However, as predicted, the planning permission for the new building was turned down, as a result of some perfectly reasonable objections from neighbours, and some examples of rampant nimbyism, much as would be expected from the kind of development which surrounded the property. The upshot of this was that a more compact huge building would have to be designed, and that it would have to be further away from the next-door bungalow. This meant placing it on top of my lovely new landscape. Of course, I was very pissed off, and berated everyone I could find to berate, protesting about my lovely design, my lovely plants, and at the same time saying that I could draw up plans just as good for wherever the bloody bulding ended up, just so long as they lifted my plants and stored them safely till I got better. Accordingly, I was asked to come in and supervise landscape contractors with the lifting.
They wanted to cut down my tall bamboos, in much the same way as you would prune any other large plant during transplantation, to prevent water loss through transpiration. They clearly didn't understand the way bamboos grew. If you cut down a bamboo stem, it doesn't regrow from the cut. It waits till the following year to put out new shoots from ground level. The pruned stem never regrows. If they cut them down, all the advantage of their bulk would be lost, and the landscaping, when I did get it started, would be with short, truncated, ugly plants instead of an instant rustling, swaying in the breeze effect. I told the landscaper I didn't want them cut down, and then went home. On my next visit, I discovered that he had gone to my 'temporary' replacements and told them the bamboos needed to be cut down, and they had agreed to do it. By the time I was able to stop them, half the plants had been ruined for my purposes. Clearly my continuing employment no longer commanded respect.
I have never been back, and never will.
The Office Manager did take some low-definition photographs of how the scheme was looking just before the plants were removed. They hadn't been maintained to the standards I would have achieved, but in some respects they were beginning to show their potential. Sadly, however, no one had really attended to this area in my absence, and none of the trees had been watered. About fifty percent of my specimen trees were now no more than dead sticks attached to stakes.
The bamboos were beginning to thicken up though, and it was now possible to imagine how they would provide an effective screen -
They were starting to spread by throwing up long shoots from roots a metre away from the main plant. This would require constant maintenance to keep them within their prescribed bounds. I doubt whether my replacements would have coped with this work -
The screen of lower-growing bamboos which would close off the view at the end of the croquet lawn was becoming quite dense, although further spread was going to be required, or perhaps supplementary plants -
But the effect that I was really looking for, the grasses and bamboos billowing and rustling in the breeze was well on the way to proving itself. There would be sounds there in their shelter that would delight a musician's ear, I was sure, and already the main house was disappearing from view -
And still the vista down the length over the Echinaceas was preserved -
The whole thing was still not finished, of course, and never would be, but it was pleasing to see how it was beginning to become what I had envisaged -
I suppose in the long run, though, this was a garden which didn't really deserve the level of professionalism I wanted to give it. It was never a major horticultural attraction through its history. It was a play area for its owners, and more a way of satisfying their quest for privacy than a garden of any importance. Perhaps it was only right that it should descend after my custodianship back into its cottage garden state. That is what it always had been, albeit a large one. My temerity had taken it to better places for a short while, and I was very proud of what I had been able to bring it to. But being a professional means more than getting paid for your work, in my book. It means you have technique, vision and love. A good garden can be easily ruined by a bad gardener. But conversely, a bad garden can rise above itself in the best hands. That is what I hope I gave to all my gardens.
In some ways I am sad to have completed this report, in others I am relieved. I had intended to write a conclusion, detailing all the things which a gardener needs to make his output stand above the crowd. I have already given the details through the text. I am not sure I want to summarise any further.
This is farewell, until a new subject grabs me in the future. And don't forget that the story you have just read continues in the Kindle books listed at the top of the page. Nil-by-Mouth is the first. It is much funnier than this has been. And better written. This report has been led by its pictures, by a visual force. My memoir is primarily a story and the words count for more.
Thank you for sticking with me through the repetitive parts. It was important for me to capture the whole story before I forgot any more of it. I suppose one day I could edit it for readability and make a book out of it. The material is there now. I just need to recoup the energy.
In the future I will continue to write, and you will find my work on the website or on my two facebook pages or twitter. If I find another big subject I may construct a book here on blogspot, as I have now done five times already. Stick around. There's plenty more to come. But for now I have a large drawing to complete as a well-earned break from four months of daily writing.
Thank you for accompanying me through my musings.
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