Chronicle Mid April 2008 (swedish) | Chronicle Early May 2008 (swedish) Don´t give up the rest is in English

Late April

Strong, powerful senses and feelings; that’s how it is with garden people. Nothing is done by halves; it’s all or nothing. That’s how it is when it comes to gardens.

Come with me on a journey that perhaps can lead somewhere. Let’s begin at the very beginning on a street in southern Stockholm, just over 11 years ago. The gate opens, the gate closes, and my partner and I step into our garden for the first time — into a garden that is destined to change our lives.

I’ve always been interested in gardening and gardens have always played a part in my life. I remember how my mother and I used to cycle out into the forests in Småland in southern Sweden and my mother would show me flowers and plants.  That’s how the tiny seed is planted in the child; a seed which grows slowly and, in the fullness of time, reveals its beauty one fine day. Looking back, it’s taken many years for me, but I also think back to the seeds that I planted in the window boxes at home as a child, and to the knowledge of the forests and the countryside that my parents passed on to me. The vital force that they planted in me.

It’s now the middle of April, May is just around the corner and I’m already saying “sweet dreams” to our wonderful crocuses. The crocuses are now over and there are cocktail sticks everywhere. That’s right, cocktail sticks — they make life easier when planning for the autumn.

I try to stay two seasons ahead; with gardens that’s the best thing to do. You can’t just stand there with a bag in the autumn and say, what am I going to plant now? 10 bulbs – no, no, buy more. Pile it on – that’s my motto when it comes to gardens. But not just gardens; it’s the same if one has a balcony. I’ve met so many people who are so interested in gardening and have such wonderful balconies. Maybe they can only visualise what it’s like with our 10,000 crocuses, but they love gardening just as much as someone with a spacious garden.

Gardens are gardens, and garden people needn’t just be those who live in a house; it’s enough to have a patch on which to grow something. Because if you’ve got a small patch, you can work wonders. Plant the small seed and see how it develops, and think of all that might happen...

Welcome to my garden.

A Gentleman Gardener