One hot Sunday at the very end of June
Monday 24th June. Angelica archangelica started to germinate. Disproportionately pleased as had been told it would not grow until next spring as it needs a period of cold. Determined to ignore advice of others in future. Turned on radio to Rupert Everett reading Derek Jarman’s Modern Nature. Sat perfectly still until it had finished. An iconic garden arising from such pain and grief. Beautifully written and beautifully read. Sent out a box of seeds with the message ‘thinking of you’ and meant it from my heart.
Tuesday 25th June. Planted out Nicotiana ‘antique lime’. Cleared some more ground in the top beds for more plugs to go out. Pinched out blue and black cornflowers. A David Austin Sally Holmes is on borrowed time.
Wednesday 26th June. Cut sweet peas. Tied them in again as they have grown a foot in less than a week. Gave feed of seaweed. Put in beetroot and chard from the greenhouse.
Thursday 27th June. Heatwave forecast. Watered everything twice. Opened all and every window in the greenhouse. Put younger plants under the staging for shade and crossed fingers. Drove to Porthallow. Walls full of bleached Briza maxima. Hedges studded with honeysuckle. Weather grey.
Friday 28th June. Shattered the peace of The Potager in Constantine by arriving with two enthusiastic girls and a slightly shouty Hugo. One of my favourite places demolished a memorable breakfast with pots and pots of tea. Coffee with Ophelia and the Viking. Covered family narratives, grief, the perils of curly hair, how all the settings on my camera are wrong, the blessing and the curse of creativity (its care and maintenance), hope, how small business owners need specialist psychological support, and Iceland*. Drove back to the campsite with love in my heart and caffeine jitters. Reports of thirty degree heat at home in Somerset.
Saturday 29th June. Walked along the coast path in grey, breezy weather. Finished at farmers market in St Keverne. Bought garden kale, courgettes and strawberries, and fat wheels of Helford blue. Found a copy of Living Etc. Rifled through it to get to the page about my August garden days. On the lust list, page 137. Lust for romantic plantings and tall grasses and long tables and good company. Described in the article as ‘botanical guru’. Husband roared with laughter. Barbecue. The sun briefly shone and the girls sought shade in the hedgerows. Drank wine and ate cheese. Walked down to the sea in the dusk. Puppers ran across the beach & rolled joyfully in seaweed.
Sunday 30th June. Morning in St Ives - hatefully busy. Lunch at Scarlet Wines - incredible. The sun finally shining. Had a cider with lunch and we all napped under an ash tree in the afternoon.
*country not the shop.