WHITE

Though colour is very important in the garden as relief from the predominant one of GREEN, white is also essential.

This can take the form of variegation in foliage, flower colour or even white stones, painted walls and other painted items.

The first plant shown here is a white Iris rescued from the rubble of the building of the house. This was one of TJ's plants - he also had a blue which I also saved.

This Iris is one of R's favourite plants in the garden and lights up the area by the slate path from the paved area to the hoggin path.

Though there are wild flowers

of white such as daisies - both Ox-eye and common, foxgloves now interbred with the wild ones and pignut they pale into insignificance with the explosion of the crambe or the penstemon - right. (Took cuttings of this and catmint).

One recent introduction is the white form of the biennial honesty. It is important to keep the rotation going by sowing seed for two years and then letting them get on with it. At out previous house I did not do this and we had alternate years of white and pink.

So, what have we been doing - eating the thinnings off the gooseberries and freezing some for later. Leaving one berry every couple of centimetres (gosh metric!) will give us a fine crop in a few weeks.

Broad beans have been sown for a second crop and pumpkin and squashes are in. The turnips and rocket are through but some of the rhubarb still looks sickly - did it get a side swipe from the weedkiller used on the paths?

Yesterday I picked an enormous vase of roses and their scent now fills the hall - Emma Hamilton, Gertrude Jekyll, William Shakespeare, Jude the Obscure.

It sounds like we are having a celeb. party though I am not sure how they would mingle? Plenty of Burnet wine and some Bombay mix should do it.