Oh how peaceful it is! A breath of wind, a goldfinch chattering somewhere as it flies by. As I’m sitting at the table in the garden drinking my coffee, a wood pigeon lands on the fence, looks at me and flies away, only to return a moment later and sit in the laburnum tree. He still looks at me, but from a safer distance, then dives noisily into the bay tree, where he has a nest. He is not very discreet.

I have been gathering the gnomes together for a photograph. The king has persuaded the Royal Horticultural Society to allow gnomes at the Chelsea Flower Show and my gnomes asked me to take their picture and point out that many of them have been living and working in gardens all over the world for a very long time, and quite frankly they don’t care.

Indeed Belsizio Andranticlaw, the one standing on the front bar of Dad’s Chair (see https://sabastani.com/2025/01/27/dads-chair/ ) is a direct descendant and clone of the original gnome imported from Germany by Sir Charles Isham in 1847, therefore having very close aristocratic antecedants. He doesn’t care either.

You can find out a little more about the indoor gnomes here. https://sabastani.com/2025/03/30/new-team/ If you are interested in the outdoor gnomes, there is some information here. https://sabastani.com/2025/08/27/welcome-to-38-gloucester-road/ I’m not sure how much more to say. When I moved the Green Man for the photograph I discovered he was sheltering four snails behind his back, which is not entirely helpful, but generally the gnomes are all very conscientious in their support in the garden. Apart from that the Green Man they were all happy to have their picture taken. In regard to the picture, I have a small confession to make. I go to a lovely yoga class on a Friday morning and there is always a relaxation and breathing meditation at the end. I spent the whole time working out how to organise and arrange the gnomes for the photograph. They were all rather excited.

I do want to mention the sturdiness of my angelica plants. They are two foot tall already, and when the flower spikes emerge they will reach six, seven, maybe eight feet into the air. Angelica has always proved a difficult plant for me. I raised these plants from seed last year, and I don’t think I’ve ever been successful before, so that makes it doubly exciting. The hope now is that they will self-seed and I will have angelica for ever. Fingers crossed!

And now the wood pigeon is sitting in the laburnum tree again, this time serenading me. “Fetch two poles, Josie, fetch two poles, fetch two poles Josie, two.”