January inspiration
Ordering dahlias, how I got into garden writing, and a completely inspirational conference on Wilding Gardens
This is a long, dare I say it, slightly rambling post that goes off into all sorts of different directions before coming to the final and most important section - a summary of my two days at the inaugural Wilding Conference in Manchester. Lots to tell you, but not enough time!
January 11th
This has been a week of hugging the fire and dreaming of spring and summer. The sparkling blue skies of last week were replaced by low, grey skies and endless rain. The dogs get me outside, always a good thing. I walk along the Ridgeway, the least muddy of my regular routes, and despite the clouds, my mood lifts. Tangles of rose hips, hawthorn and old man’s beard arch over the path, and dozens of tiny field fares bounce from thicket to thicket in front of me. The route back takes me along the edge of an uncultivated field, the seed heads of wild carrot, sorrel and cow parsley swaying in infinite shades of brown. The biggest treat, almost missed, comes when I look back over my shoulder right at the end of the walk and see a pair of hares sitting on their haunches watching me from the field. I stand stock still, but the dogs come back to see what I’m looking at, and the hares flee. Hares and owls. I love all wildlife but I feel a special connection with hares and owls and I’m not sure why.
Back by the fire, I sit down with my laptop ready to order my dahlias. ‘You’re in my chair,’ says my husband, half joking, half serious. We have two armchairs by the wood burner in the kitchen, and like a couple of old geriatrics, we often bicker about who gets which chair. The prime spot is right by the fire in the chair that used to belong to my grandmother. With braid coming off and frayed edges, it desperately needs re-upholstering, but I almost don’t want to change it as it won’t be hers any more.
Dahlia ordering is a task to be savoured. I often make notes about plants through the year on my phone and I remembered I’d seen a few gorgeous dahlias at Yeo Valley Organic Garden in September and one in the garden at Iford, so I search my phone for the photos. Luckily I had photographed the labels too. These are the ones that I now try to track down:
