The story is told, although I suspect it to be largely apocryphal, that during the slum clearance of the 1920s and 1930s, and when presented with new, modern housing complete with indoor bathrooms the tenants, unsure what to make of the bath, utilised it for the storage of household coal. Whatever the truth, or otherwise of this, it is correct to say that right up until the Second World War a large proportion of the British population did not enjoy such luxury.
Today the luxury of a few decades back is now a necessity with even the smallest of new houses advertised with at least two bathrooms and, very often, a downstairs 'cloakroom' - a euphemism for what, in my childhood, was always called the 'back lavatory'. And, of course, we now live in the times of the 'en suite', a most dreadful term which I cannot help but regard as being somewhat parvenu.
But where is all of this leading? To those old fashioned, zinc baths which in days long before bathrooms became commonplace were placed before the fire and where, once filled with kettles of hot water, each member of the family would take a turn for the weekly, Saturday night wash and scrub. Now, my friends, T and G, who are making a delightful garden behind their Regency house in Brighton have recently acquired such a tin tub.
Not, I hasten to add, to live the authentic life of a BBC period drama, as like most young men of my acquaintance, T and G prefer a 'Power Shower'. No, this is a new addition to the garden. With holes drilled for drainage, ballast from Brighton beach, raised sufficiently off the ground, this bath sits in a sunny spot below the kitchen window. At present it is massed with a marshmallow confection of Nerine bowdenii, shockingly pink but providing a pleasing contrast with the battleship grey of the container. But more is to come. For T has underplanted the Nerines with hundreds of Crocus tommasinianus whose starry, lavender-purple flowers should delight in the dark days of January-February. Later, and already in place deep down, Tulipa 'Black Parrot' will announce the advance of spring.
Colour in this Brighton garden is chosen with care. The overall scheme for what is termed the Flower Garden is deep pink and burgundy offset with grey and shot through with silver. Cardoons, Cynara cardunculus, are already establshed as bold end stops to the borders, teamed up with the rich-red leaves of Heuchera 'Rachel'. I do, however, privately question the wisdom of including Artemisia ludoviciana to act as a foil and to lap the base of Cotinus coggygria 'Grace' for, lovely though its metallic foliage is, it does have a propensity to misbehave rather badly.
But then, boys will be boys, and who am I to cast stones - or whatever?
P.S. The picture to accompany this posting is of the 'Usk' Boat Bath by Drummond Architectural.
123 comments:
That bath sounds lovely! Oh, but I can't google this one for a photo. I will have to use my imagination to see the blooms spilling over, and the crocuses popping up in winter. I must say we prefer the power showers here at PITV as well...or the giant jet tub in the master suite. ; )
My nerines are in bloom at present.
The combination of the grey metal and the pink nerines must be lovely and cardoons too...I would love to see a photo of these...
I would not like to share bath water...unless I was first...
Dear FG, Thank you for your comment. Just as you cannot Google this posting for a photograph so, sadly I must use my imagination for images of you in the giant jet tub!! It all sounds great fun.
Dear Hostess, Thank you for your comment. I did try to persuade T and G to take a photograph but they are very private people and refused point blank. I do love the vibrant Nerine flowers and, as you say, they make a pretty contrast with the grey container.
Hi Edith,
My sister-in-law would love this. She is quite the collector using many household items in her garden. I am sure she would gladly plant a bathtub such as this one
Eileen
Too bad those boys are so shy. I would love to see their garden. Even without, it sounds lovely.
You have quite the lyrical writing style, Edith. I really, really enjoy it!
[W]e now live in the times of the 'en suite', a most dreadful term which I cannot help but regard as being somewhat parvenu.
I cannot tell you how much I love that sentence.
Wishing you a most wonderful weekend!
Another interesting/colorful post, dearest Edith. I have a vivid imagination! I often wondered why my father (b. 1905) said zinc for sink and this is probably why. Wishing you October glory!
My imagination has run wild with this posting, creating a wild party of color that takes place in a bath tub. It certainly makes me smile. When you mentioned "shot through with silver" my first thought was Artemisia and there it is. Yes, it can be wild and even a bit boorish, but oh how handsome in the moonlight.
Dear Edith, thank you for your recent comments on my blog. You have been supportive and I so appreciate your suggestions, advice, and thoughts as I attempt to weave my story into something that feels like 'home', to me.
Dear Eileen, Thank you for your comment. I do think that it is such fun to use different and unusual items as containers in the garden. However, one really does have to ensure that they are well drained.
Dear Liza, Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am always asking 'the boys' to let me have pictures of their garden but to date I have not been able to winkle anything out of them but I shall keep trying.
Dear Raina, Thank you for your comment. How very sweet of you to write such kind things. Had you known my mother, she would have regarded the term 'en suite' as being unspeakable!!
Dearest Joey, Thank you for your kind comment. Although I do not possess a zinc bath, I do have a number of galvanised florist buckets, old watering cans, metal jugs and large bowls which I sometimes use for a 'still life' in the garden in summer.
Dear Teresa, Thank you so much for your comment. Oh, I had not thought about the Artemisia by the light of the moon, but you are so right, it should look wonderful.
Dear Edith,
I am now yearning for an old tin bath ( I have recently seen the odd repeat episode of 'Upstairs, Downstairs !!). Your delightful description of the one in T and G's garden has wetted my appetite for one.....the steel grey contrasted with pink or white or blue....how stunning. First though, I must begin rummaging in the architectural salvage yards !!
I love the 'Usk' bath. I did consider one for our bathroom but, alas, our bathroom isn't quite big enough and, they are quite a price.
Oh, and I share your opinion on en suites. I think that we live in the dark ages, as we only have two bathrooms, one of which is tiny !!!! Victorian houses have never really lent themselves to bathrooms, have they ? I always thought that it would be sacrilege to turn one of our bedrooms into another bathroom !
Enjoy the weekend Edith. XXXX
Dear Edith, I once lived in a house that had an old fashioned tub like the one pictured tucked up in the attic eaves - I'd love to go back and take it, copying your friend T's planting scheme. Sounds lovely!
Deep pink, burgundy, grey and silver sound like a great combination. Also, thank goodness for the modern convience of instant,clean, hot water. When I am stressed, my family will sometimes hear me say...Calgon take me away. :) Enjoyed your post, Edith.
Dear Jacqueline, Thank you so much for your comment. I do so agree that it is a pity to convert bedrooms into bathrooms. I rather like the idea in English houses of having to don a dressing gown and pad down a corridor in slippers to the bathroom. Which, of course, was most often in my childhood of an arctic temperature in winter.
I do think that a trip to LASSCO might indeed result in a few 'must haves' for the garden or, indeed, the house!
Dear Cyndy, Thank you for your comment. I recall that you have made much use of a silver/ pink planting scheme in your own garden to great effect. If you can grow Nerines, I should recommend adding them since they add such drama at this stage of the year.
Dear Amy, Thank you so much for your comment.I completely agree that there is nothing better than a long hot soak in a deep bath, even though these days, getting out can be somewhat of an adventure, mindful not to slip!
Dear Edith,
I believe 'to have a bath in your garden' is just the thing at the moment. I came upon it in several Dutch, but also international (garden) magazines. Although I can enjoy it very much when the plant combinations used match the grey of the bath, it is not for me. I may sound old fashioned, but I think a bath is best left in the bathroom where it belongs.
The plant combinations of your friends sound interesting. Especially the use of the cardoons with the Heuchera Rachel. It makes me wish my garden was a bit bigger, so I could try this one out as well.
Enjoy your weekend!
lieve groet, Madelief
Dear Madelief, Thank you so much for your amusing comment which made me smile. Just to be absolutely clear, the bath in Tand G's garden is nothing like the size of the bath pictured here, nor is it anywhere near so glamorous. The claw footed roll topped one that they purchased for the house is most firmly in the bathroom!
Such a delightful idea!
And for me.... it's a bubble bath every single night in my painted claw foot tub!! Not out in the garden, you understand! Although, that might be fun, too!
Dear Pamela, Thank you for your comment. A bubble bath and a glass of chilled champagne no doubt! In the Hungarian countryside, summer houses often have outside shower arrangements when the temperatures are very high. This all looks great fun to me too,but I have yet to try it.
Dear Edith, Who needs photos when you paint so well with words. I can just imagine tubs all over England filled with black coal . . . doubtful indeed. I have a friend in Atlanta, who has a famous garden. . . there is not a shy bone in that boy! He has a tub located in a private place within said garden . . . carpets of jewels similar to your boys planted about. I love your descriptive writing! I would not worry about any herbs misbehaving in such an eden. ;>)
Dearest Carol, Thank you for your generous comment. No, I think that the days of coal in the bath are long gone, but baths in the garden for bathing could well be making a comeback. I personally prefer them filled with flowers, after all where would one warm up the towel?
The tub is lovely and so is your writing. I remember bathing as a child and my grandmother having a bath after me. Times were tough at the time. Nowadays, I enjoy showers more. Have a nice weekend!
Dear Edith,
You have planted, excuse the pun, such a wondeful image in my mind of T & G's exquisite sounding 'bath' container. As you know I am a great fan of Nerines and the grey of the container sounds absolutely perfect to show them off.
The rest of their garden sounds pretty gorgeous too!
As ever, Edith, a wonderfully entertaining and informative post.
Have a great weekend.
Jeanne
x
I love nerines. I keep trying to grow them here on a stony, sunny bank, so far without success. Maybe I should try a bath although all the ones you see around here are on the edge of fields and used to water animals. Don't tell the boys, but privately I too agree about the Artemisia.
I have a tin bath which last year I tried to use as a pond on the patio but it didnt really work, I think the water got too hot. However, I have now drilled holes in it and it is planted up with herbs by the kitchen door and it has been very successful
Hi, Edith! I honestly do not want to imagine bathing one after the other. I understand there were few other alternatives back then and am ever so greatful for modern conveniences! I prefer the large rain showerhead personally, although an occasional therapeutic jet tub is good for muscular aches and pains, especially after gardening. I enjoy therapy jets in my pool as well along with an outdoor shower. Ahhh...contemporary luxuries!
I too wish the boys would permit a photo of this garden bath. You've described it so well...it makes me yearn for a visual! But since they won't budge, I'm happy your description is so vivid!!
Dear Edith
As a child I can remember the old zinc bath that my grandparents used many years earlier hanging up in the coal shed. I can remember being horrified as my mother told me how she used to get bathed in it beside the fire just after the war.
I often think back to my grandfathers sheds - he had the most amazing things in there as he was a hoarder and many a time I think back to the things we gave away or skipped many years later that nowadays people would pay good money for including that bath. We threw away a couple of Belfast sinks aswell which would have made great homes for alpines. Plus he had wooden step ladders which if I had them now would be painted and terracotta pots with auriculas placed on each of the steps.
I can just picture the scene you've described as my neighbours have nerines in flower in their garden at present. I'm sure its quite eyecatching against the grey of the old bath.
Have a lovely weekend :)
Oh my Edith, I remember them so well. The water did tend to cool off to fast and left me shivering and my teeth chattering.Blue lips and all. Well maybe I played to long in the water before getting to the soaping part. LOL! We would be thought so primitive now to bath in them. They do make wonderful planters now with fond memories and beautiful flowers. ;-)
Dear Edith, I have a picture of a bold and bohemian garden. The colours you described add some cool harmony to the image. Eszter
I have been trying to imagine the floral arrangement you describe but all I can see is a claw foot tub I once had the luxury of bathing in while visiting a friend in northern California. It sat under a window and the view was all pine trees.
Goodness, two bathrooms would have been quite the luxury when I was a child in England. I do remember our old house had all the water-requiring rooms (bathroom, kitchen) on the back wall of the house, no doubt as indoor running water was an afterthought after the house was built. I remember my father had to removed the old back-boiler from behind one of the fireplaces when I was very young, for fear it might explode. No doubt the water from that was once used to fill a similar style tub once. I also vaguely recall the old loo was in attached outdoor brick shed, next to the coal shed, although I think it was long since disused by the time my parents purchased the property, and we repurposed the space as a tool shed. I'm spoiled now in comparison. There's much to be said for modern conveniences!
Dear Edith,
I love to take a bath at the end of the day. Call me selfish, but I do not like to share the experience with anyone.
We have no idea in these modern times just how really spoiled we are. We think nothing of a taking a whole tub of bath water all to ourselves. Your post is a good reminder of just what a luxury it truly is.
Here is a cautionary garden tub misadventure: My neighbor put a claw foot tub in her backyard, filled it with water and goldfish and christened it a "pond". Unfortunately, it turned out to be a breading tank for mosquitoes.
Edith,
You so need a digital camera so you can share this great find with us. I'd love to see it all planted as you describe. It sounds great.
hello dear edith,
as i write this i am anticipating my nightly bath ritual. i love baths and never break the law b/c i could not bear to go to prison and have to endure showers.
the bathtub you have described planted outside sounds absolutely beautiful. too bad they would not allow a photo.
common here are horse troughs planted in gardens and they look beautiful too.
so now i'm off to indulge.
~janet
Dear Metscan, Thank you for your comment. Yes, sharing the bath water was very common and does have a lot to commend it. Nowadays, perhaps recycling the bath water into the garden might be a more acceptable way to avoid waste.
Dear Jeanne, Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, I think that T and G are very pleased with their progress so far. They have a penchant for the quirky and I think that this serves them well in creating an interesting garden.
Dear Elizabeth, Thank you for your comment. I am just wondering if your site is just a little too exposed for the Nerines. Whenever I have seen them doing well it has been in a sunny, well drained, but also sheltered position.
No, I shall not say about the Artemisia......I rather think that it will speak for itself!!
Dear Helen, Thank you for your comment. I think that your idea of planting a tin bath with herbs sounds absolutely wonderful. And, to have them handily placed by the kitchen door is just perfect.
Dear Kimberly, Thank you for your comment. You seem very well equipped for modern day living with jet tubs and showers of all descriptions both inside and out. A positive Spa!
Dear Rosie, Thank you so much for your comment. What wonderful ideas you present here for using the abandoned things in your grandfather's shed. As you say, there are so many creative and attractive ways in which these things can be put to use in a garden to add interest as well as offer practical growing conditions for certain plants.
Dear Lona, Thank you so much for your amusing comment which made me smile. Yes, the reality of bathing in front of the fire was quite different from the romantic way in which it was portrayed. As you say, it is so good to put these vintage items to new uses so that one can remember the good old days with fondness.
Dear Eszter, Thank you for your comment. Yes, bold and bohemian, that is exactly how I would describe their garden.
Dear Patty, Thank you for your comment. Oh, the luxury of a deep bath under a window with a beautiful view. Bliss indeed!
Dear Clare, Thank you for your comment. I had not thought about a back boiler in ages but they certainly did continue for quite some time, well into the 1970s at least. As you say, we must all give thanks for modern plumbing and hot water at the turn of a tap!
Dear Jennifer, Thank you for your comment. I love the cautionary tale which really made me laugh. I do not personally think that baths make good ponds since controlling the temperature of the water and maintaining a healthy environment in the water are perennial problems which are difficult to overcome.
Dear Sherlock Street, Thank you for your comment. As you know, I do not have a camera, but if I did, it would be more than my life was worth to take a picture of T and G's garden as they are such private people.
Dear Janet, Thank you so much for your comment.Although I have not seen horse troughs planted, I can well imagine how suitable and attractive they would be in a garden.
I do so hope that you enjoyed your bath in your very pretty bathroom.
If only we had the climate, it would be wonderful to have an outdoor bath, surrounded by lavender and with sun-warmed flagstones for a bathmat. Dream on! As for the artemisia, I like Powis Castle but maybe that's too girly for the chaps. Perhaps thy might reconsider if they knew that A. abrotanum's common name is Lad's Love?
Dear Edith - as a gardener I can't imagine not having my bath...great for easing all those aches after a day's gardening!! Do hope you're doing well - sorry not to have visited for a while but with it being so wet all of a sudden a good chance for a catch up - take care Miranda x
Dear Isobel, The picture you paint of bathing outside is perfection indeed. But, as you say, dream on, unless, of course, one is in possession of a house and garden in the South of France or Tuscany, perhaps. As for 'Lad's Love', how clever of you. I cannot wait to telephone the boys!!
Dear Miranda, Thank you so much for your comment. As you say, the thought of not being able to take one's daily bath is unimaginable - unthinkable even. We are, indeed, so very fortunate to live in times of constant hot water on tap, so to speak!
Edith,
Your description of what T&G have going on in their garden puts me in mind of a great ice tub with champagne bubbling over and out of it. I am sure it is a pleasing display in all but the harshest of seasons. - G
Dear G, Thank you for your comment. Ah yes, dear G, a bath filled with champagne. Perfect, indoors or out!!
Dear Edith,
I vividly recall the zinc bath next to the coal cook stove in my grandmother's kitchen and prefer to think of it as you describe in T and G's garden... colorful, alive, and serving a purpose more to my liking. Your friends sound creative and delightful.
Dear Diana, Thank you for your comment. I am pleased that you too recall the zinc bath and, as you say, how much more fun and enjoyable it is to plant it up with colourful plants whilst enjoying the creature comforts in the luxury of an indoor bathroom.
There are so many things we take for granted these days - a house having at least one bathroom amongst them.
The house I grew up in was built in late Victorian times. When my parents bought it there was no bathroom at all, so a bedroom was sacrificed and quickly converted. Even so, due to lack of central heating, I have vague memories of bathing in front of the fire downstairs in colder months!
Such a shame you were unable to acquire photos of the garden in Brighton - in particular the tin bath. Dust off your powers of persuasion; a few cleverly taken photos could still maintain the boys privacy.
Dear Bub, Thank you so much for your comment. We do indeed quickly forget that what were not so long ago luxuries are today's 'must haves'. But, how wonderful it is to have moved into the age of the indoor bathroom, hot water from the tap and warm towels. Bliss!
As for taking sneaky pictures, that is quite a problem since I should need to rely upon The Boys taking the photographs, as I do not have a camera!!
Dearest Edith, I too wish that I could see a picture of this, what a fabulous display it must be. And in the spring, to see that mass of crocus tommasinianus, I am sure my heart would just stop. I do agree with you about the artemisia, a bit unruly for my taste.
Dear Edith, those curious zinc tubs are a fixture in some former tenement apartments in NYC--"TIK," or "tub-in-kitchen." They've probably been renovated out of existence by now but were still common in the 1980s.
Sometimes one still sees old clawfoot tubs used as garden ornamente but since they're back in vogue, less so.
Dearest D, Thank you so much for your comment.Yes, the bath looks terribly effective with the rather shocking pink against the grey. I hope that the Tulips will not be too tall and flop - we shall see!
Dear Charlotte, Thank you for your comment. How intriguing that NYC should have had TIKs. A bath which, when not in use, could be covered by a worktop was a feature of many small teraced houses constructed after the war, presumably to save space when housing was at a premium.
I am thrilled to have discovered your blog. I am in the process of creating a garden from half an acre of field behind our house, and sell some of the cut flowers to people around about. I look forward to learning so much from your wealth of horticultural knowledge. Belinda
Dear Belinda, Thank you so much for your very kind and generous comment. What you are doing sounds so very exciting, if not a great deal of hard work, and it will be wonderful in time to come to look back on your progress. In my experience, the making of a garden is an ongoing process, the journey of which is far more important, and interesting, than the final destination.
Dear Edith, i well remember visiting my grandmother who lived in a two up-two down in london and who kept the coal in her bath and continued to use the shed outside for the toilet. To have a bath or 'power shower' is to remove the skin oils that protect us against the winter cold. She lived well into her nineties. The only heating in the house was an open coal fire...
Dear Edith,
Catching up on your blog. Thanks for the history lesson on Sir Trevor Lawrence. We are not familiar with that clematis here, nor was my husband who worked in the nursery/landscape business for 7 years before becoming a firefighter. It sounds lovely.
I would also love to see a pic of your friends' flower garden in a tub. Our daughter stayed in Brighton for a semester while attending college there.
Thanks for visiting. A GPS device is a global navigation satellite system that transmits directions from a satellite in space. It is a pretty amazing device, and we probably should have been more patient with it, realizing what is involved in getting directions to any address entered into the GPS. It shows you where you are on a map and tells you when to turn to get to your destination. If you make a wrong turn it will say "re-calculating" and map out a different route. Having never used one before and no one able to give us instructions; we found it quite frustrating at times. Many people in the US own one and give them a human name. They can be set to a male or female voice. It can list out restaurants, tourist attractions, lodging, etc. with the mileage and calculate what time you will arrive at your destination.
Thanks.
~ Julie
Dear Michael, Thank you for your comment. I think that you make a very good point here as I am sure that there is a connection between living to an old age and building up a resistance to the elements. Our modern central heating, air conditioning and other such creature comforts are making us weaker rather than than stronger I fear.
Dear Julie, Thank you for your comment and your detailed description of a GPS system. As you can well imagine, I had never heard of it and certainly have managed to live this long without it. I now feel that it must be another technological device that would just complicate rather than simplify my life and so I shall be without!!
Lady Edith,
Reggie does so adore it when you speak like a top-lofty lady, which he believes you have every right to be. He hasn't heard anyone use the expression "parvenue" since, well, he used it only the other day. When Reggie lived in England in the mid-1970s he was aware of tiny rowhouses in poorer, albeit respectable areas in the lesser cities where the bath, a toilet, really, was in a separate little building from the house, at the back of the garden. He thought it remarkable at the time. He currently lives in a rather lovely house built in 1817 here in the colonies that did not have a bathtub (or shower for that matter) added to it until 1931. Amazing how fast it's all happened in the last 100 years, isn't it, m'dear?
Dear Reggie, Thank you so very much for your exceedingly gracious comment.
Yes, in such a comparatively short period of time, so much has changed in so many areas of our lives.
When I was a child, I recall hot water for the bath being heated by a gas geyser - the sight of which terrified me. In order to get me into the bath, Nanny would disguise the geyser by covering it with an old blanket. Nowadays, water is heated invisibly, or so it seems!
I don't think I could pass up a soak in gorgeous tub such as that for a "power shower".
Nice to see such lovely tubs being repurposed if their days are truly done as a soaker. :)
While I can appreciate the lovely color combinations, I think an outdoor tub is a bit reminiscent of an old shack with junk cars and plumbing fixtures piled in the front yard. I don't like bed frames in the garden, planted out with flowers, either. This is my personal prejudice, but I say more power to those of different taste. Gardens are personal spaces and beauty is, as the saying goes, in the eye of the beholder.
Dear Edith Hope,
what a beautiful and informative post! Thank you! At the moment I am racing between Hamburg and Berlin, so I don't have much time - and no blackberry - and am even late with my own posts. And scrolling down to write a comment on your enjoyable post takes time too! But I see it as a special treat - and will come regularly when everything is 'normal' again - about mid-November, hopefully...
The big flat in Berlin is from 1898 - and there is one fly in the ointment: only one bath. We suggested to build a second in - but the proprietor is (still) reluctant. I can understand it, because if a tenant in our own Jugenstil house in Hildesheim suggests 'to pull a few walls down', we are not glad all over - and are happy to be able to say: 'Monument conservation, sorry dear.' But a second bath in Berlin I will get - it's only a question of time...
The garden sounds wonderful, the bath quirky, and it sounds perfectly appropriate to add some unruliness to this picture!
Dear MsS, Thank you so much for your comment. Like you, I much prefer a bath to a shower but increasingly showers, with power!, appear to be the thing of the moment. T and G have though made very good use of their old tin bath.
Dear Deborah, Thank you very much for your comment. I know exactly what you mean and I am completely with you. However, in defence of T and G, their tin bath in no way resembles a cast off piece of plumbing, but rather a very generous and well planted container. They would not countenance anything which looked like recycled junk!
Dear Britta, Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to comment. I so very clearly understand how very hectic life must be for you at the moment and at such times the blogosphere can hardly expect to come first, or even second or third! The Berlin flat sounds wonderful, with or without an excess of bathrooms. I imagine it to be somewhat similar to my own in Budapest which dates from the late 1870s.
Dear Catmint, Thank you so much for your comment. The old tin bath does, indeed, work very well in T and G's garden and does add a slight sense of quirkiness to an otherwise immaculate space. No bad thing in my view!
Hello Edith Hope,
Like Deborah, I have seen bathtubs planted with, say, marigolds and petunias, in certain rural areas of the U.S.--but an antique zinc tub with (to me) exotic plantings would be something else, entirely, and quite charming.
Dear Adrian,thank you for your comment. Yes, I know what you mean. one can see all manner of ghaslt 'bedding schemes' planted up in all manner of, in my mind, totally unsuitable containers. But, I have to say, that I think the boys have achieved a fun and interesting planting combination which loks attractive in their 'tub'.
Hi Edith - thanks to Idiot Gardener for introducing me to your blog. I have a vivid picture of the floriferous tub in my head now, and hope you can share some photos, if not of the nerines, then the crocuses and tulips. I acquired a large zinc drinking trough for my garden earlier this year and while much more industrial than a tub, it does offer lots of planting potential -currently it's an eclectic border, with echium, mimosa, salvia and cavolo nero among other things. Bulbs will follow. I'm too greedy for lots of different species and haven't mastered mass plantings yet...
Dear Camilla, Thank you so much for your comment. Your zinc trough sounds absolutely lovely. So exotic as well as eclectic, it must look wonderful. And, what is so good, is that one can ring the changes every year, or every season if one wishes. Perfect!
You're blog is super-cool. I love it so much. I stumbled upon it from goodness-knows-where and could gobble it all up. I love the way you write: your use of language, the variety of topics, the, the....everything!
I shall be your new Follower, once I've stopped burbling enthusiastically.
Sarahx
Edith, I missed your posts while we were traveling. I'm glad I can read them again! I wish I could see that bath of your friends!
What? You mean you don't keep coal in your bath?
I have a few zinc baths; they are filled with leeks at present. Indeed, the paved area resembles a 1940s washerwoman's convention!
Dear Sarah, Thank you so much for your very generous comment and for becoming a 'Follower'. I am so pleased that you have enjoyed my writing and hope that I shall continue to amuse you. I have never been referred to as 'super-cool' in any aspect of my life or work, so this is a first and I regard it as a wonderful compliment.
Dear Tatyana, Thank you for your comment and welcome back from your travels. The planted bathtub is indeed great fun. I like it very much too!
Dear IG, Thank you for your comment. I shall resist rising to the bait of what, if anything, is kept in my bath. As for your baths [I notice that you have several], well I only hope that Mrs IG is able to enjoy a luxurious soak undisturbed by your various alcohol brewing or vegetable growing activities.
Hello, dear Edith!
I have not been feeling very well for the last week or so and have "fallen off the map". I am much better, now, though, and my sister's 40th birthday is tomorrow and my parents are visiting from CA. We are in full swing, here, in my world! I am going down to Keene to see if my topiary shrub is still there and, if not, the garden goes in - come what may. We haven't had our frost, yet, but it's been very close.
I know the plants that you have described in this post - some of them are my favorites. The whole garden sounds so lovely. Thank you for describing it for us so beautifully.
Love, Katy
P.S. I really cannot let the misconception go any longer. I must be vindicated. (I'm rolling my eyes and laughing!) Just so that you know, the plants that I put in my garden that were so desperately dry were NOT my own potted versions. The desperately dry and almost dead plants were from the old parsonage. The lovely lady who lives there, now, is going through so much turmoil and I didn't want to burden her with watering the flowers. I had to just let the situation go until I could do something about it. We have had a desperate drought, this year, though (whereas, usually, a garden could get through even if it was neglected). If the plant was truly dead - I left it. The ones I have transplanted are VERY hearty and will be fine! Actually, I only took little pieces of the plants there - I KNOW that they will fill in with gusto! I just couldn't handle the thought of you thinking that I let my pots languish! =P
Also (while I'm on a roll), I think that my story resembles Anne of Green Gables, I do feel that my own story is it's own novel. It was quite a funny coincidence - Tom was looking through an OLD book, that he has, of sayings, quotes, speeches, poems, song lyrics, etc. Quite suddenly, he started sprouting Shakespeare - "All the world's a stage." You and Will - great minds that think alike! =]
Uh, oh! I hope that my last comment went through to you!!! You see, I received a notice saying "Error!" and that it was too large. (blush!) You can imagine, then, how much I really, really hope that you got it. =0
Dearest Katy, Thank you so much for your very extensive and most welcome comment and, rest assured, it did come through despite the 'ERROR' - always most alarming.
Now, how could you possibly imagine for one moment that I would think that you, of all people, would allow pots to dry out? Never in a million years!! I have you down as THE most organised of people and, where the garden is concerned, up with the lark and to bed with the owl. Give you a ploughed field of several acres, and it would be transformed into a garden paradise by nightfall!!
You are so lucky with dear Tom, Katy. Yes, it is true, all the world is a stage but none of us has to be centre stage at all times. Look after yourself [putting yourself first occasionally] and take care. As Tom's book doubtless says, 'They also serve who only stand and wait'. Now, let me not keep you from those potted plants!
Edith, what a splendid new addition to T and G's garden. I am rather envious. It sounds as if the lads are making maximum use of this metallic capsule. Oh how fortunate we are with our modern sanitation facilities!
Dear Edith, I knew about "en suite" from visits to England, but didn't know the term "downstairs cloakroom". The English are masters of the euphemism. And of course of gardening, and I hope you sneak in and photograph that bathtub when all the crocuses are in bloom. A delightful post.
My dear Edith. Your sense of humor always delights me. Your replies to your commentors are as good a read as your post. Alas, I cannot read them all or I shall be here til morning. But I would surely be well entertained. :)
Dear Edith, Again, you sent me on a delightful romp down memory lane. Father was a coal miner before they had baths at the pithead, so he would come home completely black with coal dust. It was my job to lift down the zinc bath from its hook on the kitchen door, place it before the fire, and fill it with jugs of water from the boiler. I remember that activity more clearly than my own bathing in the zinc tub, probably because Dad's was every day, mine was only once a week. I wish I had that zinc tub now to plant with flowers!
You don't need a camera, Edith, I saw every detail from your delightful description.
Edith, I have been worrying about you with the news of the toxic flood in Hungary. I sincerely hope you are very far away from the terrible disaster!
Take care. Pam x
Dear Anna, Thank you so much for your comment. The Boys do have quite an eye for the unusual and I am enjoying seeing their quirky garden style develop. What they lack in plant knowledge, they make up for in panache!
Dear Barbara, Thank you for your comment. You are so right about the English. Very often, when conversations are so wrapped up in euphemisms and metaphors, one can easily not have a clue about what someone is talking about. Still, there is always the topic of the weather!
Dear Meredhuit, Thank you so much for your comment. I am continually amazed at how much more my commenters add to each posting. There are always so many different and interesting views and opinions that it is quite true to say that variety is the spice of life.
Dear Pamela, Thank you so much for your very kind comment. I am so pleased that my posting triggered those memories for you, and yes, how good to still have the bath today for your garden -one can say that about so many things from the past.
I am in London at present so have only heard news of the Hungarian disaster from afar. It is in the countryside so not in Budapest but the threat to the Danube is great and that could have much more wide reaching consequences. I am grateful for your kind wishes and my heart goes out to those who have been so tragically affected.
Excellent reuse! During ice storm power failures in Maine, we boil water on our woodstove for our baths. Nothing like a good soak for people or gardens.
Dear Sarah, Thank you so much for your comment. Yes, there is nothing like a power cut to make us all return to basics!
Hi Edith, 'Late' seems to be my middle name lately but o'well you know what they say . . .
I do hope you can someday convince the guys to let you take some pictures but I have to say I also understand about being private.
The combinations sound wonderful and now of course all of us have our curiosity up.
My brother took an old clawfoot tub to the dump. I could have seriously hurt him. What good do connections do when no one remembers what a scavanger you are.
Great post, I enjoyed reading it. I liked the description of the colors. I am painting through synesthesia which makes me see colors when I hear names and numbers. These colors I transform in paintings. Colors are my life. Uedvoezlet.
Dear Edith,
Friends back in Sweden has a tin bathtub in her very large rosegarden. In the summers it full of water and rose petals floating on the surface. It is very nice and romantic.
Here in London my neighbour down the road grows strawberries in her white bathtub.
Dear RG, Thank you so much for your comment. That wassuch a pity about the claw foot bath. Never mind the garden, it would have looked wonderful indoors! Make sure that you supervise any future trips to the tip.
Dear Cecilia, Thank you so much for your comment. How very fascinating about the synesthesia painting technique. I have never heard of this before and have found your website most intriguing. I also see that you have Hungarian roots and wonder if you still visit Hungary or have relatives there?
Daer Ingrid, Thank you for your comment. I think that the tin bath in the rose garden sounds beautifully romantic. I am less sure about the white bath in the London garden, even allowing for the strawberries!!
I am having trouble getting past the part where they drilled holes in it! Perhaps it was dented and unsightly -- let's hope so. Some Nerine sarniensis were generously gifted to me last year, and the first bloom stalk is a foot high. Huge excitement. That artemesia is indeed a thug. What about Senecio vira-vira? Alas, though, it is tender. Edith, as ever, you are such a good read. Thank you!
Dear Denise, Thank you for your comment. Just to reassure you, the bath was already rusted and leaky so was not fit for its original purpose.
Your suggestion of the Senecio is a very good one and I shall certainly pass it on. Thank you.
Dear Edith
I remember moving to London and in the small streets of Battersea, the bathtub came with a big board to cover it up - doubled up for the preperation of food in the kitchen.
Dear Catherine, Thank you for your comment. Yes, I remember houses equipped like this. It made perfect sense when space was at a premium - who knows, it may enjoy a revival as everyone lives in much smaller spaces these days.
I couldn't agree more about your comment regarding 'en suite' - horrendous term and, frankly, brings a certain type of net curtain, and 'semi-detached' house to mind.
Dear BB, Thank you for your comment. Oh, dear me, the nets!! Although widespread in certain houses and counties in England, believe me that is nothing compared to their epidemic proportions in Hungary. They are positively everywhere!
It sounds so pretty! I can just imagine it. I first thought you were going to say they were using it for an outdoor shower, which I've seen in magazines, but I think I love the way they are using it much better.
Dear Catherine, Thank you for your comment. Yes, I was not too sure myself what I was going to find when the Boys invited me to see their 'outdoor bath'. But, like you, I was very pleasantly surprised!
Brings back memories of a tin bath in front of the fire at one particular time as a child.
Dear Barbara, Thank you for your comment. Having the tin bath as a memory makes one very grateful for a bathroom with running hot water!!
Dear Edith, your photo shows a beautiful tub that could be displayed in an art gallery, with all its fine lines.
It sounds like your friends have created a handsome tub full of plants of pleasing color and form.
Dear Terra, Thank you for your comment. Yes, I agree that the pictured bath is indeed elegant. For the price, however, one could furnish several bathrooms!!
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