July 2025
Hello Gardening Friends,
As winter is moving along, most gardeners will be thinking about plans for the coming year in the garden. One of the things that is uppermost in our minds is the increasingly hot weather and quite possibly long dry spells. I say this as we had plenty of rain where we live in Canterbury last summer. But that isn't the norm for us or most gardeners in New Zealand. Coupled with the flooding which many people have experienced recently, where much soil will have been washed away, again it's a good idea to consider plants that will cope with these conditions.
I am experiencing the same thing in my garden in Normandy in France, which is where I am as I write this newsletter. It has taken me ten years to get my head around what I should do here, with the added element of being away for nine months each year. It's gradually coming together! I think personal trial and error is such a good thing as you get a greater understanding of the whole process.
Lovely photos this time have again been taken by Jenny Cooper from Blue House Amberley, which if you have or haven't visited, you should this year, as Jenny has been working extremely hard through the winter creating new areas.
Photo 1: There is still time to plant trees and I highly recommend the weeping birch tree. Many games and conversations have been had with grandchildren under this tree. Ours is more than thirty years old. I like having some weeping or pendula trees in the garden to give variety. Again our judicious pruning has let light through.
Photo 2: Preparing more winter supplies with a promise of spring on the table.
Photo 3: This photo shows how plants can be used to provide shade in the summer months. Using our pruning techniques again, light i=can filter through in the winter. The plant, a shrub, is Viburnum propinquum, an evergreen from China.
Photo 4: Our Périgord baskets, woven by master craftsman Mike Lilian, are stored for winter in our potting shed.
Photo 5: Winter magic. Malfi is always with us in the garden and continues to show her enjoyment of the place.
Photo 6: An excellent plant for a tough dry place, which needs no attention apart from a whisk with the hedge trimmer once a year, according to the size you want, is Rosa spinosissima. Small creamy white flowers with a lemon centre are followed by the attractive black hips.
The book that I am going to buy and read soon is Of Thorn & Briar: A Year with the West Country Hedgelayer, by Paul Lamb. I have been following Paul on Instagram: westcountry_hedgelayer
Very best thoughts to you all,
Margaret
