|
Why do we love gardens so much? There are many explanations. Some people might want to show everyone else how much better they are at working, even in their free time. Or that they have a much more beautiful garden than the neighbors. Some kind of competition. There are other explanations. Having a bit of nature around us might make us feel secure. The woods are a part of nature, but it might feel a bit too large and wild for some of us. And a green room might feel better. It's an extension of our own secure home, as long as we have some kind of barriar to protect us. Walls, fences, hedges - the safe barrier can consist of many materials. What makes me like the garden so much might be because it's an extension of the home. To me, privacy is very important. I don't want to sit in my deck chair an arm's length from the street and watch everyone walking by. Those passersby will see and hear me too, and that's far too public for me. That's why I prefer a garden which is quite distant from other people's houses and gardens and preferably very sheltered. There's something really special about trees. Maybe that's because our ancestors used to be scared little mammals, who survived because they could hide inside the tree canopies. Bushes are nice too and of course other types of plants. Our somewhat later ancestors used to have a a special tree on their farms. That sounds quite nice, but really, the tree was there to attract lightning in case it would strike the vicinity of the farm. Not so nice, after all. Poor tree. Having a tree that close to the house might be dangerous. Lightning could strike and then it will follow the root system into the house. The tree might also fall down in a storm. I like to have the trees some distance from the house. Close to the house we have bushes and vines, like honeysuckle. They help shelther the house and the patio or porch. I think I'm kind of picky about what I like to grow in my garden. My favorites are rather old fashioned plants. Nothing too exotic or alien. Of course sometimes you might be surprised. You might take a closer look at a so called native plant and find that it's more exotic than you think. I'm not a fanatic. The main thing is that the plant fits into my cottage garden. I like our town garden too, but unfortunately it's too close to the neighbors to feel really cosy. I think it's very important to leave a little corner of the garden completely 'wild'. Don't pull up all the 'weeds' - in many cases they're actually native plants. More importantly, butterflies won't come to your garden unless there are some nettles and other plants attractive to butterflies. Below, you'll find a list of some of the trees, bushes and other plants I like best. Most of them I already have, but I hope to be able to get the rest soon. They might be plants we used to have when I was a child or I've found them in a book about gardening. That's quite a lot of fun, actually - looking through that type of book or a seed catalog. You can sit there and daydream about summer, which seems to perfect in your thoughts, but isn't always that great once it's really here. Silver Birch |
