I have been reading The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift. The author used to be a rare-book librarian in Oxford and in Dublin before becoming a full-time gardener and writer in 1988.
She established a garden in Shropshire and writes about it all in this book. The book, however, is laid out in a special way which I quite like. It takes the form of a medieval Book of Hours. So the book is about time in the various ways we see it both from sowing, planting and reaping but also throughout the 24 hour day.
Her sense of place, of history are strong. The house she bought, and the land, is associated with a monastery. Furthermore, she structured the book according to the monastic hours of Divine Office (meaning duties) - a practical guide for the shape of the day. Vigils (midnight), followed by Lauds, then Prime (work then begins for the day), then Terce 3 hours later. Sext and the main meal of the day was 3 hours after that. None is about 3 pm then Vespers around sunset and lastly Compline.
Geilston Garden, owned by the National Trust is on the doorstep in Helensburgh and is the closest I can get to a monastery, garden or no garden. There is a large walled garden there, in fact, several walled gardens and these apples are all along one south-facing wall.
The vegetable garden had plenty to offer for sale at the table where the lady takes the tickets.
Lastly, with a nod in the direction of Katherine Swift here is my contribution to one of her maxims which she says came from Roymond Morimter:
Gracefulness, in things as in persons, results from an elimination of the unnecessary.
Simply 'Corn'
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