GINA DOVER-JAQUES
PUBLISHED GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHER UK
My garden provides great joy
SOUNDS FROM MY GARDEN
THE DESIRE TO NUTURE & SUPPORT NATURE
I love nature, and am fortunate to live on the doorstep to parkland that is filled with wildlife. Most days, when I am home, you can find me in my garden amongst the flowers, insects and birds, or on my daily jaunt in the park.
Whilst in its infancy, my garden already brings me so much joy. I fell for gardening after immersing myself in my friend Brigitte Girling's 'garden for nature', in 2022. My garden is also for nature, and secondary to provide me with a tranquil place in which to lose myself.
I am surprised by how simple changes can make a significant difference to a green space. There is still much to be done, but it feels as though in a blink of an eye nature has come to my corner of the world.
Birds flit from one food source to another, bees have their fill of pollen, butterflies & moths bask in the sun, soil is full of earth loving creatures, plants and flowers mingle with random abandon.
A residential garden like mine, termed a 'sterile bubble', in-which colonisation will only be encouraged to take place when more of us create spaces for nature, there is hope.
Landowners local to me and throughout the UK are managing small to sizeable plots of land in the countryside and turning them into spaces that help to support nature, and some neighbouring land owners are doing the same.
The more land owners that turn land into green spaces for nature, the greater the chance of colonisation, which in-turn will help improve biodiversity.
In conversation with local farmers and farm shop owners, that have taken over from their parents, I discover how they are managing land for the good of rebuilding its richness through regenerative farming, and as I visit friends, flower growers, flower farmers, estate owners & gardeners etc. the desire for supporting nature comes through in their conversations and actions.
GARDEN VISITORS
Lepidoptera: my garden is visited and enjoyed by a number of Butterflies and Moths, such as painted lady [Vanessa cardui], common blue [Polyommatus icarus], white cabbage, and peacock [glais io].
Hymenoptera: bee; Common carder bee [Bombus pascuorum], buff bottomed bee, wasp, ant, and potentially saw flie, plus all manor of creatures that I am yet to identify when my knowledge improves.
BEING IN NATURE IS INCREDIBLY GOOD FOR US
Being in nature is so special. My town house is situated on the edge of the countryside. Wild Geese, Swans, Herons, Red Kites often fly over my garden, and in the summertime I am often up with the sun with a cuppa in my hand, accompanied by my cat, delighting in the insects and birds that choose to spend time in my garden.
GARDEN PLANTINGS
August 2023: I introduced Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus' coneflower and Rudbeckia occidentalis 'Green Wizard', inspired by an image shared on Instagram by Brigitte & Adam of @our.english.topiarygarden. I find coneflowers fascinating, and wonderful to photograph.
SENSORY GARDEN FOR NATURE:
Common Snowdrop, Cosmos, Scabia, Lavender, Heather, Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus', Daisy, California poppy, Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, Thyme [left to flower], Chive.
KITCHEN GARDEN:
Garlic, Lettuce, Snap Peas, Rhubarb, Thyme, Basil, Beetroot, Oregano, Rosemary.
FLOWER GARDEN:
Rudbeckia occidentials 'Green Wizard', The Bride, David Austin Mary Delany® Rose, Japanese anemone, Magic Carpet, Dahlia, Cosmos, Daisy, Aubretia, Magnolia, Acer, Grasses, Thyme, Rosemary, Alium.
I thoroughly recommend planting of cosmos; it adds colour and interest later in the season when summer plants are coming to the end of their cycle, and it keeps on giving.
Early April 2024: I introduced Sweet peas to my garden, inspired by a direct neighbour that has been planting and enjoying them in his garden for a number of years. I have fallen for them, especially after visiting Easton Walled Gardens [EWG] in 2023 and being intoxicated by their scent; they are famous for their annual Sweet pea season.
The anticipation of the sweet scent from my seedlings is just as intoxicating. I have introduced Tulips too. Sadly the label flew off during a storm, so the only reference I have is visual; their blooms are a sophisticated peach/pink. Next season, I intend to plant in amongst them a dark burgundy variety for what should be a fabulous colour combination.
The miniature Tree Peony that I bud has just bloomed, and she is wonderful.