Sunday 6 December 2009

Gardens and sculpture in the last three gardens created

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Below are shots taken in the gardens of Rowan Cottage, The Two Pines, and Little Manor Farm. All of them were in a bad state at the time of moving in. I work quickly, building ponds, beds, paths and structures within weeks, my theory is to get it all moving right from the start, no hanging about. Plants go in as soon as possible, even before starting on the house. Visitors always say that it looks as if its always been here, this is what I aim at,instant maturity, no time to lose.

Quickly nature takes over, then it is a matter of gentle control.Insects, mammals, amphibia appear, plants stray in or sprout from dormancy. Squirrels plant walnuts and oaks, birds drop seeds, wind plants birches.

Using a natural sense of dowsing I plant trees, which can also be a form of earth acupuncture, as is the siting of sculpture or large stones that break and sink into the surface. As the site becomes more naturalised and seen to be so, Spirit of Place takes over,it begins to mature, to be experienced in a particular way. One could say that an entity grows to embrace and nurture it, a thought form. Unconciously we all experience this, the lush verdant growth, the smells and the light of ancient woodland in late spring sun, is the epitome. The nature spirits of our ancestors or the Divas of other cultures, the Man in Green has returned.

Since we have lived in the present garden, hares and deer have appeared, I have bred hundreds of frogs,all the garden birds have increased, including gold crests, gold finches and pied woodpeckers. Blue tits nest in all the tit boxes and bumble bees use the hives I have made, mullein moths have appeared, hundreds of butterflies use the buddleias, including this year, map butterflies, all part of the Spirit.
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