Unfurling

IMG_3336 (2)Over the years it has become apparent to me that some plants are more reluctant to awaken in the spring than others.  They like to take their own time, pootle along at their own rate, unaffected by what others may be doing around them, namely participating in the Great Spring Re-Clothing.  These plants are players in a horticultural soap opera, complete with a dramatic “will they wont they?”  cliff hanger, the following episode culminating in an emotional finale “yes I am still alive, and it was actually all a dream”.   In my garden the reticent “I’m just not a morning person” is Cercis canadensis  “Forest Pansy”. It may have good reason to be sloth-like as I have held it captive for the last few years in a pot.  A large pot admittedly but still a pot.  I wouldn’t blame it for being a little miffed.  However today I have spotted some buds so we should be on our way very soon.  The fine weather, a handful of fertiliser and a few encouraging words (delusional I know) and before long those demon hearts will be emerging again.  Whilst in confessional mode I should point out that we have several trees in pots; some delicate like the Japanese Maples, some less so like Liquidambar styraciflua.  It is a prime example of when Plant Lust wins over Plant Sense.  One day they will be released, but only on the day that I have the space to liberate them.  Until then I will try my best to keep them happy and recount tales of halicon days to come, when they will feel the bare earth beneath their roots and they will be able to run free ……….

This acer, however, is not ashamed to unfurl its merlot leaves for all to admire.

One Love

IMG_0330 (2)A Rasta sheep, could there anything better on a mizzly, cold Maundy Thursday?  Only perhaps a Rasta lamb.  But for those will have to wait a little longer.  But not much.  As Mr Marley once sang:

One Love! One Heart!
Let’s get together and feel all right.

Thanks for all your good wishes x

Complacency

IMG_0305 (2)Complacency – don’t do it!  For some inexplicable reason, certainly not involving excitement or adventure of any kind, I have hurt my shoulder/shoulder blade/ribs/back kind of area.  After a night without a wink of sleep (well it felt like it anyway) I did not have a happy day.  Pretty grumpy on the whole.  It hurt to lay on my left side, right side, front, back.  It hurt to cough, to move position and most inconveniently, to breathe.  Not conducive to sleep.  Perhaps foolishly I took some ibuprofen and went to work.  It hurt to reach, to carry, to dig, oh and to breathe.  Not conducive to being a gardener.  All this just as spring is sprunging.  Actually, really grumpy now.  This chaenomeles, an unnamed flowering quince, did go some way to cheer me up.  So did George the Pig’s squidged up face as he legged it across the field when this afternoon he spotted me at the gate.  I know it is possible this was because he thought I had an apple for him (I did) , but it may have been that he could see my pain and wanted to cheer me up.  I thought you might like a picture of the lovely flower, it may help if you have also had such a day.  I will save lovely George for another day.

Great Expectations

IMG_0290 (2)Over the last few months I have been gardening blind, for the most part anyway.  My new clients’ gardens were previously unknown to me and as such a mystery.  Strangers who I needed to become acquainted with and hopefully will eventually call my friends.   In an attempt not to appear a complete dimwit (quiet please in the cheap seats!) I have desperately been studying twigs and bark and interrogating owners for clues as to what various trees and shrubs might be.  Many of the herbaceous perennials have also been dormant, nestling underground until warmer conditions tempt them out, and I have been stumbling across them in borders along the way, trying to distinguish the wheat from the chaff.  Now as spring progresses every visit divulges a little more of each garden’s secrets and in turn inspires even more expectations.  The turn of the season is slowly revealing what lies beneath and within.  I had correctly identified this as a magnolia tree (such brilliance) but today, when I saw a tantalising glimpse of dark dark flower beneath the split casing, the anticipation of this tree in full bloom is almost unbearable.

Yodel

Blossom (3)Last week I met Mr and Mrs G’s son, G Junior, and he was asked if we had been previously introduced.  “No” he said “But I think I have heard her yodelling”.  I would like to make two comments about this observation:

1.  This is very likely to be true.
2.  He seemed singularly unsurprised by it.

I will leave you to make of this what you will.

The Commonly Beautiful

Ribes (2)In my previous mono-garden existence I enjoyed growing the unusual species, the less common cultivars, the few and far between.  Any plant I hadn’t come across before was irresistible to me, I actively sought out the rare, the hard to come by.  If a visiting dignitary either enquired after a cultivar, genus or even species name or asked for a cutting/seed pod, I puffed up with pride.  These exotics elbowed the commonplace in the corners and, I blush to say, often had preferential treatment.  Now I am working in several new gardens with clients who knowledge ranges from “haven’t a bloomin’ clue” to “clever clogs” and I am consequently receiving some serious life lessons.  I am beginning to once again appreciate the “ordinary” and feel slightly embarrassed about my previous dismissal of the standard stalwarts that grace many gardens.  My eyes have been refreshed and I am looking at these old favourites anew.  This flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum, stopped me in my tracks yesterday at the farm.  The drooping racemes of pink and white looked stunning.  This was seconded by a camera-shy bee who wasn’t thinking “how common” but “how yum” as it supped at Bar Currant.  Do not fear I am not completely cured, my Lust List is still being added to and I am not adverse to slipping one of my weird and wonderful friends into these new gardens.  I am still not convinced by forsythia though, I will keep trying but don’t get your hopes up!

Marmite

IMG_0249 (2)This “Barbie on a special night out” azalea is bound to divide opinion, it is a plant that you will either love or you will hate. Personally I rather admire its irreverence, its total lack of subtlety, although I could probably only cope for short periods of time. I would have to avoid any close encounters until after lunch and only then if I was sunglassed up. It does however make me smile, which can’t be a bad thing. So if asked to vote I say would definitely say a resounding “aye”!  And in case you wondered, I love marmite too!

Barrel Rolling

IMG_0202Last week marked the grand occasion of the inaugural Rolling a Half Barrel Up a Steep Hill Championships at the Farm.  For those of you who have never attempted this feat, I can assure you that it is an extremely demanding and dangerous sport, both physically and emotionally.  The barrel has a contrary tenancy to veer off to one side and (in case it had slipped your mind) a hill is involved.  There are prizes for first over the line, stylistic content and artistic interpretation.  The Bookies Choice, Mrs G, was on top form and I am thrilled to report is now the reigning champion in all categories.  Mind you the lack of any other competitors may well have had some bearing on this result.  We will wait with bated breath to see what occurs next year.  Applications are now open for 2016 event.  Please note that you will have to supply your own barrel and these will be closely examined for any illegal modifications.