An Enchanted Place

For day 75 of 365 Days Wild I decided to spend some time at home, in the garden. I thought I’d start off by enjoying the sight of the bright red geraniums that are in flower around the sundial. Unfortunately, although the sun was trying to break through the clouds, the overcast weather yesterday meant the there was n shadow to tell the time with. It would have been pointing to near the IV.

As I moved back in with my parents just before lockdown began in March, this garden is not actually my own, but my dad’s. He’s always dedicated a great deal of time and attention to it, and, despite now being in his mid-70s, he isn’t particularly happy about letting anyone else help out. He is, however, happy for me to photograph it!

He has a lot of fruit trees – there are five apple trees, four with eating and one with baking apples, two pear trees, and a damson tree. There are also grape vines over the pagoda.

The grapes are never actually eaten by us. They’re there purely for the garden birds that visit.

There’s also a vegetable patch, and everything that is grown there is for on our table. At the moment the beetroot, runner beans and tomatoes are the featuring crops.

Most of the roses has now finished their first bloom of the year and we’re waiting for their second flush, but the a yellow rose that is still looking lovely.

Finally, the toadstools are springing up all over his lawn. I’m not a personal fan of lawns, as I believe that these spaces would be much better for wildlife if they were allowed to grow wild, and I’ve spent many years trying to persuade my dad to see things my way. Mostly, I’ve been unsuccessful, though the losing battle he’s currently fighting with a mole determined to build mole hills on it seems to be helping my case. Him allowing the toadstools to remain is definitely a step in the right direction.