June garden update - feat. gnats, tans, and extreme gratitude

Hi! It's been a minute since I last blogged (er... over 4 months), and I realise how much I've missed talking about the process of gardening. Since I wrote last in February, I've done jobs in 187 gardens. Bloody hell. It feels it too 😂

This past week, as I write, in early June, it's finally starting to heat up. Only 2 weeks ago I was still in my fleece-lined waterproof jacket to keep out the cold wind! I know, I know, talking about the weather... it's very unoriginal. 

But my life as a gardener now means I am entirely governed by weather. Is the earth going to be dry from the heat and wind? Do I need to pack a waterproof? Have I remembered my water bottle? Should I pack SPF30 or 50? (Always 50 tbf). WHERE IS MY INSECT REPELLENT? 

Today I looked down while I was removing rogue aster seedlings from a border (which I ended up taking home, lol) and FIVE gnats were on the back of my leg, feasting on me. FIVE. That's hostile. I slapped them away and scratched all the way home. Then I arrived at my last client of the day and she'd bought me as a present an Avon dry oil body spray that is supposed to repel gnats! What a babe. 

It's been a really full-on few months of running my gardening business. It was hard, cold toil in the winter months, which seemed to go on forever, so I escaped for a few days to Tenerife. I obviously obsessed over all the planting there which was beautifully tropical; Bird of Paradise just growing on the roadside (only ever seen in conservatories here)! Verbenas growing through the cracks in the pavement - in early March! It was a total treat, plus I did a lot of sunbathing, sea swimming, and lounging about drinking Aperol. MUCH needed. 

I've also been doing the full days of work alongside working on planting plans for my clients - I've delivered so many this year I can barely keep count, and some of them I've already implemented in the planting. It's my favourite - filling gardens with plants that I've suggested (see pic for some of my recent projects), and seeing them thrive. Another great pleasure this spring and summer has been all the perennials I planted in my clients' gardens last year coming back to life with gusto - sedums sprung out of almost nothing; verbenas reaching skyward after being cut right down in the autumn; ferns unfurling in their magical way after looking brown and near-death; spring bulbs shooting up and giving colourful displays, lovingly planted in in the colder months. And yes, I did wang on about how freezing it was on those winter days hahaha (my god it really was).

Alongside all of that I've also been going through some massive personal stuff - a divorce and selling my flat and moving into a new home - so it's been a bit of a juggle, but I can honestly say that work has been a total leveller and healer during really challenging times. My clients have been so brilliant to me, recommending me to neighbours and friends, bringing out teas/coffees/water during my sessions, chatting to me about their news, and sharing their garden excitement with me. 

One of my clients asked me if I would help her bury her mother's ashes in her garden with her, planting a hydrangea on top. It was an immense privilege and a moment I won't forget. It was in the nascent days of spring, when the air was cold but the sun would try to peep out from behind the clouds. We worked together on the planting, and as we put the hydrangea in, cups of tea by our sides, 'It's a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong came on the radio and the sun rolled out above us. It was so meaningful to be a part of that moment, and to be trusted with that by my lovely client who I've got to know well since working for her over the past year or so. 

Another client recently excitedly told me there would soon be 3 year old twins running around the garden when I'd be there as she had been able to adopt two brothers. It is amazing how much I've got to know my lovely clients and chat to them, get to know their lives. Some of my clients were recently at a wedding I was at by chance, and it was so nice to speak to them not covered in dirt (!) and in a nice dress with my nails done (!!) - of course we discussed plants, but lots of other things too. It's brilliant to know so many nice people through this job. 

I struggle to remember what it was like to spend all day sat on my behind behind a desk, eating biscuits just because I was bored, beholden to emails and to-do lists, in my old life as a head of marketing in the corporate world. Of course, I still have emails and to-do lists but they're all in my charge now, and I can manage them in my own time, in cafes or at my dining room table after eating in the evenings, or in the sunny mornings with coffee and toast before leaving for work. I feel incredibly lucky to have this as my job - designing people's gardens so they can really enjoy them, making sure everything that goes into their pots and borders will thrive there, and give them joy. 

In turn, that gives me joy too. And of COURSE now it's sunny I'm wanging on about being too hot but really, in all seriousness - I love this. Despite the fact that when you put on suncream, and insect repellent, and then get soil on you, it's like you've been dipped in egg and rolled in panko breadcrumbs ready for the fryer. BUT. My tan is coming on a treat. I'm fully booked until the end of July. I've never been so tired in my life. Over and out until the next blog probably in about 4 months 🙃

Want more content? That's less wordy? I'm on Instagram and TikTok if either of those are your jam. Ta-ra! 

Rachel x