(Commissioned to write some poems for a Poetry Garden.  I thought, "What a cracking idea!  I'll do one for myself").

 

The Rockery

Profusive colour you will see

Amid this floodbank rockery;

There’s primrose and geranium

And shy mesembryanthemum;

Bright marigolds bob and wink

Dianthus add a splash of pink;

And never have I had a failure

When I’ve planted pompom dahlias;

Yes, Nature’s let its soul run free

To kiss this floodbank rockery.

 

The Pond

Now here’s a place of which I’m fond

My ornamental garden pond;

I sit for hours and watch with joy

Shubunkin, goldfish, orfe and koi;

The rays of sunshine glint and gleam

On babbling waterfall and stream;

On balmy nights I rest my head

And nod off till it’s time for bed.

 

Spuds

To the left a fig tree buds

Beside my best First Early spuds

And lest my toms should bend or freeze

They’re sheltered from the frost and breeze.

 

Yucca Bed

And in this bed a yucca stood

Where now the iris start to bud

Two box boxes feet apart

Stand proud before a young box heart

Alongside where the strawberries thrive

That’s next to parsley and to chives.

 

Happy and Crappy

Sometimes the elves at night will stop

To labour at my cobbler’s shop

While Happy and friend Crappy too

Await repairs to elfin shoes;

I hear them in the dead of night

Go “tap, tap, tap” by pale moonlight.

 

Untidy Corner

By constant footfall I have worn a

Path to this untidy corner.

 

Leylandii Hedge

And this is where the dunnocks fledge

Within this gold Leylandii hedge

I’ve watched a cuckoo eye this spot

Then make the dunnock’s nest its squat.

 

Summer Greens

And here I grow my summer greens

This year it’s simply climbing beans

They’ll need the summer warmth and rain

To clamber up each garden cane

A recipe for growth which means

A crop that’s fit for kings and queens.

 

Landing Stage

When I sit here I’m close to God
Fishing with my reel and rod;
It’s nice of Him but I just wish

He’d let me catch some bloody fish.

 

Floodbank

This floodbank’s proven very good

At holding back the river’s flood;

It’s very simple but quite smart –

It keeps the wet and dry apart.