I think of a home as both a place and a feeling. This was highlighted when the next door plot and buildings were sold to a developer. Within a few days 90% of the trees had been cut down (with council permission) and everywhere flattened. We could see not just into next door’s garden but also the one beyond: it was quite disorientating.

A home has a familiar feel to it; a safe place where you can relax. It is your own space; somewhere to have children, keep a pet or run a business. There may be a financial commitment. The land surrounding my home is as important as the bricks and mortar. It is a place where I have lived for the last forty years and felt a sense of belonging (or at least did so before the trees were axed). The back-garden is quite large and gives a sense of freedom. There are paths and a large grassy area, plus a cricket wicket – the full 22 yards; and beyond this is a wooded area. Since the start of spring the ground has been covered with bluebells (mainly blue but some white). It is impossible to walk there without squashing some and I chose to refer to the “forest-floor of bluebells” in the 2nd online class. Here is a photograph of my embroidery – I hope you can see all the detail.

This picture is mainly stitched with a sewing machine using a free-run needle to build layers with different cottons. The bluebells are machine embroidered towards the end.

The Iris is one of my favourite flowers and so I planted several in my garden. The flower structure is complex and the purple colour adds to its regal form (a copy of Van Gogh’s painting of Irises is below; I also have a print in our house).

The body of flowers is grouped by weaving around each other and this will be replicated in the growth underground. The rhizomes form a mat with their roots that other plants cannot penetrate, so nothing else can grow there. The neighbour who had given them to me did warn me they were possessive! During lockdown I was especially glad that these flowers had a rhythm of their own and flowered in spring without any extra input from me. Like surprise visitors they burst in on us and their flowers provide colour and splendour. The rich reds and blues of the anemone, the delicate sweet pea, and the pale pink of the cherry blossom are just some of the flowering plants that I have grown here and make this garden a familiar place.

The importance of the garden in forming the home, suggested in the book ‘Gardens First’ by William Webb, seems to have been rejected by the new developer. Mr Webb, who drew the designs for my home and many more in this neighbourhood (in the early 1900’s) believed the position of trees should be considered before the building of the houses and I think I would side with him.

Tricia Furner 7 June 2021

(C) Danielle Jones (Teale) Dance, Collective IDentity, written and artwork by Patricia Furner.