FROM THE ESTATE

The Haphazard Gardener - A Gift of a Garden (Part 2)

After my father-in-law Sir William Benyon died in the Intensive Care Unit in the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading and we had had the idea to make a garden in his memory in a grim little courtyard outside the hospital cafe, it was another two years before the project was announced and two more before work started.

FROM THE ESTATE

The Haphazard Gardener - A Gift of a Garden (Part 1)

A little over four years ago, my father-in-law, Bill, was in the Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. The second-storey ICU wraps around an internal first floor courtyard. The staff room, offices, visitors waiting room and corridor all look down onto this space.

FROM THE ESTATE

The Haphazard Gardener - A Joyful Reunion

This year I feel as if beloved spring, having deserted us, suddenly had a change of heart and flew North to fling itself into our arms. Oh, the joy! Within a week my tulips have gone from sullenly peeping the tips of their leaves through the sodden earth, to stretching themselves as close to the sun as they can - almost as if they are standing on their tiptoes.

FROM THE ESTATE

The Haphazard Gardener - Inspiring Containers of Instant Spring

A dear friend invited me to celebrate her birthday by attending a container planting workshop at Petersham Nursery in Richmond. She was apologetic about it being a busman’s holiday, but I don’t need an excuse to visit any nursery, and Petersham is particularly dreamy.

FROM THE ESTATE

The Haphazard Gardener - The Blessings of Trees

With the winter solstice and Christmas past us and the New Year welcomed in, I should be pouring over spring catalogues allowing my dreams to run riot.