As a sporadic reader of the Country Diary, I do not know what led me to Amy-Jane Beer’s contribution on Wednesday, but it has changed my life in ways far beyond the surrounding contributions on politics and the world. We are now deep in “open garden” season and it has been, until now, a chastening experience to return from the proudly controlled and immaculate versions on offer to the chaos of our own small plot, where multitudes of plants grow into and around each other with no apparent self-control or sense of order. I have tried to impose some discipline, but have been defeated by my inability to decide which should be rooted out and why. As Amy-Jane says, it is best to just watch and learn, and, so long as space remains for a garden lounger, that is what I intend to do.
Gordon Hetherington
Great Ayton, North Yorkshire
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