ANTIQUES

Luca's New Garden

with Bridget Sudworth

WE GARDENERS don’t really need to have any endorsements about the goodness of a garden and the associated benefits thereof but I was struck by hearing Robin Hanbury Tenison extolling the virtues of the Healing Garden at Derriford Hospital after his particularly bad attack of Covid when he had indeed, been staring death in the face.

Healing gardens are becoming an essential these days especially if attached to hospitals given that looking and being part of nature can reduce blood pressure, improve mood, soothe and destress. Much the same as gazing into your cat’s face or stroking your dog - even if he has just dug up your favourite plant! But gardeners don’t need to be reminded of these facts - one just laments the shortfall of green spaces for those in urban areas who may not have their own garden.

June is the month of roses in my book. I know that cupping a beautiful scented bloom and inhaling the aroma is healing. David Austin, the great rose grower, now deceased, said in one of his many books that ‘the rose has been the flower closest to the heart of man’; they are living history, symbols of love and beauty and intertwined with significance since time immemorial. Many old favourites were grown by the Romans like the superb Celsiana, a large semidouble flower of soft pink fading to blush, the boss a mass of golden stamens - the fragrance heady and haunting. The red rose of Lancaster is another great favourite - Rosa gallica officinalis, known as the Apothecary’s Rose due to it’s deep fragrance sufficient to cloud the less attractive odours of disease! We have been privileged to have had sufficient space to grow over 100 varieties of rose in the past - all with their own characters, longevity and growing habits and they have never ceased to give drama and great joy even when blood flows during the pruning. There has to be a rose for every garden and every occasion - they are quite unsurpassed for their beauty, tenacity and patience Luca’s New Garden has Gertrude (planted for my grandmother of the same name) who has been moved three times but is growing away happily yet again and will not be moved anymore.

Nobody really needs reminding of the jobs to do this month. Hoeing comes top of the list perhaps in preparation for longer standing vegetables and planning is so essential to make sure you have room for all those veggies that have been slow to start

Approved contractor to Dorset & Somerset C.C. QUALIFIED ARBORIST

ALL ASPECTS OF TREE CARE AND DANGEROUS TREE REMOVAL TREE PLANTING

Utilise the generous grants now available to restock neglected woodland or areas of wasteground