Modern gardens, especially the ‘low maintenance’ kind with the gravel, decking and blue fencing, are really sterile. Not only to they discourage the wild rampantness that occurs when plants grow with reckless abandon, but they get rid of all the nooks and crannies that the local wildlife would use for nookie.
With everything laid bare and open to the surrounding neighbours, there’s not much fun to be had for the human occupants either. A spot of nude sunbathing could win you an ASBO and anything more erotic had better wait for a moonless night.
But gardens weren’t always this way – in times past they were hotbeds of steaming passions, providing secret locations for assignations as well as plenty of eye candy to get you in the mood.
It’s obviously not something that gets mentioned in polite conversation much these days, despite the fact that you can see much worse on billboards, but garden writer and historian Jane Owen caressed the subject briefly a couple of years ago in an article in The Times called Frolicking among the fuchsias.
Jane is obviously a foxy lady as she also regularly gives a talk entitled ‘The Erotic Garden’ – and if you’re up for it she’s giving it in Oxford on Friday 19th March, in a school of all places. Tickets cost £15, but that’s a small price to pay for an evening’s pleasure and it’s all for charity anyway. Check the school website for more details.