summer in the garden
the place to be. here is what we get up to in ours.
Elena Palumbo-Mosca in her garden. We love this article about her in Apartamento. She talks about being a collaborator with Yves Klein and how buying a cucumber is political.
Our time spent in the garden over the summer feels slow and significant. It is contemplative, nourishing and full of laughter. We're waking up early, having coffee amongst the laurels, plotting what to add in where, sipping bubbles, eating handfuls of raspberries and, lets be honest, often lying flat on our backs thinking about the state of the world we live in.
“The small pleasures of life are not so small really, it is just that we get into the habit of taking them for granted.”
― Sue Stuart-Smith
Etel Adnan, 'Untitled', 2014
plans by Piet Oudolf
PLANNING
They say the best gardeners aren't looking to solve problems for the season they're in now but are planning for the next. Right now we're scribbling down notes of spots that we want to see more colour/texture and getting our bulb orders in. We're flagging (enjoying) the spots that feel 'right' and making fall to-do lists for areas that need more rhythm, foundation, form. We're managing summer growth as it eeks into pathways and letting it run rampant at the edges.
Nigel Slater shows us the perfect example of planning + patience. There is 25 years between the first and second images. Gardening is a kind of timeline jumping and seeing into the future. It's magic to plan out a space, fill it up and know how much it will evolve.
@kwolkoff via ORCA
REST
Take a pause, have a nap. For us, planting stops in June. Between the heatwaves and water restrictions it can be hard to keep newly planted gardens thriving. We let seeds travel where they may and cross our fingers for rain. Our gardens are always focused on native and drought tolerant plants so the garden keeps going with minimal input.
HARVEST
There is so much joy that comes from walking through the garden, snacking as you go. Staples in our edible gardens are fruit trees, raspberries, snap peas, tomatoes, an array of herbs and, of course, rhubarb.
John Zabawa Tomatoes for J.G.(2022)
dinner at home
HOST
This is dinner at our house. The best way to enjoy summer has got to be having friends over, drinking something bubbly and making a fun meal. For the perfect evening we would:
-make this watermelon, peach and feta salad from Sami Tammimi, author of Boustany. Boustany translates from Arabic as 'My Garden'.
-serve in/on Tipsy Duralex (back in stock soon!), Mervi, La Soufflerie, Nathalee Paolinelli, and Harumi Ota
-drink the 2025 Norma from Naboso (via bar tartare).
-use our mosquito coil holder and incense from Itsumo.
-put our flowers from Heyday Farms in a Tina Frey vase.
read
Highly recommend this book about the power of gardens.
“Gardening is about a balance of different forces, human and natural, life and death. When it comes to contemplating the inevitability of death, decay, and decomposition, however, much of the garden’s power derives from a direct and earthy engagement with it. If you are not a gardener, it may seem strange to think that scrabbling about in the soil can be a source of existential meaning, but gardening gives rise to its own philosophy, and it is one that gets worked out in the flower beds.”
-Sue Stuart-Smith
