Wednesday 26 November 2014

This really was a secret garden.............

 While Mr P was sleeping yesterday I decided to look through my treasure box.   I cannot remember the last time I did this.    There is nothing of great monetary value, just a box full of memories.....my memories.        At the bottom of the box I discovered some papers tied together with a piece of green ribbon.       Amongst them were the following images of my last garden....taken by my father.   I did not own a camera in those days and have no other photographs of the garden.
 It took me back to the tiny walled garden.     Sheltered, and secret.....it could not be seen by anyone, the walls kept it just for the family.   A blank canvas when we moved there.   Oh boy did I enjoy planting this tiny plot.     
 I was, at that time, a novice.   I knew the basics......my father taught me well.   Putting them into practice was another matter.
 You can see from this image and the writings, my love of bees goes way back.....in fact, to childhood. 
 Another memory.....one of my darling Cavaliers....Ellie a rescue dog.    I wish I could share more with you....the tiny pond.....the balcony garden.....the old wall.......sadly this is all I have.
Apparently when the new owners moved in within a year the garden had been cleared.....minimal was the new owners preference.   I can remember feeling so sad when I was told.    What about the wildlife that lived amongst the ivy....where would the bees go.....would the thrush find a new nesting site.    Nothing stays ours forever, everything changes.

Where is heaven?   Is it not
just a friendly garden plot,
Walled with stone and roofed with sun,
Where the days pass one by one.
Not too fast and not too slow,
Looking backwards as they go
At the beauties left behind
To transport  the pensive mind.

Bliss Carmen.............Where is heaven ??

16 comments:

  1. Beautiful. I remember being heartbroken to learn that the new owners of our first house had chopped down the little weeping tree we had planted too!

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  2. Hi Jane,
    It is so sad, especially if trees are felled. Our dreams are not the dreams of others............I learn that more and more each day.:)

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  3. Hi Cheryl
    It is a lovely thing to keep a treasure box - a memory box - call it what you will. I too have one, containing little scraps of memory that would mean nothing to anyone else. Like you I have very few photos of my previous gardens - maybe because I wasn't as interested in them in my younger days I've certainly made up for it now! Your bijou garden was delightful - seems like you have always had the knack with truly green fingers.

    Enjoy the rest of the week are you getting as much murky weather as I am - I'll be glad when November is over and welcome a bright and sunny December.

    Take care and look after yourself - and Mr P of course.
    Elaine

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  4. I agree with you Elaine.......it was lovely to spend time yesterday just looking at all the little bits and pieces I have accumulated over the years :)
    Such lovely memories.

    The weather is drear to say the least......blue skies and the big yellow ball are in short supply.
    A day at a time..............things have to change at some point :)

    Take care..........thank you for your lovely comment.

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  5. Beautiful post with lovely poem. I also have a memory box with letters, cards and old pictures.
    It's nice to dream away once in while with the treasures from our memory box.

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    1. Thank you Janneke........yes it is good to dream once in a while :)
      I love old black and white photographs or even better sepia.

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  6. How lovely that you have at least some photos of your old garden, it's a shame you don't have more but a few are better than none. It looks really beautiful and fabulous that it was walled, there's really no nicer backdrop. I enjoyed seeing your little Cavvie, Ellie, enjoying the garden too, they really are such sweet dogs. It's such a shame that the garden was cleared after you left, there really is no accounting for taste.

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  7. Hi Jo,
    I am pleased to have these.....it is amazing how much you forget. We lived with this garden for 26 years :)
    I had all sorts of plants climbing the walls....my favourite was a beautiful Virginia creeper, such lovely autumn colour.

    Well we are all different....perhaps they are not gardeners and couldn't cope with so many plants in such a small space :)

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  8. I am sure who ever gets my current garden will take all out and plant a lawn. Ha... I hope I won't know about it. I plant and garden for wildlife and my own eyes. In my part of the country people don't build walls around their garden. I put up a fence to keep dogs in/out. I had never had even a fence until I moved here. I found that I love the fence line. It makes the garden feel more intimate.

    My present neighbor cut down 8 trees when she moved in. It made me sick. She didn't want to deal with the leaves. I was saddened when the Robins returned in spring to find their favorite nesting sites had disappeared. Sigh~~

    One needs a box of treasures to pull out during times of stress to remind us that life is full of love and wonderful times. I am glad you have this especially now.

    I have a few photos of my previous garden. I was working full time then so it wasn't much. I still can see, in my mind, snapshots of the parts I loved about it.

    Hoping and praying for good news tomorrow. Big hugs...

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    1. Lisa, you are so funny. Your garden is an absolute treasure....I dare anyone to take it all out and plant a lawn.
      It is that intimacy that I miss....having a large garden is wonderful but it never really feels enclosed.
      How could your neighbour cut down eight trees because they did not want to deal with the leaves.
      Poor Robins.......

      I love my box.....so many lovely things in there. Lots of stuff from my Grand-parents and Great Grands.. Things to really treasure.


      A garden is a garden for the person who lives there, nobody else. If someone else likes it that is great but is does not really matter, as long as we are happy in that space. :)

      Tku my friend. xx

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  9. How nice that you have these photos to remember your first garden, Cheryl. I don't have any photos of a previous garden--but then you know that I really didn't start gardening until we moved here 10 years ago. My first "real" gardening, though, was a small patch of coneflowers with some annuals at the old house; I think that is part of the reason I'm still so attached to coneflowers. I don't have a special memory box either; special momentos are stored here and there throughout the house. But I have a whole closet shelf full of photos, and sometimes when need a special picture, I find myself losing track of time as I think of all the memories.

    Reading Lisa's comment, I often wonder what will become of my garden some day. I fear someone might mow it all down, but I know some of the native plants--and the coneflowers--will keep popping up here and there regardless of anyone's attempts to get rid of them. That thought makes me smile:)

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    1. I understand Rose......we all have connections with certain plants. The coneflower is beautiful and one that I just cannot keep. The soil does not suit them and rabbits love them. I love when you post images of them en masse.

      It is so easy to lose track of time when we walk along memory lane........but what a lovely pastime.. ....

      I love the thought that the coneflowers will keep on popping up here and there when you leave the garden. It brought a smile to my face.
      I believe the same would happen here with foxgloves............and that is also a delightful thought.

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  10. Wonderful and thought-provoking post, Cheryl.

    When we moved from the first house we built, I left three pages on a legal pad with notes on how to maintain my rose gardens. I left all the equipment to care for the roses. As the new owner's eyes glazed over and she sighed in disbelief, I knew she would plow up the rose gardens as soon as the moving van pulled away. But she couldn't plow under the wonderful memories of providing rose bouquets for friends and smelling those sweet roses.

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    1. I do so love that bloggers are sharing their garden stories.

      My Grandmother had a rose garden...........
      Well you most certainly tried to save your rose garden. One would have hoped she would have attempted to maintain the garden, given time she may have fell in love with it.
      I do not know any woman that does not like roses :)
      I love the way you turn it around and say 'she could not plough under the wonderful memories '

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  11. What a lovely post and thank you for popping by my blog and leaving a comment. Memories eh, a girl after my own heart. :))

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    1. Memories indeed........and I wish I was a girl :)

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