Dearest and I sometimes sit in the Great Hall beside the fire, listening to Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610. The Venetian church music casts its peaceful spell, the sacred music rewinding time. Monteverdi made great efforts to impose formal order on his music. Mother feels she tries to do the same with nature in the garden.
The biting cold of the last few days has slowed the preparation for spring, however we have made strides with the roses. The three D’s are the start of pruning; the removal of dead, diseased and damaged material should take place before the removal of branches which cross each other, rubbing together in the wind, causing damage.
We have bought a grow lamp, which Rose rigged up in the propagator unit. The lamp emulates daylight during the long dark days of winter, enabling cuttings to be taken during the dark months.
At long last the clipping of the yew hedges is complete; it has taken two hundred and thirty hours. The main hedge is two hundred yards long, our maths is not up to working out how many yards in all have been clipped; Mother reckons it must be nearly one mile if you add up all the small garden enclosures, but I’m not sure how good her arithmetic is! What a labour!
The metaphysical aspect of life is often complex. Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it. The visionary development of our lives lies in our minds. How complex is the philosophy of life.
Greenham, Nr. Wellington,
Somerset, TA21 OJR
01823 672283
