A garden that one makes oneself
becomes associated with one's personal history
and that of one's friends,
interwoven with one's tastes,
preferences, and character,
and constitutes a sort of unwritten,
but withal manifest, autobiography.
provided it be your own,
and I will tell you what you are like.
ALFRED AUSTIN (1835 - 1913)
but withal manifest, autobiography.Show me your garden,
provided it be your own,and I will tell you what you are like.ALFRED AUSTIN (1835 - 1913)Tell me, my blogging friends, what does your garden say about you???
41 comments:
That I am an erratic nut who starts and can't finish... lets aphids destroy instead of fending them off... likes to let the land lay fallow a lot and can't decide on anything! haha
This is so true. I love this post. you can tell quite a bit about a person just by how things are around them.
Mine says I love wildlife and I don't like things looking too formal. Empty space makes me nervous so it is full. When you look at my garden you can see what kind of mood I'm in. If it is weeded well I am healthy and full of energy. If you find lots of weeds you know I am not well or it is too hot to be outside.
You have some beautiful pictures. I will get out tomorrow to see if enough snow has melted for me to find some snowddrops up. It will be fun hunting for things.
Hi Mimi....is a garden ever finished?? The aphids are fine, the birds will eat them eventually.......decisions, decisions, who needs to make them.......
I agree though, you can absolutely tell quite a lot about a person by the things around them.....
mine says that I like wildlife, almost all the plants in my garden are native or there because they're great for attracting birds and insects.
I know what plants I want or like, however I have difficulty designing them and where things should go. I end up plonking them somewhere and wish I knew where to put things.
This will come with experience, since I am still only learning. Once I know how bushy things are, what their spread is and whether or not they do well in my garden...
Hi Lisa....I love your garden....I have since I saw the lovely photographs you posted last year.....it has such charm.....
in fact, it is amongst my favourite bloggers gardens.....
Hi Liz....you obviously have an affinity with nature and a love of natural habitats. Perhaps, as you add to your scheme it will all come together.....
I think a garden is for enjoyment and giving......have fun in your space, in time, everything will fall into place.....
Interesting question, it says that I am informal, anything goes, color is not important and any one is welcome specially wild life
My garden is still under mounds of snow, much of it yellowed by the dog. No comment on your question, lol! Where is your snow? I saw pictures on the news today and it looks like parts of Britain are still snowed under.
Love it Rusty.....short, sweet, and telling it how it is.....
Ruth....thankfully it rained Thursday night and took the snow away.....and I must admit to being glad to see the back of it. Much of the UK is still covered. It is said that it will be coming back to our area Monday night...because it rarely snows here, we really do not have the equipment to deal with it, hence chaos ensues!!!
Hi Cheryl, I also was wondering about your snow, since hearing about it on the news. Your pics are beautiful, especially the snowdrops.
My garden is also under snow, but thinking back to the summer.....
Well, spring actually - we'll start with spring. My spring garden is full of hope. Green sprouts peek out waiting for the warmth of the sun to kiss their little noses. New plantings and the wonder of what they will become. Birds singing and making nests. Oh, spring is exciting in my garden.
Summer is full of colour - wild and free and welcome to all - humans and wildlife alike. Evenings are dark and magical with the sweet fragrance of flowers to entice one outside.
I guess you know where my heart is... in my garden!
An interesting question, Cheryl. I've always read that a home reflects the person who lives there, but I've always thought that wasn't true for me because I've never really decorated a house the way I wanted--it's more what's convenient and what I can afford. But the garden--now that does reflect me!
Mine shows I'm a beginning gardener, learning through trial and error. It shows how much I like butterflies and hummingbirds (and now bees), and that I am a romantic who doesn't like formality. I think it also shows that I am constantly changing and learning as the styles of the different garden areas change. Unfortunately, the vegetable garden also shows that I sometimes lose interest in something:) I wonder what someone else would see about me from my garden.
Cheryl, I had to laugh when I saw your title. The first thing that popped into my mind was that I am a messy person! My garden is messy most of the time with things not planted where they should be, or flowers that don't really go well together. And then there are the weeds. :} But I guess my garden says that I like a lot of variety, color, and textures. That I like to experiment and lear by trial and error.
Your garden shows a great love of beauty in the simple and peaceful. A passion for wild life and those that need help with tender loving care. I think it also shows a generous nature-making sure that everything has what it needs to grow and be healthy.
I know I would enjoy your garden very much-as I enjoy your friendship!
Dear Wendy....the winter must be a difficult time for you? Your heart seems to be in the warmer months, when there is life, vitality and beauty in your garden. It is only a heartbeat away now Wendy....those spring bulbs are getting ready to appear......
Hi Rose....my home does reflect my personality....it is comfortable, I like people to feel at ease.....put their feet up and relax.I scent my home with lavender in the summer and cinnamon and orange in the winter......and I have white everywhere with touches of colour......
I think the colours you put together show your romantic nature.....some of your colour combinations reminded me of Monet.....
I guessed that formality was not for (yew!) I remember the post on the Yew hedge......
I think somewhere there is also a deep longing...I havn't quite worked it out.....but often in your posts I sense that something is not quite fulfilled (only guessing here).......
I also think you have great sensitivity......
Am I right or totally wrong???
Beckie, you are too kind....
I think your garden shows you are a trier....willing to learn.....to listen....
I would not say messy.....it does not matter where plants are as long as they are happy, I think of morning glory...... people try too hard to create perfection (in my book it does not exist).....they put pressure on themselves....
I think you have a lively spirit...you like to have fun and fill your heart with colour and laughter....this helps you to cope with lifes heartaches......
Your garden reminds me of my fathers garden when I was a child.....a garden I always felt happy to be in.....
Enjoy your space.....regardless of the style, you made it, it is your creation.....look and smile.....
Ohh, I'm ashamed to say that mine says right now that we have neglected it ever so slightly and there are areas that need attention. I'm like Lisa at Greenbow in that it reflects my mood so accurately.
I love your photos - snowdrops picture is my favourite cos they are so pure and simple and I think they're gorgeous. I was trying to explain to Kyla this morning about the seasons - very difficult to understand when you are only 3 I guess.
Love to you and Mr P and hope you are well xxxx
Hi Dawny.....I think gardens to reflect our personality.....but many people do not have the time to garden, so we never see a true picture perhaps.....
It is very hard to explain to a three year old about anything....they seem to put their own interpretation on it......but by explaining you are planting seeds.....
The spring is not far away now......
A lovely set of photos as always Cheryl - I think it's true, gardens do reflect the personality of the gardener - Our garden is tidy to a point but goes through messy times as well as times when things look gorgeous; loads of colour and lovely flowers and texture too - beyond the bounds of the actual garden bit which is where most people see, the woodland and stream area takes on a more wild character providing all sorts of natives for the surrounding wildlife and birds - not quite sure what this says about me but there you are! Have a good week Miranda
Beautiful photos, Cheryl. I rarely get time to sit and sit and watch my garden, but several times recently I have been aware of the birds flying in and out. We have two pairs of blackbirds, a pair of robins as well as lots of blue tits. I don't count the pigeons and magpies and occasional rook which sits on the television aerial and calls, making me think of my other garden in the Cotswolds.
Both my gardens suffer from neglect and lack of time. I work frantically during spring and summer then lose interest as the days shorten and other projects grab my energy. Around New Year I start to think about tidying up, but any cutting always leaves me feeling guilty in case the new growth underneath is left exposed to snow and frost which wouldn't have happened if I hadn't wanted to control what I see.
I should hate to say...! Certainly no one would accuse me of being overly tidy. The trouble is that when I recognise a nice 'weed' I haven't the heart... And most of my efforts go on the wider 'garden', our nature reserve. Unruly? Overstretched? Over ambitious? This year I WILL raise tomatos!
Thanks for your post - I'm envious of your grape hyacinths.
Oh dear! I can just imagine what my garden says about me! Like me, it is a work in progress. Beds half started, some being enlarged. A pile of weeds left forgotten when I had to run in to rescue a child or answer a phone call. An overgrown rose bush that I cannot bear to trim because it is home to so many birds. A wild life lover for sure, with the dead vines clumped and trailing left for the birds to eat the seeds. Birdbaths filled with water, and birdhouses well stocked. But silliness too. A collections of gnomes that travel around the garden looking for a new home, along with statues of cats in various poses (I can never have too many cats). Let's not forget the parking meter in the far corner of the garden. What does that say about me? Eclectic?
Thanks for the thoughtful post, Cheryl. I've never stopped to think about what it says about me, just what I want it to say! LOL!
Hi Miranda....perhaps you are a changeable and colourful person!
Your garden sounds delightful, something I am sure I would appreciate.....
Hi Sarah...to have birds in the garden can only add to the gardens charm.....birds only visit if they like the surroundings....so you are doing something right.
Gardens to take a lot of time......it is easy to forget them when the shorter days loom.....
Hi Maggie....it sounds perfect to me....a nature lover...there is no better garden.....
Your comments made me smile, so perhaps you always see the funny side of life.....
Morning Glories.....what a lovely description of your space....I had the most vivid image of you working and enjoying.....I am the same with trimming back, if a creature is enjoying I leave well alone.....they have more right than I do....
I have so enjoyed reading peoples comments on this post....tku for sharing yours....you sound like a very beautiful person.....
Dear Cheryl,
My gardens tell the story of my 30plus years tending the soils here on my Corner.
As I walk about I visit my Great-grandmother's iris and my Father's hibiscus. My potting up table was once my father's work bench. The wind harp was my gift to the gardens when my Mother died. The little garden Seal came from a trip to California and the lupines from when I was in Canada. The angle bird bath is my son's. I am taking care of it for him. The new Spicebush hedge is for the butterflies.
Like my house, the gardens whisper stories. The Crab Apple tree was a gift. The brass peacocks now parade where the heather's once grew. Where the Apple tree once bloomed a butterfly garden. The Lavender and the Rosemary remind me now is the time for the plants to care for me. I am growing my medicine.
I hope to grow a dyer's garden this year for my weaving and an English Children's Garden!
Like me, the gardens are always changing. I treasure what has come before and look forward to each growing season. My gardens are seed to seed and dream to dream.
Your photographs are so pretty. I love seeing your birds, thank you.
Your Spring seems to have begun, so much hope.
It is a grand time of year.
A lovely post!
Namaste,
Sherry
DEar Sherry...welcome back to blogging land....you were greatly missed and it will be fun to hear the stories you have to tell.
Your gardens have great history.....you have been with them a long time....it tells stories of the past and the hopes for the future.....
Your gardens reflect your soul, the inner Sherry, that feels, nurtures and cares......
It was a joy to read about your gardens.....
Hi Cheryl,
I love your garden because it so sensitively reflects a desire to commune with nature. I wish that for my garden too. I struggle to place in parts of my garden things that reflect me due to the rules of our Homeowners Association, and also the fact that some areas of my yard are either too shady, or too dry, to deal with...as well as the fact that $$$ doesn't grow on trees--and that is always a factor in how much can be planted and designed. But overall, my garden is relaxed and informal and birds, bees, butterflies and as many types of plants and blooms that I can manage are a part of it, or at least, in my 'mind' to become a part of it:) A nice post and an interesting question...I'm still thinking...
oops...sorry if I hit the post it buttom too many times...just delete the extras...
right now at my current farm house my garden is begging for plans to be made, memories are just forming and seeing how the lay of the land wants to be planted. i like wide open spaces like the back half of our 7 plus acres but i love things natural too. i am still waiting for my yard to speak to me about how to make it feel like home.
i know what your garden says about you, you are a caring individual, that likes some solitude to bring peace to your soul. that you love all things living, every kind of creature even ones that tend to be nuisances. that you love branches, trees, and leaves as much as you love blooms. that nature is your nuturer.
your garden is so beautiful and the photos you have taken for this show it so well.
Hi Jan....I understand what you are saying....it is good that you are giving something back to nature.
From the money angle, are you able to grow your own plants from seed or perhaps take cuttings?? I do this with a lot of my plants because it does become so expensive otherwise......
Thank you for sharing your garden with us.....
Thank you Marmee....your kind, sweet words are much appreciated. You have got to know me well through my postings....and you are so observant, I do indeed like the brances and leaves as much as the flowers.....every little piece of nature speaks to me.....
I am so looking forward to seeing what your gardens tell you and see how you decide to take this journey......to make a garden, is pure joy, but it is never finished........If there are any seeds you would like from my garden, let me know, and I will send them to you in the autumn......
Mine says bees, birds and butterflies (and other creatures, too)are welcome! The more the merrier. I am always in search of more flowers, plants and trees that wildlife will find inviting.
Hmmm...
My gardens may never be finished but do hope I've learned to how to compose and balance my love of nature in the garden beds with shrubs, plants and wild life. Enjoy plants that were common in my mothers day(fond memories) and also the new.
Personally love the colors of annuals in the summer but need the backbone (perennials,trees and shrubs)that hopefully surpasses me. Can't have the "run of the mill" (common)landscape done which is for enhancing the house. This lanscape has to embrace all who enter... the most important person being me.
I'm not sure what that say's about me.
Hi Patsi...your description of your garden really interested me....it was very different from the majority of comments....
I like the way you say it had to embrace all who entered but most of all you.....it sounds as if that is where you feel safe, comforted??
I love the fact that you opened your arms to annuals perrenials shrubs and trees....nothing was excluded.....you perhaps except people for what they are, there are no exclusions in your life.....
I have enjoyed this post and I think I have learned a lot about those who visit....it has been fun.....
I think my garden shows that what I lack in money I make up for in creativity. That I love wildlife, and that I'm a hard worker. That I'll put a lot of energy into what's important to me (plants) but that I don't like a lot of ornamentation. That I do like a bit of whimsy, and that my fingernails are always broken and dirty! That I prefer compost to jewelry, that I'm independent and creative. Wow, that was fun to think about because it makes me sound so much cooler than I am! ;-)
Hi Monica....that almost sounds like me especially the grubby hands and fingernails!!!
Cheryl, A wonderful question thank you for asking...My garden says...I love plants, especially natives that feed the critters; that I haven't a formal bone in my body, that I have trouble finishing projects and that I garden for me, for my spirit, from my heart and not for resale value!
gail
hi Gail....I believe you do.....and it shows in your garden....it is without doubt Gails garden and holds a charm all of its own......
Post a Comment