The Gardener’s Prickle Equation

IMG_0770 (2)As a gardener I am not a fan of berberis.   As a consumer it is quite different, they are often stunning in flower and provide a useful evergreen structure to the garden.  This disparity can be explained by using The Gardener’s Prickle Equation.  This calculation involves complicated variables and whimsies.  In short, the beauty of any given plant, be it herb, tree or shrub, must outweigh the pain by a factor of four.   I adore this Berberis valdiviana as both a worker and an observer.  In spring it is festooned with hanging panicles of turmeric yellow flowers which hum with the gratitude of gorging insects.  This evergreen shrub from Chile can reach 3m which, if you have the space for it, will fill your garden with floriferous sunshine in spring.  Added to this it is less spiky than most of its relatives.  The result of the horti-maths is positive.  My cold, cold heart is thawing.

Missed Again

IMG_0918 (2)I took some great photos at The Farm yesterday.  Buttercup yellow laburnum flowers cascading from skinny branches, revelling in their deliciously noxious reputation.  A mallard drake with his head barely above the plantain and grasses in a burgeoning meadow.  The Rasta lambs, now less shy and more photographically amenable, posing delightfully in the paddock enjoying the post-deluge sunshine.  A monstrous hosta, still unscathed.  Evidence of bunny activity.  A fallen quince tree.  Three half barrels in decreasing sizes planted up with bedding, brightening a dull corner.  Spanking new plants in their new homes.  Public enemy No. 1, a particularly wilful and malicious chicken, who has been digging up these newly planted specimens and doesn’t even have the good grace to wait until I have left the area.  Throughout the rain and the accompanying mud I wrestled with waterproofs and juggled my poor abused camera to take these award-winning shots.  All for your delectation.  On arriving home I found my camera memory card still inserted into my laptop.  Oops! Here is a lovely lilac from earlier in the week, it will have to suffice.

Slow Roast

IMG_0924 (2)Today was the first time this year to be “I wonder if there is a job in the shade?” hot.  There wasn’t and it was a slow roast.  Never mind, Lavinia kindly supplied Mexican Lime cordial, which was greatly received and knocked back in a manner more docker than dame, and I made a note to look out my straw hat in case the occasion should rise again.  Planting out cosmos, cornflowers and calendula was a joy, even more so seeing the blue tits flit in and out of the bird box. Last year it was inhabited by bees and to the best of Lionel’s knowledge is still full of honey.   Two wing beats to a bird table, these tiny avians have certainly taken up a “des res”.  This iris, which more than likely is Iris unguicularis, was enjoying the unscheduled heat after a chilly night.  As it originates in Algeria, this blazing sun must have come as a welcome relief from the usual North Devon mizzle.  Back to normal tomorrow I believe!

Have we met before?

IMG_0885 (2)There are self seeders and there are SELF SEEDERS!  When this little beauty popped his head up last year I did a double take, this surely can’t be true.  In our most unkempt front garden (we are letting it express itself) a Rhodotypos scandens had miraculously appeared.  It must have been left by the garden angels in thanks for my good deeds to all things horti (except cotoneaster).  Either that or a seed from the plant I brought with me from Bristol which was planted out at Cliffe and has subsequently died had germinated and in my negligence it had grown unchecked.  One or the other.  I know which one I would choose.

Fleeting

IMG_0904Peony time is fleeting.  Perhaps this contrariness is part of their attraction.  They come and they go and leave summer to the rest, having first shown the others how to do it with style and little finesse.  Left behind are rich memories of blooms that are at times hilariously blousy but more often sensuously voluptuous.  Beautiful in bud, in floral prime and with petals blown.  I love peony time.

Tree Watching – Trauma

IMG_0875On the face of it my larch is doing splendidly.  The downy growth of last month is maturing fast and although still fresh-faced now has an increased look of adulthood.  An aura of its first flush still remains but is swiftly outgrowing its innocence.  However it seems that life has not always been so carefree and rosy for my new friend.

IMG_0873 (2)Even the most renown of botanic gardens nail labels to their specimens, it must therefore follow that it is considered harmless by The Wise Ones.  Still it makes me cringe.  The reason this particular nail was hammered into the blameless trunk is unclear but it pains me to see it there.  It seems rather sad to reduce this wonderful tree to a mere notice board or somewhere to hang your fairy lights.

IMG_0874More severe and, in turn, distressing is the trauma towards the base of the tree.  At some point in its life it was damaged, perhaps by the dreaded strimmer, perhaps a bunny had a nibble, perhaps a vehicle knocked into it when the driver was distracted by the bunny.  A small wound can enlarge as the tree grows making it seem more catastrophic than it was initially.  This large area stripped of bark exposing the wood below looks raw and vulnerable.  Although not sightly the tree lives on, undaunted by its disfigurement, keeping secret the story of its ordeals.  I think I love it all the more for its resilience.

Rubus spectabilis “Olympic Double” – Salmonberry

IMG_0651 (2)There is something to be said for visiting other people’s gardens, places that you aren’t intimately acquainted with.  Actually there is a lot to be said.  At certain times of the year I go for long periods without travelling much further than my workplaces and this is to my detriment.  This only relates to my professional life you understand, I do occasionally venture to Barnstaple* for recreational purposes.   I, naturally, digress; garden visiting can be inspiring, consoling, enlightening, encouraging.  Recently I have visited two garden in the capacity of admirer and commentator.  They are both gardens that I have visited often, they are both gardens that I love.  The first is Marwood Hill Gardens, 20 acres of wonder and water.  The second is RHS Rosemoor, excellence without pomp.  Both contain an enviable selection of specimen trees, shrubs, herbaceous, bedding, the list is comprehensive.  Both have their own personality and mood.

This flowering bramble, Rubus spectabilis “Olympic Double” or the Salmonberry, was found in both. It is a North American cousin of our favourite roadside berry provider and erstwhile adversary. Whilst it has some of the bad habits of its wild counterpart (it suckers, has a lax habit and is generally unruly) the stunning flowers at this time of year balance the negatives.  They will produce fruit but the jury is out as to how worthy they are, they are at worst dull and at best average.  Perhaps as a rejuvenating nibble as you wander past on a hot day they would be ambrosial but do not expect them to wow in a crumble.

*for those of you who know Barnstaple this may be mildly amusing, for those of you who don’t, it is absolutely hilarious.