SPRING 2007

The main thing about the next stage of the garden was the cold! I waited, in said cold, for anything to grow. I had no idea what bulbs were in the garden, beyond the daffs I saw in the photos of the house particulars. They looked lovely, but was there anything else? Answer: A bit. I had some pots which helped add a little colour and kept waiting. The second picture shows the more "naked" bank in the back near the waterfall. That is going to be a challenge and a half. There are loads of wild raspberries growing there, so I am torn about pulling them out as I want the birds to have the berries. Ho hum, thinking to do. This really is very high gardening and I will need to be tethered, goat-like I suspect, somehow. Tall ladders? Leave till next year was the decision.

Those summer days of putting on wellies and keeping my feet cool in the burn were long gone, and it was freezing in the water now. The earth was too solid to dig so it was back to wrapping up warm and sowing a few seeds. The seeds I sorted out during the summer were doing well and would provide a good splash of colour in this summer.

I looked at lovely pictures in the gardening books and watched countless back episodes of odd gardening programmes to try and see what people did with high gardens - but there wasn't much about really. Short of terracing - not really an option for the vertical gardener - the advice was top of the sadly lacking list.

Much of the work that needed to be done that spring was clearing, clearing and cutting. The copper beech tree was so beautiful and like the shy little sister, hidden behind a larger specimen. So, with the help of wonderful, strong, and willing friends (thank you Alan and James for the strong, thank you Elaine for the willingness to lend them and open the wine!) the green beech met its maker during the Easter holiday.

And then we were left with this glorious specimen, which literally glows when the sunset is behind it. Okay in this picture we have jumped ahead a few months, but it is worth it to show the difference.