A recent significant birthday justified some significant gifts. It took some thinking time, but I eventually decided what I really wanted was some stone amongst my plants.
It’s beyond my powers to describe, just how transforming elements of masonry can be, in and around planting. I’m guessing that it’s something to do with providing balance on the time-scale spectrum, with plants at the ephemeral end and masonry at the permanent end. Maybe it’s more about a stability spectrum – that plants shift and change with the seasons and with the years, while those stone elements remain – quite literally – rock solid. Stone elements, whether taking for form of paving, or statuary, natural boulders, walls or repurposed items really amplify that unique power of gardens to have one foot in the moment and one foot in eternity.
So my gift arrived in the form of what were called ‘mortar stones’, which I assume is due to their similarity to some kind of grain-grinding stone, and, being severely short of time before departing on my latest trip, I just scattered them around my steppe garden.
The effect was instantaneous. The mortar pots immediately added a focal point to every view they inhabited, and provided some kind of compositional resolution that I hadn’t realised was lacking. The planting – almost entirely herbaceous in nature – looked anchored and stabilised in a way it never had. I knew they’d be good. I didn’t know they’d be this good.
I wonder if your garden could do with some stone?
Later this year I have the great joy and privilege of leading a garden tour from Rome, up through Florence, to Verona and the Italian Lakes, for Ross Garden Tours. I’ve lead tours for them since the year 2000, but this is my first since Covid. The tour covers some true bucket-list gardens, including Ninfa (widely considered to be the most romantic garden in the world) to Isola Bella, on Lake Maggiore (pic above), which must win the prize for the most berserkly baroquish baroque garden in existence. It’s exemplary horticulture overlaying perfect stone work.
There it is. Stone again. You can’t beat it, when placed amongst and alongside plants. And there are no better gardens to demonstrate its power than those of northern Italy.
There are a few places left. Check out the itinerary here. (Please note: this is not a Travelling Masterclass. Ross Garden Tours runs beautiful tours, and there’ll be plenty of good commentary, but no explicit ‘teaching’ as such).
Have a great week
Michael