Back to school haircuts, a recipe for an Instagarden, and a Zoom
Now is the perfect time to just stand and stare at your garden
I’ve tried to ignore the back to school feeling
Even two days ago I was saying that we’re still in late summer. But the spiders in the garden and the condensation on the windows are telling me otherwise. Daytime walks up the garden path necessitate the SpiderDance, waving arms around in front and to the sides in a flailing breaststroke to avoid a surprising cobweb veil. At night, a torch is needed to navigate well-known routes, as you can bet your bottom dollar that someone will have set up home.
ARACHNOPHOBES DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO 🕷️
Should we have lunch outside today? The ground is wet and the leaves have taken on that green they go after an overnight soaking. Should we do some gardening? It’s too early to get the bulbs in and the bare-root roses won’t arrive until the winter. Every few minutes I look outside to see if things are suddenly different, to check if the dew underfoot has suddenly disappeared as it used to just a few weeks ago. As soon as the sky has enough blue for a sailor’s waistcoat - that’s when I’ll decide.
These neither-here-nor-there days, mood-befuddling days when it isn’t summer and it isn’t autumn, feel a bit like those days between Christmas and New Year, as we await the run-up to something new, something different. I never make resolutions in December, but over the last days of August my notes are full of things to do - finally completing the ellipse of the lawn - ideas to investigate - perhaps that longed-for summerhouse might finally materialise - flowerbeds to tweak - perhaps while I’m sorting out the grass, I should make the flowerbeds bigger ….
Every year I lose lists quickly scribbled on torn-off envelopes and every year I vow to get a proper book to record things in: I haven’t achieved it yet but I’m loving the look of this one:
Perhaps this could be my new stationery of the autumn term.
I haven’t decided what these in-between days should be called: the French have an excellent term; ‘La Rentrée. Literally the return, as we go back to the daily grind after a few weeks away, in France there seems to be a renewed energy as a zip of optimism is injected into the everyday. Shops have been redecorated. Friends catch up to talk about their holidays. Children get their stationery and have smart new haircuts in readiness for the beginning of a new season. Yes, there’s real work to do, but the proper rest has had its desired effect, and the autumn is greeted with optimism.1
In Italy, those obviously summery dresses will be worn less and less frequently, only coming out when it’s really too hot to do otherwise. Female friends there message each other to decide what day they’re going to pack their summer clothes away and bring out the ziplock bags of autumn tones of caramel2
Wherever we are in the world, there’s a new beginning making itself felt
And in the garden, as with all new beginnings, let’s celebrate the positives. We’re all itching to DO something. Of course we want order bulbs. Of course we want to change and tweak - it’s entirely natural to want take to stock, and, while the garden is changing and the colours turning, now is an excellent moment to do this.
I’d love to know what you’re doing on this Monday, which if you’re in the UK is the last day of the last summer long weekend. Are you taking stock? Are you a new gardener - or perhaps you’re thinking about gardening but have no idea where to start? If so, you might enjoy Getting to know your garden - Storecupboard Basics.
Pondering on starting afresh reminded me of this - and if you’ve joined The Gardening Mind on a gardening journey and are here to become more familiar with the basics, I’m sure you’re itching to do something, and this post has a couple of instant flowerbed recipes for you to start mulling over. As ever, there’s something for everyone, and just because they’re easy, it doesn’t mean that they’re not worth it. Think of the perfect roast chicken or the foolproof pasta with tomato sauce recipe that students are sent off to university with in that first exciting autumn.
The simple ones are sometimes the best:
Whilst it isn’t time to plant, it definitely is time to be thinking about things
Walking round the garden, even if it’s with a coat over your pyjamas, there are still enough remnants of summer to remind you of what worked and what didn’t. You can probably still recall what was in that spot that is now just a gap. Make a note. Or take a photo of that spot if that’s easier and swear to yourself that later on today you’ll make a note about why you took that photo.
What are your hopes for your garden? We talked about this in the small garden design course, which I’ll be running once more in the next few months.
Now is the perfect time to just stand and look at your garden. Maybe it needs a back-to-school haircut - so give it a bit of a tidy up. But mainly, stand and stare. Enjoy the garden as it changes, and don’t wish time away. Make some notes, and at the same time know that there’ll be some surprise days, some last hurrahs when it heats up all over again and we’ll wonder why on earth we thought that summer had ended.
And I KNOW I keep asking for the 💕 which mean you liked this post, and the shares - those two little arrows that make a circle. Thank you for doing it -it sends this post around the world !
You always do hit the heart and you always share - I’m really grateful 💕
It’s nearly Zoom-Time
The ‘General catch-up and any questions about how to find your way around The Gardening Mind ’ is TOMORROW - Tuesday 27th August at 6pm UK time. The link is below:
If you’d like to be part of the Gardening Mind, to be able to read all the posts, and to have access to all the short courses, as well as being able to come to the Zoom, you can become a subscriber here:
We’ll be chatting about how to find your way around The Gardening Mind, and how to use Substack in general. It’ll probably turn into a general chat about gardens, plants, design - anything you like! And remember, you can easily take part without having to chat or turning your camera on if you simply want to observe.
Hoping to see you there 💕