‘How many kinds of sweet flowers grow in an English country garden?’ asks the classic folk tune titled “English Country Garden”. The English pride in their gardens is famed the world over and the country is dotted with growing delights of all kinds, tended by passionate and green-fingered Brits in gardens across the nation. And it was the chance to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of English gardens that was one of my highlights on a recent trip back to the UK to visit family.

I have long been interested in plants and gardening, and do try to have herbs and other plants in pots on the balcony, or in front of the shop, during the summer months. But living in metropolitan Tokyo does restrict your ability to be able ‘to garden’ in the true sense. I do have a pair of old shorts which I call my ‘gardening shorts’ and an old t-shirt, my ‘gardening t-shirt’ to use when I do get the chance to get my hands dirty a bit. Pulling out some weeds from the perimeter of our house, pruning the climbing jasmine that likes to ramble here there and everywhere on our boundary fence, trimming the branches of our tea tree. A few odd jobs that need to be done from time to time. So it was with a sense of anticipation that I packed my gardening shorts to take to the UK recently. My Mum has quite a large garden which requires a lot of maintenance and I could guess that there would be some jobs I could get done while I was there to help her out a little. And I was not disappointed! To reduce the amount of weeding needed, my Mum wanted to cover the surface of two large flower beds with a membrane and then top that with tree bark. This then creates a barrier in which the weed seeds cannot germinate and grow. So it was on with the gardening shorts and to work. The first bed I used old cardboard to make the first layer. And thanks to Amazon and an online wine delivery service, there were plenty of old cardboard boxes in the shed to use. After arranging the cardboard around the various plants, wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of tree bark was spread on top. Once all the old cardboard had been used up, I switched to the more common method, using sheets of black weed sheet. It was a hot sunny day, and quite hard work but incredibly satisfying to get it done.

And after some physical activity, it is important to take some time out, sit in the garden with a cup of tea and enjoy the vibrant surroundings. Summer in an English country garden is a splash of colours, with flowering plants, foliage of all shades of green and the lush green of a grass lawn. Gardens are obviously beneficial to human life, a tranquil refuge to relax in and enjoy. But perhaps more importantly, gardens are an essential contributor to insect life. Insects are vital for a healthy garden. From bees buzzing in the shrubs to colourful butterflies visiting your plant pots, insects are a joy to watch and boost the biodiversity of outdoor spaces. They will help a garden bloom. Pollinating insects like bees and butterflies allow plants to reproduce. They also attract other wildlife to the garden as birds and mammals rely on them as a food source. Creating an insect friendly garden is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. And with flying insect populations estimated to have decreased by 60% in the last 20 years, this is a very positive trend. Rather then creating formal traditional style English gardens, Brits are embracing being more messy in design styles to help insect numbers recover, with areas of wild flowers, leaving piles of old logs, leaves and stones and planting a diverse range of flowering plants of differing colours, shapes and fragrances.

With decreasing insect populations, bird life also struggles to survive. And gardeners love to see insect-eating birds in the garden as they help to control garden pests that can destroy their flowering plants and young vegetables. Birds love to feast on aphids, white fly and caterpillars. So a garden that is rich in plants, insects and birds is a biodiverse space.

Here is a selection of birds that commonly visit my Mum’s garden:

When I was staying with my Mum, she took delivery of a flower press. I hadn’t seen one of those since my childhood. It seems the craft of flower pressing is making a comeback in the UK now. The art of flower pressing has been around since early human civilization. Pressed laurels and garlands were even found in the 3,000-year-old coffin of Tutenkhamun’s mother in Egypt. However, the official art of pressing flowers to form decorative images originated in Japan in the 1500’s and is called Oshibana. The art of Oshibana uses pressed flowers, petals and other plants to create a detailed image. Through interaction between Japan and Europe in the 1800’s, Oshibana became a popular art in Victorian England. Flower pressing evolved into much more than just an art form. It became a way to document, preserve and record new or unseen plants and save special memories.

With the help of Amazon UK, I quickly bought a flower press so that I could bring some samples of an English summer garden back to Japan to share with my family. Of course, to press flowers you don’t need an actual flower press, just some absorbent paper and a couple of heavy books will do the job. But I do love our new flower press!  

And here’s the folk song English Country Garden, the oldest version of which dates back to 1728: