What does a Summer garden mean to you? Is it about just seeing the fruits of your labour? Vibrant flowers, beautiful smelling roses, and lush shrubbery, all coming to life and filling the gaps from Winter and those seeds you planted in previous months? Is it about showing this off and sharing your photos on social media? Do you enter competitions? Maybe you’re planting in memory of a loved one. Or is it about creating a welcoming space for friends and family – or a mix of all of the above. Summer in our gardens really does feel like the peak of the year and we at Thorngrove understand the importance of this. It goes beyond a nice bit of summer bedding, or a lily on our kitchen window. There’s meaning, and purpose to the effort we make, with this time of year feeling like the time we get to breathe it all in, and reflect.
Whether our space is a few acres, or a few pots on a balcony, nobody’s reason for planting is less important than anyone else’s. Our subjective experiences with plants, and the different reasons we all have for planting something are what make us interesting. One of the best parts about working at Thorngrove is hearing those stories. It’s seeing the smiles on faces when we’re told about plants flowering each year, and how even the small potted plant brings life to a corner of their home. We hear this during Summer more than any other time of the year and there’s a huge sense of pride that we take in knowing we serve such a diverse group of people who look to us not only for advice and gratitude, but as a place they can express their own sense of pride when they’ve seen success from their own gardening.
Gardening is a universal language, and one of the many things that can bring people together in spite of the divineness we can often see in the world. Our humble approach at bringing people some little bit of happiness, and as a place to share their thoughts is something we take much value from, and with some Summer still left to go, we really would love to hear more from you all. We look forward to seeing you at Thorngrove soon.
We would also like to wish the Blackmore Vale a Happy Birthday, and express our own gratitude towards the staff, and all readers for continuing to support us, and this joint effort in producing a marvellous community magazine. Here’s to more years ahead!
By: Kelsi Dean Buck
