Page 87 of The Garden of Forgotten Wishes
‘Could you start digging in the rest of the barberry bushes around the wetland area? I’ve put the pots where I want them to go.’
‘OK,’ I agreed, going to fetch my tools and looking forward to getting stuck in to the Grace Garden as a change from the roses.
Ned came to join me a little later, bringing two big enamel mugs of coffee. He told me the phone had been ringing off the hook again in theoffice, with people wanting to tell him they’d seen the piece about the restoration of the Grace Garden onLook Northlast night.
‘Really? I didn’t think they’d show it that quickly – or even at all, unless they wanted something upbeat to fill in,’ I said, sitting down with my coffee on the steps that led to the Invisible Gazebo.
‘No, me neither.’ Ned lowered his large frame down beside me.
‘Gert and James both say sitting on cold stone gives you piles,’ I observed.
‘Then they’re taking their time arriving.’
‘Was the TV coverage good?’ I asked tentatively.
‘Apparently. They used much more footage than I expected … But then, Clara, Jacob and Myfanwy are all celebrities in their own right, so newsworthy.’
‘And so are you,’ I pointed out, and he frowned.
‘I was aminorone when I was presentingThis Small Plot, but I hardly got mobbed in the streets – or not until I had that touch of notoriety to spice the interest up a bit.’
‘You haven’t been in the public eye since, though, so it’s like I said: everyone will have moved on to something else long ago. I mean, the visitors yesterday were only interested in talking to you about gardening and how much they used to love your programmes, weren’t they?’
‘Yes, and they were allreallynice. I think I must have got a bit paranoid.’
‘That’s what comes of thinking social media views represent those of all the ordinary people,’ I told him. ‘I felt better as soon as I’d stopped being on Facebook, though I’d hardly posted on there for ages before I left for France anyway, because I knew Mike read it.’
‘I’m not on it any more, either. Lois used to check up on me that way, too, though she’s long since moved on to another man now – andyourex has remarried.’
‘Yes, and he didn’t seem to be trying to find me after the first few months anyway, so I was being paranoid too.’
‘Well, there’s no need for any paranoia now. We can just get on with our lives,’ he said, getting up. ‘Right – back to work, Ellwood.’
‘Yes, Boss,’ I said with mock meekness, following suit.
‘Between us, we should have time to put the rest of these bushes in and plant the new quince in one of the tall beds, before the others turn up and we have to get ready to open.’
‘James thinks we should spread the mulch on the roses early on a Tuesday, when there are no visitors, because of the ripe pong,’ I told him, picking up my spade.
‘Nonsense, it’s a good country smell and the stuff has been rotting nicely for about five years now, so it’s … delicious.’
‘I know exactly what you mean, but only gardeners would appreciate it.’
We worked on, mostly in silence, but occasionally exchanging comments about which new types of lavender would do well in the garden and when we’d have a chance to try and source the roses that had died out … if wecouldmatch the old names with something recognizable, where they didn’t presently exist.
The sun shone, fluffy white puffs of clouds chased each other across the baby-blue sky, the birds sang, and Caspar appeared and watched us, occasionally making a brief and indecipherable comment.
‘There, that’s everything in, until we get another consignment,’ Ned said at last. ‘I want more plants for round the pond and I seriously underestimated how many blue iris I’d need. I’ll leave opening this area till the gazebo’s up, anyway, and we won’t open the paths in the rose garden until we’ve mulched it, either.’
‘There are a couple of sections of the tile borders broken and in need of replacing, if you can get hold of any.’
‘I think I’ve seen a few stacked in one of the outbuildings; I’ll have a look.’
As we walked back, I said, ‘The visitors are going to love the little temple in the rose garden, and enjoy spotting the names of the old roses.’
‘You worked amazingly hard to get it to this stage in so short a time.’
‘It was a labour of love. But now I’m going to have loads of fun throwing myself into helping you with the Grace Garden.’
