the long face?’ Lisa asked when I arrived at the Grow-Well.
‘Nothing,’ I said, pasting on a smile. ‘I’m all right. Just a bit tired after a hard week, that’s all.’
‘I don’t know how you do it,’ she said. ‘The garden is already beginning to look so much better and the new planting is beautiful, but how you can work outdoors in all weathers is beyond me.’
‘I’m used to it,’ I told her, ‘and I like being outside.’
‘Me too,’ agreed Graham, who was arranging some planted seasonal containers around the bothy. ‘A bit of fresh air every day is a great mood lifter, Lisa.’
‘I suppose,’ she said, but I could tell she didn’t really get it. Not like Graham and me.
‘These look great, Graham,’ I told him.
‘I wanted to get a few established ahead of my Winterfest session,’ he said. ‘And I’m really rather pleased with how these have turned out.’
‘What would you like me to do?’
I could see Poppy’s brother Ryan, and Lisa’s eldest, Tamsin, were cleaning out the hens and I could hear Carole singing along to the radio as she swept out and tidied the bothy.
‘There’s some sowing to be done,’ Graham told me. ‘Broad beans in double rows are to go in that bed over there and there’s a net cover to go over the top after they’re in, to keep the cats off and we could do with another sowing of winter salad. That’s doing nicely in the cold frame in front of the bothy.’
They were both jobs I was more than willing to take on.
‘We could do with a slightly bigger greenhouse here really,’ I pointed out.
‘Luke’s promised to put the Winterfest profits, if there are any, towards one,’ Graham explained. ‘And he’s mentioned restoring the main garden glasshouses next year too.’
I was pleased to hear that. I really would have to make a point of talking to him about it. I had meant to, but with everything else that was happening and with my main work schedule focused on planting up the Winter Garden, it had slipped my mind.
‘That will be a great help,’ I smiled. ‘We’ll save a fortune raising plants for the garden from seed, won’t we?’
‘Every little helps,’ Graham smiled back.
‘Exactly,’ I agreed then, deciding to grasp the nettle, asked, ‘and while we’re on the subject of helping, I was wondering if you might have a spare hour or two available to help me, Graham?’
‘What, in the house garden?’
‘Yes,’ I nodded. ‘There’s still so much to do and I daresay Chloe and I could get it ready in time, but an extra pair of hands, especially a pair as competent as yours, would ensure everything got finished to the standard that I’m aiming for.’
‘I see,’ he said, straightening up.
‘I know you mentioned that Luke had been reluctant to ask, but—’
‘I’d be honoured to help,’ Graham cut in. ‘I can easily manage a couple of hours every day. Mornings would be best, if that suits you?’
I don’t think I’d ever found anyone so keen to work for free. That said, Chloe was always willing to work hard for no financial reward. The garden at Prosperous Place had a truly dedicated team and it was a real labour of love.
‘Mornings would be great,’ I nodded. ‘Thank you.’
It was a weight off my mind knowing that he was eager to pitch in. Professionally, everything was coming up roses and if I could just get my private life to follow suit, life in Nightingale Square would be practically perfect.
I let my mind wander as I sowed the rows of broad beans in the raised bed and then the winter salad in the cold frames. Seed sowing was one of my favourite tasks in the garden. The excitement of knowing that my hands were the ones responsible for starting the alchemy, the magic of turning a dry, hard seed into something either beautiful or in this case, edible, never waned and I was already looking forward to watching the bright green shoots and leaves emerge and grow. It was the most satisfying cycle imaginable and I loved that my neighbours in the square had such a beautiful garden in which to be a part of it too.
After lunch, Lisa and I went up to the house where Kate and Luke had been busy arranging the dining room for those Winterfest sessions which wouldn’t take place either in the kitchen, the Grow-Well or the garden outbuildings.
Luke and I had a quick chat about Graham putting his name