Title: A Garden To Plant
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: G
Length: 621 words
Summary: Watson and Seth set to work on the Hopkins' flower garden.
Part of my Sussex Retirement 'verse.

As Holmes had told Hopkins and his wife when they first came to look at the next-door cottage, Seth and I had already discussed possibilities for improving their garden.  Our considerations were tempered by knowing that Hopkins would not be able to pay for any work done, and that he would be hurt if he thought Holmes and I were making a financial contribution.

However, Ellen, Seth’s daughter came up with the perfect solution.  Her younger son, Arthur, was soon to start work as an under gardener at the big house, but, in the meantime, he had some time which, she said, he could use getting some more gardening experience.  In fact, the lad had been helping his grandfather garden since he could walk, but Ellen clearly saw this as an opportunity to get him out from under her feet. 

I mentioned to Ellen that we really ought to pay him something for his time and effort, but she replied, “I am willing to give him a little money to buy his midday meal, but if you were happy to feed him, I am sure he would be perfectly content with keeping the coins I’ve given him.”

In fact, the idea nearly backfired, because Arthur was an honest lad and tried to return the money to his mother.  Fortunately, Seth was able to take Arthur to one side and explain the arrangement had been made by Mr Holmes, as one of his eccentricities.  Poor Holmes, he does seem to get blamed for a variety of strange behaviours, half of which he is not even aware are laid at his door.

Annie Hopkins had been right that there would not be time for her to begin planting her flower garden once they had moved in.  So Seth and I agreed that the best solution was to plant whatever we could find for this year, and then she could chose her own favourites after that.  Accordingly, we made it known among our acquaintances that if they had any spare seedlings, we would be happy to have them.

A number of people had already met the Hopkins family when they had stayed at the Farrows’ farm for their holidays, and were happy to give us plants, so by the time the family moved into the cottage the front garden was planted with a variety of bedding plants, and there were even some vegetable plants in the back garden, together with a couple of fruit bushes from Sarah Farrow.

At first, everything looked a little sad, with the small plants looking like an archipelago of islands in a vast ocean of mud, but the plants started to grow, so that the proportion of brown to green changed from mostly brown to mostly green.  And then the first of the plants started to bud.  After some days of rain, we had two days of brilliant sunshine and suddenly, one morning, the begonias, petunias and busy lizzies all began to bloom, and the garden became a riot of colour.

Annie was enchanted, the children delighted and even Hopkins was seen to smile at the sight. 

That afternoon, when Seth came to visit me, and we were sat on the garden bench smoking our pipes, Annie called round to see us. 

She was carrying a basket, out of which she took two plates.  “I wasn’t sure how to thank you both,” she said, “so I do hope you’ll accept these apple pies.  The larger one is for you, Seth, because I hope you will share it with Arthur.”

“Thank you kindly,” Seth replied.  “I will most certainly share it with my grandson.  Although I will be sure to take my slice first before he eats it all himself.”