I began July buried in the depths of the Outer Hebrides amidst howling gales and driving rain as we negotiated our ‘summer’ holiday. Island hopping from Bara to Sky via Uist, Harris and Lewis in our campervan. It sounds idyllic and and in those moments when the sun came out and I could take off my waterproof jacket it really was. The landscape was wild and untamed and endless, the kind of landscape I imagined myself being swallowed up by or disappearing into, which was a little unnerving to be honest! The beaches are irresistible curves of white sand and transparent turquoise seas. Stretches of perfection which belie the heart stoppingly cold water and fierce winds. Despite it all, or maybe in spite of it all, we returned south with hearts filled with gratitude heads and filled with memories.
The first year of bereavement brings with it various hurdles to find a way through and significant dates are among some of the more difficult ones. The 6th July would have been my Mum’s birthday. Mostly I spent her birthday with her, and when I look back at photographs of the days around this date, we are usually together, often with the rest of the family and often in her garden. We are fortunate enough to still have the house she lived in, for the moment. The same house she built with my Dad when they were engaged, and the same house my brother and I grew up in.
On leaving Scotland we wended our way back to London via Norfolk spending the night at her house. It was important to mark her first birthday without her. Her garden is lovely at this time of year filled with elderly roses. One was a gift from a dear friend and it’s peach blooms smell divine, another, a profusion of pink petals, was taken from my Grandad’s garden after he died 34 years ago, another one, ruby red and a gift from my Dad many years ago too. Other flowers and plants have been the result of cuttings she was given or she had taken herself, and others she had bought from local garden centres. So much of her lingers in the garden.
Gardens are alive and living and every garden is made up of those who have gone before. The same soil turned over by generations of different hands, the same grass walked over in bare feet, the same trees shedding leaves and bearing fruit. We come and go but the rhythm of life continues. I find comfort in this continuation, in the knowledge that the roots of those who have come before are planted and intertwined with the roots of the natural world.
We are now immersed in the rhythms and routines which come with summer. Early morning tea in the garden, all meals taken outside if at all possible, and days a little lazier than the norm as the heat steals our energy to do much except read books and potter. Salads are my food of choice. When schedules allow, work is completed as early as possible so these sweet summer days can be enjoyed and luxuriated in.
I am making sure to find time to do the things I planned on my summer wish list. You are Here by David Nicholls has been read. An absolute joy from start to finish and I’m still thinking about it. My regular Tuesday morning 7am yoga class in the park is a delight. The gentle flow created by our teacher in the early morning light is a highlight of my summer weeks. Jam jars and old glass bottles are regularly replenished with flowers from the garden and I have been a regular visitor to Kew Gardens when the gates open to members at 8am. I am a morning person and never more so than in these months. The promise of a day filled with sunshine is best enjoyed early when the scents of summer fill the air.
Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors at The Garden Museum was lovely. It is a short exhibition but a joyful one too, and an insight into the influence of gardens on creativity in the lives of Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, Lady Ottoline Morrell and Vita Sackville-West. The painting below was my favourite exhibit. It is by Vanessa Bell and is a view from her studio into the Garden at Charleston. If you have yet to visit Charleston, I highly recommend it.
Vanessa Bell, View into a Garden, 1926 © Bolton Museum and Art Gallery / © Estate of Vanessa Bell.
A Bibliotherapy Session
On the last day July I spent a wonderful hour with Sam Smith a bibliotherapist from Fiction Prescription. I was fortunate enough to be gifted this as a prize in an instagram competition. I can’t recommend Fiction Prescription highly enough. Sam is insightful and gentle and during the hour I spent with her she asked me questions and helped me reflect upon my reading life and my relationship with books. Sam helped me see themes which I hadn’t realised existed and gave me so much to think about. I am so looking forward to receiving my literary prescription from Sam in the next few days. This would be such a brilliant present for anyone who loves books.
Writing
The writing has slowed a little during July due to holidays and the lazy hazy days of summer, but the second edit of my book has been completed and I am now making numerous tweaks large and small and agonising over various sections. It continues to move forward though, and I can almost feel the excitement of a finished product in my hands in the Autumn.
Reading Ideas
These are some books which have come to my attention via various means and have piqued my interest. You might like the sound of them too.
Green Water, Green Sky by Mavis Gallant
A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen dispatches from behind the pass by Sally Abe
The Stranger’s Companion by Mary Horlock
London Things
The hot days in London can feel sticky and uncomfortable so shady parks and gardens and walks along the river are a must.
I am yet to visit the Hampstead Ladies Pond, but those I know who have and do, tell me of it’s wonders. There are lots of other places to swim outside in London and Time Out has a good list of them all.
I enjoyed art by the brilliant Yayoi Kusama in Japan earlier in the year. Much closer to home is Pumpkin in Kensington Gardens (until 9th November), and you can visit for FREE.
There is outdoor theatre a plenty all over London. Regents Park Open Air Theatre is a gorgeous venue if you haven’t been before. Kew Gardens has productions of Wind in the Willows and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Both outdoor cinema and theatre are available at Osterley House Park and Gardens.
Of course this is the time of year we all become experts in hammer throwing, dancing horses and trampolining. The Olympics which I am completely addicted to is being shown on screens across the city including The Scoop near London Bridge and Grosvenor Square in Mayfair both of which offer great venues for olympic and people watching.
And finally….
Thinking ahead to September, if you are a fan of Nigel Slater or Sarah Raven or both, then you can join them online for an evening of lively conversation about gardens and gardening. Broadcast from the Garden Museum on 6th September. Tickets here.
I’m off now to find ice cream and a some dappled shade.
Have a wonderful August.
PS: Giving this post a like is a lovely thing to do. It makes me smile and in ways I don’t understand helps other people find me!
You write so beautifully about your mother, how lovely to still have your childhood home. Sitting in her garden sounds like a huge comfort as you remembered her on her birthday. xxx