About January’s Garden

Wade’s Blue sign with garden stone quote – via

From Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘The  Canterbury Tales’  in the The Merchant’s Tale, about January’s garden –  such lovely words and I agree!

He made a gardyn, walled al with stoon;
So fair a gardyn woot I nowher noon.

The whole section where these lines appear.

This noble January, with all his might,
Honourably, as does befit a Knight,
Arranged affairs to live deliciously.
His housing, his array, as splendidly
Befitted his condition as a King’s.
Among the rest of his luxurious things
He built a garden walled about with stone;
So fair a garden do I know of none.

These words are depicted in a plaque above a doorway in the garden at Snowshill Manor, Gloucestershire – now owned by the National Trust.

Snowshilll Manor was the home of Charles Paget Wade.  He was a man with a passion for craftsmanship, colour and design which began when he was just seven years old.   His motto was ‘let nothing perish’, and his life was dedicated to finding, restoring and enjoying objects of beauty, both everyday and extraordinary.

He packed his treasures into the Cotswold manor house (Snowshill) which he bought and renovated for the purpose.

The manor nestles in an intimate Arts and Crafts-style terraced garden with hidden vistas and quiet corners.

Charles Wade created his own paint colour.   ‘Never paint a “nature” green – turquoise is the most satisfactory colour, a foil to the grass and foliage’ he wrote.   Subtly different to turquoise, ‘Wade Blue’ is the backdrop to many intriguing quotes dotted around the garden.