Explore the seasons in the garden

Before I learned about gardening I used to harbour the romantic notion of nature going to sleep in the winter and the garden year beginning in spring. I was, of course, wrong. There is no end. The end, if there were one, is not a new beginning. Nothing ever pauses. Nature does not start all over again. It is not a cycle nor a linear progression but a continuum, which weaves and meanders through time.

The planting in the garden should not force an artificial, uniform look all year but celebrate nature by reflecting its seasonality. This way the garden can cater for the needs of its residents and visitors, wildlife and human.

A garden should also provide food, water and shelter for the wildlife and interest for the human residents throughout the year.

Discover our Imperfect Garden at different times of the year: Spring with all its new growth and the anxious wait for every plant to show signs of growth again. At this time of the year, the bees and other insects are grateful for all early flowering plants. The fullness and the laziness of summer, the first vegetable harvests of the year. Autumn still overflowing and bursting with ripeness and colour, holding the melancholy memory of a fading summer. Winter with its short days and long nights, when much of the new growth is already starting up below ground and out of sight.