Buy One Get One Free

P1020687Today is the my dear friend Hero’s birthday.  We had a smorgasbord of delight for lunch, smoked salmon, sausage rolls, smelly cheese, pink, green and orange dips with crudites, all rounded off by chocolate cake and ice cream.  There was singing and gifts.  However my best present to Hero was that I let her pick her own birthday bunch of flowers, it was bound to be far prettier than anything I could arrange.  The chalk on the bench top is the remains of my birthday message from Hero last month, buy one get one free.

Still Hot

IMG_2491 - CopyToday I have decided that I quite like autumn.  Up until this point I wasn’t quite sure.  For many years summer was my favourite.  Then, as I became more and more embroiled in the quicksand that is horticulture, spring became my No. 1.   Something about the feel of things today made me question my preferences, I was softening to the prospect of windscreen wiping mornings, to the soft light and gentle breezes, to the winding down and hunkering up.  In the past I have seen autumn purely as winter’s herald, the forerunner of dark and dismal.  And then today an epiphany.  It is Lauren Bacall, it is Helen Mirren, not trying to be virginal spring or gaudy summer but celebrating itself, mature and majestic.

The Hot Garden at RHS Rosemoor bides its time until early autumn to put on its best performance.  It certainly is worth waiting for.

Joy

IMG_2422 (2)Not everyone has the space, or indeed the spare couple of grand, needed to accommodate a 5m tall jubilant bronze woman in the back garden.  In truth those that do are in the minority but this need not exclude us plebs from enjoying art in the garden.  By reducing the proportions to suit the size of your estate it is easy to use sculpture to add an extra dimension to any outside space, be it public park, domestic garden or backyard, be it fishing gnome, Henry Moore or Rodin.   Somewhere to gain inspiration (and eat chocolate brownies) is Broomhill Art Hotel and Sculpture Gardens, near Barnstaple in North Devon.  This late Victorian building perches above a wooded valley and is the artistic equivalent of a packet of M & M’s, every flavour you could ask for:  realistic, bizarre, thought provoking, amusing, puzzling, constructed of wood, metal, resin and even recycled plastic bottles. Anyone who fails to find something to please here is beyond hope.  In the Hotel gallery there are smaller items, paintings, ceramics and prints (and chocolate brownies). This Carol Peace creation is my fantasy purchase and I remain optimistic that one day I will own it.  Foolish, undoubtedly, but I am an advocate of Think Big!  In the meantime I will continue to visit this special place to dream and eat the wonderful chocolate brownies.

ps They do serve other food, all of it delicious!

Araucaria araucana – The Monkey Puzzle Tree

IMG_2363This is the puzzle – how could a monkey climb through these vicious branches without doing himself some serious harm?

Answers of no more than 15 words on a postcard please to:

Mrs Nobody
Nowhereisland
The Universe

The winner will be notified before the end of time and will be awarded with a great big sloppy smackeroo!

Golden Hornet

IMG_2358 (2)Today I am going to sing the praises of the humble crab apple, Malus sylvestris.  To me it is the tree that has everything so brace yourselves folks, my sales pitch is extensive and may involve a PowerPoint presentation with laser pointer.

Firstly there is the long-lasting and stunning blossom which heralds the spring and is welcomed by early bees and other nectar lovers.  The length of flowering period means that these trees are often used as companion pollinators in orchards.  The flowers are followed by decorative fruit ranging in colour from crimson to buttermilk.  These little orbs of delight are enjoyed not only by fruit loving birds but once fallen (unless they are particularly adventurous) by foxes, badgers, voles and mice.  Many varieties then reward us with a spectacular autumn colour show, after which the tree has a few months well-deserved rest.   The species is long-lived, it can reach 100 years old, and is one of the few hosts of mistletoe as well as for many species of moth.  When burned the wood is aromatic and is used not only in the domestic hearth but when smoking food.  The fruit are very sour but when transformed into the iconic crab apple jelly they make the perfect accompaniment to cold meats. They are also sometimes added to cider to improve the flavour.

So in conclusion, the merits of the crab apple are:

1.  Beautiful for at least nine months of the year (although to me still attractive when dormant)
2.  Wildlife friendly over a long period.
3.  Beneficial to other plants.
4.  Fragrant and delicious.
5.  Does the washing up and puts it all away in the right place.

I am hoping that you were convinced before No. 5 as I made that one up.  Sorry if this is a great a disappointment but you never know what the plant breeders are up to …….

The Best Policy

IMG_2300 (2)Just has to be honesty!*

* This is a gardening joke so apologies to those who are not of that persuasion.  Explanation as follows:  This is the seed head of Lunaria annua whose common name is Honesty.  The name is thought to be a reference to the transparency of the seed head.  The phrase “honesty is the best policy” is attributed to the 18th century American Founding Father and polymath Benjamin Franklin.  Doesn’t seem quite so funny anymore.

Guerrilla Gardening

P1020579

Guerrilla gardening has interested me for a while.  I love the idea of improving our environment by planting neglected spaces with food and flowers, doing something positive as opposed to merely moaning about the short comings of those in charge.  In the optimistic hours before sleep I have planned forays to seed-bomb abandoned building sites, perhaps sneaking out under cover of night in boiler suit and balaclava planting overgrown corners with surplus bedding or maybe secretly donating an apple tree to an underfunded park.  Unfortunately my good intentions have always evaporated as I brushed my teeth the following morning.  All dreams and no action.

This is a modern housing estate just outside Cardiff but it could just as well be Coventry or Carlisle.   At the edge of the main thoroughfare an inspired soul has removed a section of grass verge and planted it with bright annuals.  Mallows, poppies and marigolds stand jubilant in stark contrast with the adjacent neatly mowed grass.   So simple, so effective, so beautiful.  All it took was a couple of packets of seed and a little work and a public garden has been created.  Guerrilla gardening doesn’t have to be 007-esque, dramatic and involving judo rolls, it can be small, it can be under-stated.  Of course it may not be strictly legal and some folk (disillusioned to my mind) may consider it not as “tidy” as a boring piece of turf, but surely only a complete idiot would object to this “amendment” to the council’s landscaping.  This joyful piece of planting has been generously donated to the community, I hope they appreciate it, it certainly made my day.  Thank you whoever you are!