Category: Gardening
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The season’s change brings joy
Finally, as the end of September clambers into reach, it feels like autumn here high up in these North Pennines. The sun still shines with warmth, and the sky is still blue, even though the winds have started up again after the prolonged respite during the hot summer. It’s the beginning of the end for […]
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Soft clean lines . . .
The soft lines of our hedgerows echo the undulations of the fellsides across the valley. This sight is such a joy, especially with the straggly hawthorns trimmed into a presentable state. This was work that was beyond my capacity, so we inveigled a local handyman to work throughout yesterday, to finish today, and to charm […]
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Checking out the willows . . .
Really, it’s anybody’s guess whether my willow plantings will be a grove someday or not. There’s definitely signs of growth in numerous whips, much more than last year evinced, but still. It’s such a harsh environment up here, until the trees create their own shelter and the succession of plants accumulates behind them. Some willow […]
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Neither pink, pine, nor apples . . .
Okay, there’s a tinge of pink, for sure, but these otherwise misnamed fingerlings are the third successful crop we’ve begun to enjoy as summer moves along. The Alouettes, definitely pink-skinned, have been a disappointment, but the Charlottes and Harmonies are already very satisfying. The yellow flesh and nutty taste of the Pink Fir Apples make […]
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Opportunism: not such a nasty word
Any biologist will tell you that without opportunism, few plant species would survive. Their entire reproductive strategy seems to be built on the chance that a wandering seed, among many that are lost, might find a suitable place to germinate and grow. Whether the distribution is by wind, by animal, or by bird, eventually the […]
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Persevering flowers
High up on the fellside of Sparty Lea, you’ve got to be tough to survive. That adage is true for birds, animals, plants and even humans. But if you do manage to withstand the constant wind, the lowered temperatures that altitude brings, and the frozen winters, then you may find, like these persevering plants, that […]
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Weekend joys
Throughout the afternoon, and into the later evening, we kept the water warm and inviting, while for excitement we roared along with the rest of the country as the Lionesses took the Euro Championship. The dinner thereafter was a wonderful flourish; we chatted about life’s new challenges with our beloved neighbours until we were absolutely […]
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Just in time for a perfect bloom
Not that the week gone by was hard, but I thought, and felt, that I’d put in a fair amount of physical effort. So we were looking forward to a couple of days quietly tending the potted plants in the New Galloway garden. But had there been sufficient rainfall to keep them alive? The rose […]
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Clearing joys
It was a hard job, but somebody had to do it! Over the years I’ve been accumulating defunct items in a corner of the field. The weeds have overgrown the small heap so it was as if there was nothing there. But I knew the day of reckoning would arrive, and yesterday morning it did. […]
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Potluck Hellebores
It’s difficult to find the correct attribution for the often-quoted aphorism ‘A society grows great when old men plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.’ But Roger Pearse has made a good stab at the challenge, and believes that the line can be attributed to a Quaker thinker, D. Elton Trueblood, in his […]
Roads to Joy 