down where the long grass whispers

One of our deep pleasures is sitting near the end of the garden in the evening sun, watching the breeze ripple through the grasses there.

This is where the great badger citadel is, and also where the walnuts are quietly ripening - I wonder what they will taste like,

I have a feeling the husks can be used to dye things, a fresh experiment to try.

We have transplanted some things from elsewhere in the garden as they feel more "right" in this space, which we want to keep as natural as possible, so there is teasel, whose leaves, cupped close round the stems gather the rainwater. This, I discover, led to it being called Venus' Basin by the Romans. The seed heads were used to tease out wool for spinning, the flowers provide nectar for butterflies and the seeds are food for goldfinches in the winter. We are hoping they will naturalise here,

We have also moved a couple of clumps of what I think is Shasta daisy. We saw them planted in meadowgrass at Hampton Court last Saturday and thought, aha! that's what we do with them - having had to dig out a clump to put something else in their place,

they look as though they belong already. They will be joined by foxgloves and a variety of other wildflowers as and when we can find them. Some would cut down the grasses and try and domesticate this space - we prefer it wild, aware of the passage that badger leaves as he bumbles up toward the top of the garden in search of tasty morsels

This wild space sits just below the vegetable area, and is edged by a rather splendid wall of railway sleepers, which provide a lovely natural feeling edge to the plot

We sit and watch the butterflies and buzzies flutter in the warm evening air and, if we look very close, down where the long grass whispers, there are creatures ... dark creatures ..... dreaming quiet night thoughts amidst the soft seedheads of grasses and dandelions.....