After an extremely productive morning at the Winkleigh Cider Company, we popped into RHS Rosemoor for lunch and a quick alpine house inspection. There was one pot that did not have a label, and that belonged to my favourite of this visit. I had a good old rummage around but to no avail, my champion remained incognito, a mystery. It might be Ipheion uniflorum “Wisley-Blue”, it may well be something completely different. Did it matter today? I’m not sure that it did.
What is better than a good experience? To share that experience with others. What is better than a great plant? You’ve guessed it, to share those plants with others. Today I went to Incredible Edible Ilfracombe’s event at the newly reopened Lantern, a Green and Growing Seed Swap. I came home with a fine haul; Thai basil, French Bean “Kew Blue”, rocket, poached egg plant and Tomato “Tangella”. I tried to wrestle a packet of Cosmos “Xanthos” out of Hero’s hands but she is too strong and she fights dirty. As I was under-organised I had nothing to swap so instead I made a donation. But I was at fault, money was not the point of this exercise. The Incredible Edible network is made up of like minded folk across the country who are setting up community projects, for young and old, growing food, having fun, learning lessons and of course sharing. They have a site not 5 minutes walk from my home, I really have no excuse to find out more about what they do and why. So to begin I will share the so simple, but so seemingly hard to grasp, idea that it is good to share and it is even better to share growing things to eat.
An extremely satisfactory day. I considered sharing photos of newly dug soil enriched with sumptuous mushroom compost, paving slabs defining the vegetable garden, a superhuman tag-team barrowing concrete planters up a progressively steep hill then filling them with soil and Strawberry “Cambridge Favourite”, holes that once housed ancient fruit bushes and will soon be home to new vigorous specimens, a large piece of carpet, a dry stone wall built in the casual manner, a pruned hydrangea or three and naturally, the odd chicken. However I have decided instead to show you Tiny, Pip and Muffin enjoying the warming sun and their fresh pasture. It was a wonderful, tiring, but very satisfying day. And not a whisk in sight!
“On the way to work this morning I nearly drove into a mountain of mangelwurzles.”
This frilly number, photographed last week at The Farm, is the antithesis of what I consider to be the perfect daffodil. My idea of daff excellence is a petite form, with elegant reflexed outer petals and an elongated central corona, simple in design, understated and classy. Just like …. well perhaps not. On a particularly adventurous day, an orange trumpet would be acceptable, apart from that yellow is the only acceptable colour. I am of course talking about Narcissus cyclamineus the cyclamen flowered daffodil. This native of north-western Iberia and its cultivars would make up my own personal “host of goldens”. No flashy interlopers allowed. Or so I thought.
For some reason, and definitely against my better nature, I found myself admiring this decadent specimen. It may have been something to do with the sporadic gaps in the hail-peppering weather, or perhaps it was the teasing sun on its buttercup yellow bloom, or how bravely this solitary flower stood with “last man standing” vigour. Or I may just have been having one of my moments.
I do not know either the scientific or common name of the bracket fungus which is encircling the waist of Buddleja “Black Knight” in Lionel and Lavinia’s garden. It has therefore been dubbed the Tutu Fungus, Tutuious maximus. Or was that one of the later Roman Emperors? Happy weekend everyone!
The renovation/rediscovery of the vegetable garden at The Farm continued today. Slasher is on holiday, so that left me and White Spot the chicken to dig over the plot and try to extract some of the unwanted inhabitants. The area being reclaimed is a hotchpotch of excitement. If you happen to be a glutton for punishment, that is! The central area had been a bonfire site for many years so was full of 4 inch nails, barbed wire, half burnt wood, polythene, plastic of various shapes and sizes and a lot of charcoal. Girdling this area is lush turf, 3 inches below this turf is carpet. This carpet must have been laid as a weed suppressant many years ago, it is obvious who won that battle! Linking these disparate areas is a tangle of thick nettle roots and dock weed. It was challenging, to say the least, and I have got about half way through this monumental task. White Spot really didn’t contribute much to this exercise in extreme clearance, except to keep me company and eat a few worms. I did appreciate the little she did and I have found her to be an excellent listener. It would be preferable if she cut down on the worm eating, and concentrated on the bad guys such as mollusc eggs and other root munching larvae. The plan for next week is to finish the digging and improve the soil with some of the spent mushroom compost that was delivered a couple of weeks ago. It the wind stays fair, we are on schedule for tatties by mid summer!
We have been away for a few days. Not for a happy reason. It one of those times when you must do your best to do what is right. It was not, however, a wasted weekend. In many ways. It was a time to reconnect with family, a time to ponder our mortality, a time to weigh up what is important and dismiss the insignificant. For a little while anyway.
This might sound bizarre, but the crematorium so impressed me that I must mention it. Newly constructed, the architecture was modern without trying too hard to be radical. When I spotted the cloud pruned conifers at the entrance I was an instant convert. Mature trees had been retained, beech hedges had been planted and herbaceous borders of, from what I could discern in the depths of winter, red hot pokers, rudbeckia and asters. Inside the beautifully designed picture window looked far out into the Warwickshire countryside, a view that demanded contemplation. The welcome sunshine poured through windows clothed with sensitively placed blinds to save our squints. Unlike many such buildings, death did not rule here. As so often is desired at this sad time and seldom achieved, this building enhanced the celebration of a life much-loved.
Previously, wandering past the ancient buildings of Rugby School I spotted this tree, naked but resplendent. There is nothing like a tree to humble you.
Yesterday there was an unexpected frost. In this neck of the woods even if they forecast one, it is met with doubt until it actually manifests itself. This is why I was surprised when I arrived at The Farm to find a white smattering over the evergreen plants and mulch in the Welcome Border. A little later, after my “site inspection”, it appears it was the only spot affected, but it is a lesson indeed. This is a vulnerable spot. We live and learn and this will influence any future planting. Probably.
It was a good day, if not a little crazy. This is after all The Farm. The weather was intermittent sun and showers. Master G has begun the main vegetable garden project earlier in the week and this was continued by Slasher. He bedded in recycled paving slabs to act as both a boundary and a path. Being the seasoned engineer that he is, he even used a line and tape. Further up the garden I dug nettles and creeping buttercup out of the sweet pea bed whilst Mrs G pruned the blackcurrants. We prefer to use The Force for our measurements. Turf was shifted, potatoes chitted, cannas repotted, verbena sown. At all times we were closely supervised by White Spot the chicken.
As I drove home, in an outrageous downpour with the low sun blasting in my rear view mirror, the most magnificent rainbow appeared above the Devon bank. I took that as a very positive sign.
My camera has gone a bit weird. Please don’t tell anyone. I am going to pretend that it took me hours to set up this arty shot of a rich purple crocus.
Off The Edge Gardening