As nature never intended

It’s been a while since our garden had had a proper haircut. Last year we were still in the throes of COVID and finding someone to come and tidy up the garden was nigh on impossible. People would say yes to doing the work but would never turn up and in the end I bought my own electric lopper and gave it a go myself. But it wasn’t the same, I just didn’t have the energy to do it all at once and the tools weren’t powerful enough to take the trees and bushes as far back as I would like.

This year it has been different. Through a friend of a friend we managed to get someone who gave us a decent price and, more importantly turned up on the day, with all the tools, a crew to do the work and a van to take all the cuttings away.

Now our gardens look as nature never intended them to. Rather than a mass of interlocking greenery, all vying for the sunlight, each tree and bush is now separate, ringed by its own piece of virgin soil. Nothing is touching each other and it will stay that way through the longer winter months. There is much more light in the back garden now which is a good thing at this time of year.

Why then is this the way we want our gadens? Why do we encourage some plants to take and others we pull up by the roots? Does it give us a sense of control over nature or does conformity appeal to our aesthetics? It’s not that simple as for some a ‘messy’ naturalistic garden is more preferable to a manicured lawn and borders. I guess it’s down to individual taste.

Anyway, I must get out and tidy up after the gardeners. There is always something that they leave.