With a few gentle rays of sunshine, my secret garden is illuminated by the setting of the sun, and bespeckled here and there along the concrete pathway through the day.

Tis become a place resplendent in cool breezes that swirl through on a hot August day, and over the last few months it has become almost a sacred space, atleast for me.

I’ve still things I’d love to do, and its speaking to me, day upon day. On days like these, I sit within its midst, and absorb the energy it emits. Hoogy-moogy as it may be, yet I do believe plants communicate, if in rather subtle ways.

That relationship I believe to be what gives one there green-thumb. It is a deeper understanding of the language of flower and foliage alike. Through stems and roots fed with rich humus-y goodness, lovely rain showers, and hours to wile away in its charms, we absorb the filtered energy and oxygen, and therefore we are cleansed of the dirty world outside its walls.

This year I found 2 lovely variegated Jacobs Ladder that I have become rather smitten with. Ensconced amongst the tri-coloured Ajuga, with the arching stems of the Wood Fern beside, in shades of creamy white, fresh green, and burgundy wine, they almost intertwine.

To this montage I’ve added bits of rock, and cold painted iron for grounding. Strewn through with broken pots, and weedy spots. I’ve learned that the beauty of the shady nook, is the moist cool air, the rich humus scents and play of light.

Lady Fern

These spots can do with a rougher beauty, and I like playing with the dichotomy of outdoor shabby chic, against a natural simplicity.

PLANT LIST:
Ajuga reptans ‘Burgundy Glow’
Dixie Wood Fern [Dryopteris x australis]
Lady Fern [Athyrium filix-femina ‘Victoriae’]
Crested Painted Fern [Athyrium ‘Ocean’s fury’]
Jacobs Ladder [Polemonium reptans ‘Touch of Class]