Over the hump - our garden tour went well

Getting ready for a group garden tour is bit a like preparing for the opening night of a play. You want everything to be perfect, or at least as close to perfect as possible - as neat and trimmed and weed-free as you can get. With a big garden that's always growing and changing week by week, that's a tall order. But the garden looked great, and I think our guests, the Royal Botanical Gardens Auxiliary members, enjoyed themselves.

We used to host a lot of tours - one busy summer we had seven bus tours, which added a good deal of stress - so when I decided to simplify things, I dropped two things: the vegetable garden and big group tours.

Now, as far as the garden is concerned, I think I can relax for the rest of the summer. Sure, there are projects to do, but the urgency of a due date is gone. So far the season has been cool and moist, and I haven't had to fret about watering. I love it!

That's me on the right, in the coral blouse and straw hat

David Rees, who's working for us this summer, and who did the lion's share of making the garden tour-ready, took these pictures yesterday. You can see more of his photography on Flickr.

When David interviewed for the job here, I knew I was going to hire him as soon as he told me he was into photography, because that's my hobby too. I know that taking pictures doesn't have much to do with gardening, but he has turned out to be simply excellent at landscape maintenance. I count myself lucky to have his help this summer.

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener