Hello and thank you for stopping by the Reveley Lodge garden blog.
Have you ever had a nagging problem hanging over you and just not had quite enough time to get it sorted out? This month I have managed to conquer a major frustration.
No, it is not mastering the Latin language to get to grips with those pesky long names that bug my happiness on a regular basis, but rather sorting out and creating a system for the Reveley Lodge workshops!
As you can imagine any large garden needs a workshop. It’s not all trowels, trugs and bags of compost you know.
There is an ancient Jewish proverb that says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a hope fulfilled is a tree of life“.
I was getting a bit sick of working this way, but knew I had to wait until an appropriate moment. Indeed I was spurred on by watching Dick Strawbridge deal with his large workshop in Channel 4’s ‘Escape To The Château‘ TV programme.
I have to say I have really enjoyed getting things organised and cleaned out. I inherited many useful bits of machinery and tools when I arrived at Reveley. But there were a few moments of… ‘what does that do? I don’t know what it is but I better keep it just in case! ’ But by the middle of last year, I had had enough.
And now I am quite pleased with the results.
Out in the garden, I have seen Narcissus ‘Tête-à-Tête’ in flower in December and young garlic plants poking their heads through the soil helping Lesley and I to get excited about the early summer harvests.
There are a few winter flowering shrubs that just help keep a wee smile on our faces like Viburnum x bodnantense or Mahonia ‘Midwinter Sun’. These have nice scents but you do need to get right up close and have a good sniff to find out what they have to offer.
Lastly, I would just like to raise a flag for one of our unsung horticultural friends, the humble house succulent. These wee guys can really help add a splash of of colour around the home and are ridiculous easy to look after. You may have noticed are very trendy at the moment.
As you can see from the photograph, just popping them among fruit adds a bit of fun to things (but please don’t try this if you have small kids in the house, just in case)
Enjoy your garden as we head into the longer days ahead,
