NURTURE
M OV I N G O N HAVING RECENTLY MOVED TO A NEW HOUSE, CHRIS STONE REMINISCES AND REFLECTS ON THE CALMING ABILITIES OF OUR GARDENS
M
y wife Jo and I have just moved to a new house, only a mile up the road from our previous home of 18 years. We have left behind a house that we worked long and hard at making a home, the only home that our two teenage boys have ever known, a house with oh-so many good memories and, most importantly for me, my garden. It was a very long, narrow strip littered with old, listing garden buildings and concrete pathways, under which lay sheets and sheets of old glasshouse glass – a real mess when we picked up the keys. What we left was far from perfect and far from completed, but it was my oasis. Apart from a wonderful, craggy old apple tree, I planted everything else; I knew every inch
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of its beautifully friable, loamy soil. There wasn’t much that wouldn’t thrive there and I hope the new custodians enjoy the glowing yellow foliage of the Metasequoia; the giant, rich purple leaves
AFTER ALL, IT’S A LIVING THING, SOMETHING THAT’S ALWAYS EVOLVING of the Catalpa; the patterned stems of the Amelanchier; the long runs of beech hedging; the areas of wildflower; and the riot of colour from the perennials in the spring and summer. It only really hit me on our first morning in the new house what I had left, as I surveyed our new surroundings and realised how very different it is. A short, squat rear garden with five protected oak trees, a bright new fence and neighbours so very close behind us. The 30-year-old garden has had no care, no love, no attention; it has been left to its own devices, save from the wrap-around block paving – yup, from drive round to rear terrace! So, I’ve left all that hard work – all of the blood sweat and tears – and my garden is now a rectangle of dappled shade, moss and clay (the sort of clay you can make bricks from – what have I done!?). I have found it quite unsettling. Jo’s focus is the house – removing walls, blocking up doorways, a new kitchen, it will be great. The builders have started and, in four or so weeks, it will be complete, finished, done. My garden? It’s going to take years.
It doesn’t happen in a matter of weeks; after all, it’s a living thing, something that’s always evolving. I’m beginning to get my head around it. I’m starting to understand that actually we get a lot of sun and that, in places, the years of leaving nature to its own devices mean there are some pockets of rich soil. Even after a matter of weeks the possibilities are beginning to excite me, and being out there working the ground has had a positive, calming effect. In my calmed state, I realise that I have allowed myself to be swept away in a sea of self-pity about my loss, but it has been a valuable lesson. I have merely been mirroring the prospective clients I often visit who are sad about leaving their own oasis and cannot understand where they start with their new garden.
WHAT WE DO IS MORE THAN JUST DESIGN, CREATE AND LOOK AFTER GARDENS This has been a really good reminder that what we do is more than just design, create and look after gardens. It can be helping clients ease into their new surroundings, lifting spirits, making a difference, improving lives. Whoever said “life begins the day you start a garden” is right, and l am only just now learning that for myself.
ABOUT CHRIS STONE Chris Stone is founder and managing director of Bushy Business Ltd, an RHS and APL awardwinning company which carries out garden design, hard and soft landscaping, maintenance and aftercare in domestic gardens throughout the south-east of England.
www.bushybusiness.com
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