Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A Brave New World

A brave new world, pastures new, hurrah.

My silence over the past few weeks was firstly due to ongoing laptop problems, but more importantly, I have a buyer for my beloved home, and simultaneously, I have found a perfect home in which to start my new life. This new home is just across the fields in a neighbouring village - far enough away for a change, yet near enough to keep my good friends.

It is so extraordinary how, after the worst three years imaginable, everything has come good. Fingers crossed - as we hurtle towards a twin exchange of contracts on both properties.

A whole gamut of emotions has been flooding through me these past three weeks. One moment tearful, the next fearful, sudden rushes of elation, and moments of sheer relief that at last I can plan a future.

Needless to say, the ex threw a huge hissy fit and tried to put a spanner in the works. Methinks if he was hunkered down in connubial bliss with my replacement, he would be too pre-occupied to still be causing trouble with his petulance and spite.

I now feel as if my dear home and garden are saying goodbye to me - the garden has never been so verdant, green and beautiful. Despite the warm weather during April and the early part of May, there are few signs of drought here.

The roses are magnificent, in front of me on the kitchen table is a large glass bowl of sweetly scented Madame Alfred Carriere - this is one of my most favourite roses. It rambles slackly over fences, up trees, over walls, with thin stalks supporting lovely creamy heads blushed in places with the palest pink. The scent is of a quintessential English garden rose. It has taken many years to reach perfection in my garden and I fear that I will not be alive long enough to establish it in my new little cottage garden.

Tour de Malakoff is breaking its magenta/mauve buds, and my rambling Seagull is poised to follow suit. What a joy. My paeonies are big, blowsy, flopping over the borders, Duchesse de Nemours, one of my favourites, a clear white. One tree peaony, Davidii, dark small single magenta flowers with a yellow centre, has just finished, and my absolute favourite, Souvenir de Madame Cornu,huge,, heavy sweetly scented heads of yellow streaked with dark orange, just going over. There are clouds of Alchemilla Mollis, and many hardy geraniums, purple, white, such as Kashmir White, deep Johnsons Blue and many more. Spiking up through the borders are maturing drifts of Nectosicordum Siculum, cream Camassias, and cream Martagon lilies, known as Turks Cap. Exquisite.

Dear garden, how I shall miss you, but as moving day draws near, I shall be moving through this beloved garden with my trowel, spade and pots, lifting precious specimens to take with me to my new life.

17 comments:

Mo said...

What fantastic news, best of luck with the move. x

Girl About Town said...

So happy to read a new post! Good Luck on the move and do please let us know how it is going.

Girl About Town said...

So happy to read a new post! Good luck on your move and your new life. Do please let us know how it is all going.

pierre l said...

It is great to read you again and great to hear that you are making progress with the house sale.
I assume you won't have room for two sheep, so no more videos of Senior Daughter feeding them.
I mostly lurk but do read every one of your posts.

Deborah said...

What fantastic news!!! I have clicked on your blog daily for updates and wondered where you were. I am a new follower - it's strange because somehow I had come across your blog at the beginning of all this, then lost track of where it was, had not done the follower thing and I was so happy a few weeks ago to find you again. This all sounds so right. I am very happy for you - please post photos. I am such an anglophile and miss it so much. I got such sentiment from your garden descriptions. You are such a writer - a new fresh slate (no marring from that wicked past spous of yours!!), and the location, perfect. Oddly, when I had to sell a beloved house a few years ago, my redbud trees had never put on such a show as they did that spring to say goodbye to me. Can hardly wait to hear more about your life!!!

LPC said...

Congratulations. Good luck with your new garden. I moved out of my house when I divorced, and then moved back in 2 years later. By the time I moved back, the garden had suffered badly. Now, almost 3 years after having moved back in, the garden is better than ever. Just different. Plants are resilient. I really wish you so much future happiness.

Anonymous said...

Happy Days to you, as you deserve them. One house door closes and another one opens!

Anonymous said...

I am SO pleased for you. Hurrah! I sympathise with the sadness at leaving a garden behind. I may be doing that in a year or two. However, I have no idea how to take specimens with me. I'd love a tutorial if you have the energy or inclination! Good luck in this new chapter.

Nadine said...

Sounds like Congratulations are in order, I am glad that you finally have found a buyer, and, thankfully, a suitable replacement for yourself.

Hopefully the roses will settle well in the new garden: I took a root from one of my mother's across with me when I moved out, and it is blooming beautifully this year, the 3rd summer in it's new home.

Lola X said...

Congratulations! Great news...


Lola x
http://lola-x.blogspot.com

IsabelleAnne said...

Thank you for sharing your news. Sending good wishes to you as you make this transition. Hope you will continue your blog when things settle down. All the best.

Rose said...

congratulations, I know it will be horribly sad to leave but it will also be more wonderful than you're expecting. When we had to leave our family home I thought things wouldn't ever be the same but they are and it's really people and love and animals that matter most- and you will make your new home and beautiful as this one

Anonymous said...

When the roots go deep, they more easily take to transplant.

Anonymous said...

I've missed your blog, hope all is well and that you will resume blogging some day.

Red Nomad OZ said...

It's sad to look back on what you're losing - but how exciting to be looking forward to all that life now has in store. Good luck!!

libby said...

Hi....this is a lovely post, as it exudes bittersweet feelings but is optimistic and exciting...so glad you have found somewhere lovely to live and can take a little piece of your garden with you.

Anonymous said...

I keep hoping you will blog again. Your writing was fascinating and so human. Hope you are well and you are enjoying your wonderful new home -- we would all love to hear about it. Although I follow LLG, she rarely gives us lots of news of you. Do miss you. It's been over a year now.