, I miss you.
I miss all of our long, crazy, amazing, wonderful conversations, all of our plans and ideas and investigations together, our discussions of God and the Bible, of Heaven and of Earth.
I miss sharing all the different parts of my life…
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Gardening, 101: Cursum Perficio
GARDENING 101 CURSUM PERFICIO #God #ThankYouGod #blessed #grateful #garden #flowers #design #inspiration #life #love #nature #foliage #green #plant #growth #earth #cottage #house #home #refuge #shelter #english #country
SATURDAY, 11 NOVEMBER
This past Saturday, I finished the front garden.
It is not entirely finished of course; there remains much to be done and certain of these tasks must wait until the ground freezes. The Coreopsis grandiflora ‘Early Sunrise’ cannot be cut back until then, and then mulched heavily; I must still bed and mulch the Syringa vulgaris ‘Madame Lemoine’, I must mulch the…
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Sanjay's Top Sirloin Roast
SANJAY'S TOP SIRLOIN ROAST #God #ThankYouGod #blessings #food #cooking #beef #roast #love #herbs #Provence #salt #pepper #cow #meat #dinner #supper #gather #live #dining #family #love #life #meal #dwell #living #loving #eating #enjoying
I’ve been away visiting some friends, and was asked to make dinner for everyone.
“You love to cook,” one of them said to me. “How about a nice roast beef?”
“For ten people?”
“Yes, for ten.”
“Better make that twelve,” I suggested. “So we can have leftovers.”
“That’s a great idea; let’s do that.”
And so, I did.
I must confess: I’ve never prepared anything like this before, at least not of this…
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Caesura
Sit, and be still: I will tell you a story.
Last night I dreamt and in my dream I flew through the air, through many worlds and many spheres, never stopping, always moving until at last I came to a place that I thought familiar to me: a wide, crowded street lined with tall, grey buildings and dark windows, pillars of square granite and wide piazzas of tan-coloured stone in square, regular…
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Gardening, 101: Sunday, 3 September
SUNDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER #God #ThankYouGod #blessed #grateful #garden #flowers #design #inspiration #life #love #nature #foliage #green #plant #growth #earth #cottage #house #home #refuge #shelter #english #country
SUNDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER
The weather has been very hot and yet remarkably fine with a clear breeze beneath the oak trees; I worked steadily throughout the day and only took a brief rest in the afternoon, when it was too much. Much has been achieved today; the following were planted in the:
Pulmonaria rubra, with graceful, large lance-shaped leaves, spotted daintily in the shade;
Buddleia ‘Purple…
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Gardening, 101: The Delphiniums (again!)
GARDENING, 101: THE DELPHINIUMS (AGAIN) #God #ThankYouGod #garden #flowers #inspiration
SUNDAY, 13 AUGUST
Today I worked very hard in the garden; much was accomplished. The remaining digitalis and lamium were planted in the back garden, in good soil and dappled sunlight; in the front garden I relocated the veronica ‘Royal Candle’ in a long, graceful curve behind the Stella d’Oro daylilies and then potted the remainder, setting alongside the dwarf delphiniums and the ‘Aztec Gold’…
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Gardening, 101: The Still, Small Voice
GARDENING, 101: THE STILL, SMALL VOICE
FRIDAY, 11 AUGUST
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the…
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