We are in the middle of the great Christian festival of Eastertide, and tomorrow is the marvellously exciting time devoted to the flying of kites along the East Coast, in the National Park and throughout the interior of Guyana, all of which, I suppose, might be symbolic of the Resurrection. We meet old friends and make new ones, some lasting for life.
There was no such pursuit when I was a boy on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border. Soccer was the preferred sport at any time, then cricket. I think we missed out on a national day devoted to flying kites, although I am bound to say the weather in early spring always managed to produce a few nasty tricks. In my early childhood our garden was quite large, and on reflection was too big for my parents to look after properly. Later on the garden size shrunk and became more of a patio with a small border on two sides. My father appreciated the patio. Then all he had to do was sweep it rather than mow it. The patio started off its life with my family as a truncated cricket pitch. As my interest in plants increased so the pitch became smaller. Eventually for a serious game we had to go to the local recreation ground.
Now small gardens and patios can be very, very beautiful indeed, and can contain plants large and small, with bright flowers and exquisite foliage which can be placed to receive sun or shade. With some good quality furniture − say a small table and some really comfortable chairs − the patio can become one of the most important features of your home, and don’t forget that your visitors are likely to include birds, butterflies and moths. You can also include some really interesting pieces of decorative items such as the odd wagon wheel or old wheelbarrow. Finally it’s worth bearing in mind the qualities of stone. Try and use some coloured granites, and some piece of really exquisite statuary. In arranging the plants for your patio you must leave ‘windows’ to look out into the garden proper − that is if you have one. Sit in your chair or your wife’s chair and just get the plants shifted around until you have got the views you both want. Let our sight be drawn to a special feature, say a small tree or group of plants, or a good quality bench.
If your garden is not all that much larger than your patio, there will be a temptation to cram it full of plants. I have done it myself, and still do, but the fact is we must be a bit ruthless. I expect that you all could name dozens of plants that you might wish to include, and I expect that you could all leave half of them out of the final planting. For example I am a lover of large trees but for the life of me I don’t suppose I could get more than one into the scheme of things. All of us has to be prepared to dump the excess baggage and just retain the very best plants. I have seen many examples of large trees growing in gardens which in time will be too small for them, and in time the owner-gardener will have to bite the bullet and remove them.
This also applies to large shrubs, and it is very important when you do remove large plants to bear a thought for the smaller plants growing nearby which have until then enjoyed the shade and shelter provided up to that point by their larger patrons. Try and take out the large plants gradually so that the remaining plants are introduced to the increased light and breeze gradually. It might even be necessary to plant some tall shorter-lived plants to give the shade and shelter to those of your plants that might suddenly be exposed.
Remember that whatever plants you finally decide to use, find out just how big they’re going to get, and how much space they need, and may your God go with you and your plants.
