Garden: major works & change

Having inherited someone else's idea of a garden -- together with some hard landscaping (the koi carp tank) -- we had to decide on what to tackle first, keeping in mind that the first priority when moving into a new house is to deal with the interior rather than set to work in the garden. In the event, both the exterior and interior proved to be the work of some years, from which a lesson may be drawn: deal with significant changes asap. For instance, the living area of the house had been decorated in a yellow of considerable vileness. (Why on earth anyone would choose yellow as an interior colour is beyond belief, but given the character of the ghastly vendor, her choice of colour was not all that surprising.) Anyway, we tolerated the dreadful colour for a year, until it reached a point when we could no longer ignore it. And much work ensued (interior decorating always proves to be more time, energy and £ consuming than envisaged, and is a bit like parenthood, with a similar mixture of pain and delight!)

As to the garden, we eventually filled in the tank (or at least, we employed someone to do it), repaved the upper patio and used the paving to pave the lower one, removed the lanky tamarisk, the overbearing cherry laurel (whose flowers exude a very nauseous scent), the energetic forsythia (whose upward and lateral growth required major trimming each summer), and miscellaneous other unwanted plants. Eventually the borders were more or less cleared for action.

Meanwhile, I planted three bamboo, two yellow and one black, in the bed which separates the lower patio from the lawn. These keep company with the cordyline and the fan palm, so all together form a vaguely exotic screen, beyond which the lower patio is visible. This has proved to be a useful spot for storing pots and bags of potting mixture, as well as an ideal location for potted hostas, which thrive in this semi shaded spot.

The planting of the borders was to be the next project, and it remains a work in progress. But then, all gardening is a work in progress. The main lesson to be taken from our experience of inheriting a garden is, firstly, allow a season for border plants to reveal themselves -- spring bulbs, for instance, had died back when we moved in, so it was wise to wait until next spring to see what surprises would be in store. Secondly, if there are big shrubs and trees which are beyond their useful life, including those which are now out of scale with the garden, get rid of them expeditiously. They are usually a problem, often being deep rooted, and will therefore take a lot of effort, as well as a need to remove the remains, and all of that is best done in one fell swoop.

I suspect that there are lessons for wider application in this. When moving into a significant management position in a new organization, spend some time (e.g. 100 days) sussing things out by doing a lot of listening and noting, and then, having identified areas that need change, go for it. Ultimately, and unfortunately, that may involve transplanting or even removing some plants/people. At best, it may mean having to do some careful cultivation and retraining because, of course, people like plants grow into certain attitudes and patterns of behaviour which can't be altered instantly.