Notes from a Cottage Garden

In the last issue I told you I was making plans both for my garden and for this feature. One of my ideas was to provide a detailed report on an iconic English garden in each issue of the magazine. With so many to choose from it was a tough decision on where to start but finally I plumped for the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. So I arranged overnight accommodation, packed my bags and set off on the four-hour journey west — forgetting to check the weather forecast in my excitement. The ‘Beast from the East’ had fled and the heavy snow it had brought had gone so I thought that things were improving — particularly in the South-west where the sun always seems to shine. Well the ‘Beast from the East’ had produced offspring that decided to dump vast amounts of snow on the A30 as I was travelling along it! I was fortunate and had time to abandon my plans and head home so I wasn’t stuck like so many others on that route.

So all my careful planning came to nought. I hope the plans for my garden this year work better!

I call the garden ‘mine’ but in fact lots of other creatures also seem to think it’s theirs. Most I am happy to share with but some I find difficult to tolerate. In particular, pigeons, moles, slugs and snails don’t make any effort to get along with me. So this poem by Fay Inchfawn (1880–1978) that was sent in by a reader really appealed to me. Now, I could make friends with a snail like this. In the Victorian era the fields around the Surrey villages of Carshalton, Wallington, Mitcham, Sutton and Waddon were a sea of blue. The area has perfect conditions for the growing of lavender and companies such as Yardley made use of the abundant harvest. The fields gradually disappeared under the growing urban spread from London but now, thanks to an enterprising community project that is solely run by volunteers, the true local lavender blooms again in Carshalton. The community project has a three-acre field situated at the Stanley Road Allotments and grows lavender from cuttings of the plants that were originally grown in the area more than a century ago. To celebrate this unique heritage Carshalton Lavender will hold London’s only ‘Pick Your own Lavender’ event on 28th and 29th July. Not only can you pick lavender but also buy lavenderrelated products including lavender essential oil. Proceeds from this event will keep the project running from year to year. For further information visit www.carshaltonlavender.org

There lived a Snail in Camelot In good King Arthur’s days, And everybody talked of his Accommodating ways. No fierce unlawful appetite For choice young plants bet him, And gardeners up and down the land Were proud of having met him. His favourite dish...