February 1st 2019
Weather:
Slightly warmer but over the last few days frost and snow, with temperatures from minus 4 to minus 6
I study history and gardening in equal measures, and have always been interested in the fluctuations in our climate. The summer of 1666 was exceptionally hot, people in London were worried there would be another outbreak of the plague as did happen the previous year. However on the morning of September 2nd it wasn’t the plague that struck London, but a fire, one that would devastate the city. ‘The Fire of London’ It was said that the lead from the roof of St Pauls ran down Ludgate Hill like a river. Researching the weather has proved interesting, to a point that for maybe 3 years I kept a daily diary. We as gardeners and I suppose the English are always wondering what the weather will be like and can we get out to do those vital garden jobs. The combination of damp and freezing temperatures last year proved almost fatal for a Ceanothus bush that fondly has the name of ‘The Sparrow Hotel’. It was decided to trim the bush and see if the growth that came back would cover the dead branches, I am pleased to report that the new growth has indeed covered the old and later this year the shrub will be able to once again resume the role of The Sparrow Hotel’. Sometimes patience is preferable to elimination.
A number of weeks ago I was walking my dog down the side of a wood were as a child I would spend many hours playing in what I always thought to be an air raid shelter, at the time I was too young to question why it was so far from the village? Many years later I still could not understand how it would have been of any use. Years passed and after returning from living in London in 1995 I found a book in the Hornsea museum about the East Riding Resistance, it transpires that the bunker was in fact used by the resistance. As I stood on the side of the wood were the bunker would have been I looked across towards Driffield Airfield and could only imagine what the view would have been like on the day the airfield was being bombed. The trees have now increased in size and the view I imagine would have been very different. It is hard when designing a garden to help the client to see the final picture, trees and bushes increase over the years and before you know it they have often exceeded their intended size. I have a particularly skilled person that works with me on design commissions, he has an incredible eye for shape and structure. Often when starting a new design the first thing I do is to look at the existing trees and shrubs, what can stay and what needs to be removed and as in the case of the Ceanothus will a season of patience will pay dividends?. Sometimes on first impressions a shrub being tall and overgrown may appear to be a negative, but stand back and assess the situation and if possible trim in the autumn and see what comes back in spring. If you don't like what you see remove it or give me a call.