The Barn Garden Diaries: Bringing the Dream to Life Whilst Digging for England!
A recurring dream that became the inspiration, The next stage of creating an oval lawn, Petal-shaped island beds and Excitement beyond belief as a ‘hug’ of a garden becomes reality.
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I have a recurring dream. It’s a perfect blue sky day in balmy July. The mercury level is rising so high that the heat haze makes the old stone wall at the back of our garden appear as if it’s moving in blurry swirls. It’s one of those rare moments in England when the only appropriate thing to do is barely move and just allow the time to gently float on by. Utter bliss.
My husband is napping contentedly on a blue and white woven picnic blanket that I bought from a flea market in Rye. He’s as happy as a sand boy in the middle of a pea-green oval lawn.
Every now and again he snores as an involuntary hand swipes his angular face trying to swat a fly. I laugh as I roll on to my belly, which has a little too much cushioning these days, next to him. I kick my warm bare feet up in the air, criss-crossing them with glee as I continue reading A Room With View for the hundredth time.
There’s a pitcher of homemade lemonade between us, ice cubes bobbing in its cloudy sweetness. Time for another glass.
Bountiful islands of herbaceous planting surround the lawn, creating waist-high tapestry walls of colour, texture and light, swaying in the breeze. Lying on the grass, it’s hard to see over the abundance of flowers, which seem to enclose us, keeping us safe. It feels like the garden is giving us a gentle hug in all its calming hues of silver, blue, pink and aubergine.
Missy, our dog, is out for the count underneath the deepest of burgundy Pittisporum. A leaf from an overhanging cherry tree gently lands on her nose. She’s dreaming of chasing rabbits, I know it, as she softly woofs and growls with delight.
An iridescent Holly Blue butterfly catches my eye as it lands on the pistil and stamens of a Gentle Hermione rose. Warm, sweet myrrh wafts towards me, and as I breathe it in I smile and wonder whether life could ever be better than this. How very pretty the silvery-pastel blue of its wings are against the palest of cupcake pink petals….could this be what heaven is like?….and then I wake up.
I had the same dream again last night. They’re becoming more frequent the closer that dream becomes reality. Today a vast quantity of compost arrived. So much so, I think I might I know I have over-ordered. Not to worry, it’ll always get used. You can never have too much goodness. Rocket fuel for plants!
It’s time to start preparing the beds, but not before I tell you about the work I’ve been doing since we marked out the oval lawn and beds using our yellow spray paint marker. Get ready for inordinate amounts of digging, edging and lifting of turf. Those billowing island beds of joy are but a few weeks away my friends…
To read the rest of this post, discover how I cut out the oval lawn and the island beds and hear more about the rest of the garden plans, you’ll need to be a paid member, either monthly or annually (by far the cheapest option).