Mindful Gardener Newsletter No 21

This week I have enjoyed some sunshine here in Cordressagagh and I finished enclosing the Writer’s Garden in a boundary of bamboo canes.  I realize that when I do this kind of boundary for one of the garden rooms that the energy within the space changes. 

The space becomes set apart.  Emile Bronte Roses from David Austin now for the most part surrounds the Writer’s Garden.  One side facing West needs another five of these roses and that will be the whole four sides filled with this specific rose.  Underneath these I have planted Nepeta which is so much easier to grow than lavender.  The contrast of the pink roses and blue of the Nepeta is beautiful.

Emily Bronte Rose with Nepeta Late June 2024

The Apple Trees

Most of this week I have spent clearing the space filled with weeds and rushes that have proliferated during all the rain.  The subject of apples seems to have been a central focus of my week. I spent a lot of time writing an appreciation of the W. B. Yeats poem The Song of the Wandering Aengus which features the appearance of a glimmering girl with apple blossom in her hair.  This girl is symbolic of the glimpse of that state of consciousness that gives you the KNOWING of the Timeless.

The Song of Wandering Anegus

https://on.soundcloud.com/hL3Hvi4riG5fnuoG7

The Yeats Garden

Given that I have created the boundary that is to become the walled garden called the Writers Garden I am drawn to start that space which I will call The Yeat’s Garden.  This is a space that is shaded under the trees and the hedge, and I think it will suit the design for plants that thrive in the shade such as astilbe, hostas, brunnera and foxglove to name a few.

This garden will feature some of his poems and my mother’s favorite poem entitled The Lake Isle of Innisfree.  I hope that this space will allow the experience hoped for in this poem when he writes: -

And I shall have some peace there for peace comes dropping slow.

I have to say the one thing about this Cordressagagh garden space is the sense of peace that is here.  In this space I will have a bench where I can sit and spend time writing reflections on his poetry for a book called A Journey with Mr. Yeats and will author some stories including one about The Stolen Child and The Island of Heart’s Desire.

The Energy Develops

Rambling roses unfolding their beauty on the archway to a garden room.

The garden is really beginning to have an energy inviting creative expression and the unfolding of what I call Companioning Your Greatness. For me as a gardener and as a writer this unfoldment arises out of the time that I spend being available to inner silence.

For me unfoldment happens through writing about mystical poetry and creating stories from mythology designed to Companion one’s greatness. These are stories that awaken the Beauty sleeping within you.  These are stories that reflect the truth of the Grace you are as a unique expression of Divine Intention.

This abiding in the silence of unfoldment happens first thing in the morning.  It is a meditative beginning to the day with some reading from a book or listening to an inspirational passage from a talk.  Then it is into writing a story or it might be writing part of this Mindful Gardening Newsletter. After that I am able to begin the physical activity of the day. Without this time spent in silence and creativity I feel the day to be different.  If feels off balance.

Later during the day, it will be taking the guitar to sit on what was once the base of the Orangery to play songs I love that remind me to listen to the Wind of my Soul (Cat Stevens).

The Hellebore Seeds

First collection of Hellebore Seeds – Late June 2024

This week I finally got to harvest the flower heads of the large hellebore that is a main part of the shaded area of the garden. I placed the flower heads in a bowl and waited.  This morning, I checked to see if the seed pods had opened which they had.

I absolutely love these little seeds.  They are like small, tumbled jet stones which are smooth to the touch.  I have planted up a lot of these in trays and placed them in the shade.  I placed the seeds on the surface of the soil and lightly pressed them in, covering them with a thin layer of vermiculite.

I will need to be patient because germination is erratic and may take up to several months for the seedlings to appear.  So, we shall have to wait and see.  If this works, then I will grow a batch to sell or give away to others.

Aquilegia Seeds Collected Late June 2024

I have clipped the seeds of the aquilegia and placed those in a bowl.  They haven’t opened yet but when they do, I will simply scatter some in various parts of the garden as they readily self-seed.  The other thing is that they will be different from the cultivated parent.  I have a lot of aquilegia here with many assorted color combinations and they are beautiful.

Thoughts Going Forward

Given all the rain the ground has become saturated.  I need to put in more drainage in that part of the garden where I intend to place the labyrinth. The ground there needs to be perfectly level so next week with the help of Lennon I will mark the area out by laying down the water hose that I purchased for this purpose.

I will then borrow a laser level and mark out the high and low points and buy gravel to level the ground and provide drainage. Then I will prepare the ground to plant a clover lawn and have it ready for next year.  I will then be inviting friends, and anyone interested to have a festival and an inaugural walk of this labyrinth.

I intend to buy a labyrinth that I can roll out onto this space and then take it up in the winter.

Conclusion

Astilbe and Hosta in window box (no slugs) – June 2024

So that is this week’s news from Cordressagagh.  It’s a bit late this week because we have had a visit from family over the weekend and had a great time.  My niece Hannah and her partner Micheal now have a house with a garden, so I was able to send them of with various plants that are easy to grow and a window box full of Hosta and astilbe.  So, I hope you have been able to Companion Your Greatness in whatever way that expresses through you.  Whether you are a gardener or not make sure you tend the inner garden and bring to fruition what is seeded in you to bless you and the world.