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Here’s a blog post, but before we get into that, please remember to vote! vote! vote! for Veddw! Well, as long as you think we deserve it, of course. No harm in sending the link to friends and relations, too…..

Propaganda done. And here’s a treat: your flower pic at the begining.. (I know, you won’t read the post now…..)

Out now at Veddw. (worth a vote in itself, that rose…)

Pattern

Do gardeners talk or think about pattern much? I don’t read the garden media or watch gardening programmes much, so I don’t know. But it seems to me to be one of the most important aspects of a garden. (Alongside light, plants, seats, wine….) I love it. I need it. I think one of the biggest reasons I find the ‘cottage’ garden style hard to cope with is its frequent absence.

So I think about it a lot. And some of our local (ie with Charles) disagreements are about symmetry.

Sometimes I like symmetry..

But sometimes (not by any means always) the rigid balance of symmetry is a bit dead for me. I prefer to give it a twist, while not descending to chaos. Charles has always struggled with me over this and I have found it hard to explain sometimes why strict symmetry just won’t do. My very good friend Kathy put it well, though. She described how a man’s suit has buttons down the middle and lapels on either side – and one top pocket. Perhaps with a handkerchief, to make it read well. And she’s right.

If you’re a pedant, please don’t send lots of pictures of pocketless suit jackets… you’ve missed my point.

This emerged strongly as an issue when I let a small strip on one side of the Yew Walk revert to meadow. I liked the formality of the hedges contrasted with the randomness of the meadowy bit. But just on one side?? Has to be! He can’t see it. But he lets me do it.

I haven’t got a decent picture of the Yew Walk and it’s edge (tells you everything about how the Veddw photographer feels). So here’s another Felicia.

The issue emerged again with the b̶a̶l̶l̶s̶ globes. I thought that having them match all the way down the avenue would look rather municipal. And that indeed it needed breaking up rather more than just not matching across the path. But this time, Charles not only accepted this, but he designed the irregular arrangement of b̶a̶l̶l̶s̶ the globes. And it works superbly. So somehow we have come to a common vision.

A triumph for Charles.

More casually and playfully (because much less rides on it) I paint pots and the arrange them on our shelves. This is always more complicated that it seems, and is not made easier by different sizes of plants needing different sized pots.

Outdoors
Indoors

But sometimes I even go for symmetry. (ish)

The pots have vanished by this stage…
Interesting: plants in symmetry, pots not..
Whoops! How did I get three pots the same colour underneath each other?!
Does using the same kind of paint create a pattern?

In the garden, plants militate against any kind of pattern if you let them. You make an avenue of trees (remember ?) They will even spitefully die on you in order to destroy a pattern. It’s a constant battle. Currently the Crescent Border has some pink persicaria flowering away as an opening to the season. This is a vigorous tough plant, living happily as all our Crescent Border plants do with a good helping of ground elder for company. But, you know, there are three or four clumps on one side, and just one on the other……

Now you see them.
Now you don’t.

These last few years we have been troubled with many nasty diseases, principally box blight. But also, and very sadly, holly blight. It has killed most of the native holly in our woods. And it has goes at the hollies in the garden, which we have quite a collection of. One of the nastiest results has been its attack on the holly standards in Charles’ plot. It starts from the bottom, leaving ugly, bare and totally dead branches.

Charles being, understandably, much upset by this, I suggested we grow ivy up them, to eventually replace the holly at the top. This has been going well, with the ivy climbing happily… until someone, who shall be nameless, cut the ivy off one. (The realised his mistake and stopped). It happened to be the most blighted.

Awful, isn’t it?

We have four of these standards, grown from babies. (pause for a little weep here…). It now seems obvious that this one has to go. The interesting question is: will anyone notice? And what will they make of it? Will the destruction of the pattern register and matter? My curiosity about this almost overwhelms my upset about it.

It doesn’t overwhelm Charles’ upset, sadly.

What do you think? Will anyone notice? Or (apart from us) care? Do other people look for patterns? Do you mind if it’s missing or has gone odd? Will you complain if there are only three hollies?

Afterthought – writing this piece has made me realise I haven’t even begun to make sense of pattern, symmetry or anything else related to them. There’s a challenge then…..

Here’s a fabulous sky from last night as a change from flowers. Xxx
Anne Xxx

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