Gardener's update - black birds and hose pipes
Day 44 of meteorological summer
The weather has been so hot - don’t you think?
I’ve been moving slowly around the gardens, taking water breaks on garden walls or having moments resting on lawns. The sunlight and warm weather is blissful. However not so blissful for all of the plants. I worry about my clients’ containers, I arrive to shrivelled hydrangeas and not so busy lizzies (Impatiens walleriana). Gladly, the storm came at the end of the week and saved me a lot of watering - thank you weather.
I’ve spent a majority of my working week watering, turning on the hosepipe and hosing myself off too. I’ve taken to wearing crocs on extremely hot days, very hosepipe-friendly shoes.
One of the highlights of my week involved a sweet black bird. As I moved around one of my clients’ gardens, I could see a black feathery bird watching my movements. I understood it may have been hot as it was staring so fixedly upon the water; so I filled up the bird bath with fresh cool water. In a few moments, he could be found splashing around, puffing up his feathers. It took a few rounds to cool itself down and I watched in awe, remaining still so as not to disturb.
As you know, readers, I really love birds and blackbirds are one of my favourites. They have timid personalities, only appearing if they believe you are trustworthy. Male blackbirds has an orange ring around their eyes and their song is gorgeous, filling my heart. Its partner, the brown bird, has completely different plumage but together they mate for life. Surprisingly, I don’t see black or brown birds often anymore, they have become a rare sight; so this felt like a very special experience.
New garden
I’ve taken on a new garden - coincidently, I get a lot of new clients while I am working. I will be pruning a bush or sweeping and find someone peering over a fence or wall. I send them on their way with a business card.
I have three jobs on the same street due to this client activity and I must say that it’s quite convenient. I finish one job, take all my tools next door, eat lunch in their garden and begin a new job - how lovely!
This new client’s garden must have at once been a gardener’s garden. It’s filled with beautiful species - clematis cling to walls, Bistorta amplexicaulis ‘Atrosanguinea’ flower high in the bed and bold agapanthus heads show their faces around the space. Yet, it’s been left untouched for some time and needs restoration. The climbing rose is flowering twenty meters high in the tree, the wisterias have tangled into the Aesculus hippocastanum and the soil quality is poor, remaining un-mulched for many years.
The client is easy-going and wants it to be lovely. In the next few weeks, I will be having a consult with a tree surgeon to sort out the unruly climbers. I will organise a manure delivery. I usually organising these for Spring however, I’ve been known to organise deliveries during Summer if in need.
My first plan of action is to tidy the beds and try to organise the climbers. There are some incredibly overgrown roses and during Winter, I will reduce these dramatically. I use the dormant season to train the plants and to get a hold of the garden. Next year, the roses will flower lower and against the wall. They will be fed with a spring feed and a thick layer of manure. I will divide up the herbaceous perennials, prune and train clematis, start annual seeds in Spring and fill up pots of bulbs and flowering plants. The previous gardener has let the whole garden become quite unruly but I’ll soon whip it into shape.
This lovely Clematis ‘Henri’ had appeared on my first day of work and it was so gorgeous. Clematis must be one of my favourite flowers and this year certainly is good for them. It’s pruning group 2 so must be pruned in late winter / early spring back to a neat framework of old wood.
This new challenge really excites me. When I first see a garden, I’m able to picture exactly how I’d like the garden to look and it’s a helpful skill I’ve acquired. It inspires me to move forward, pruning in Winter when my hands are so cold they burn. I know that my work will be worth it, i’m able to envision the roses hanging lazily over the pergolas or against a wall.
The family’s children play in the garden; they have a small football goal and balls can be found in the flower beds. I love to hear them playing whilst I work next door; it’s a happy sound. I spent a majority of my childhood outside, playing for hours, finally being summoned in for tea time.
Gardens are important for children - they create a fantasy land for exploring and imagining. I imagined a makeshift troll could live at the end of the garden; I’d kneel inquisitively by fox holes and I would climb trees, spying on my mother in the kitchen.
Plant highlights
Acanthus Mollis - This plant was taken out of a clients garden, she doesn’t like the plant however, once you’ve planted Acanthus, there is no removing it. It roots deeply and will continue to grow despite copious efforts to dig it out, as well as propagating itself freely.
I re-planted this in one of my favourite client’s gardens. He welcomes surprises and allows me to plant whatever I like. His space is a sanctuary for nature, recently bumble bee nest I discovered at the back of one of his borders. Bee's re-use mouse holes for their nests from time to time and it’s all very heart warming.
I was pruning an ivy and they lazily buzzed around me, unphased by my appearance, knowing I wasn’t a threat. Unfortunately, one of the ivy leaves fell on top of their entrance hole and I caused a small bumble bee traffic jam and had to carefully remove the leaf.
During Autumn, I plant interesting bulbs and am currently working on making his back garden border more colourful - I’ll go into further detail in next week’s newsletter.
Herne Hill - Reculver beach
Last weekend, I visited the seaside and took a walk on Reculver beach. I’ve been keen to study seaweed and started off with a common speices - Fucus vesiculosus (bladder wrack). This seaweed has air bladders which allow it to float on the surface and therefore photosynthesise. It tethers itself to rock, favouring rocky protected beaches, and it had taken over the rock population on this beach.
Interestingly, during low tide, the seaweed would be left out of water for some hours, remaining unfazed. It patiently waits to be submerged again hours later, completely unharmed. How interesting nature can be, a water-based plant spending a majority of its life outside of the water?
I’ve always loved the sea - but who doesn’t? As a child, I would pour over sea shells, fascinated by the way they grow - still quite incredible to me as an adult. As a nine year-old, I announced to my family that I would work as a part-time pro roller blader and part-time sea shell shop owner.
I envisioned blading to the beach, swimming and collecting shells, which I would sell in store that day - a hard day’s work. You see I had to become a gardener - my deep-rooted fascination and love of nature took me in this direction. I had to be close to nature and now, in my work, I am surrounded by nature daily.
My favourite sea is the Adriatic sea filled with sea urchin and abalone shells. Sadly, sea urchins dominate particular areas of the ocean (surprise surprise, climate change has imbalanced the ocean), they feed on the kelp tethered to the ocean floor and can destroy entire kelp forests.
Allotment
This week, my partner and I have had to visit the allotment and water a few times.
The tomatoes are appearing on each of the plants. My partner has cut off the bottom leaves from the tomatoes and any foliage which blocked the sunlight from reaching the fruit. They have been given larger stakes and the scent of the foliage is divine. He plans to make tomato sauces and jar them for the cooler seasons.
We recently had an email from the allotment site letting everyone know that Phytophthora infestans (tomato blight) has been spotted. It is a fungal disease which spreads via insects, water and animals and is encouraged during damp conditions. We are both hoping the sunny weather this week will discourage it. It blackens the stem and creates black patches in the fruit. The leaves will shrivel and go brown. Far from ideal but feeling positive that it won’t hit our plot as it may break my partner’s heart.
If the blight arrives, the plant needs to be discarded. They say it isn’t even allowed in the compost heap, Charles Dowding would contest this I’m sure.
A small note for readers and subscribers
Thank you for reading and subscribing. It means a lot to me :-) I’m glad to have you here.
I’ve become dedicated to writing about my week and loyally posting each Saturday morning. I find it a helpful habit to reflect upon my week. Sometimes my working week can feel uneventful and quiet - it can be hard to see the good things so this newsletter allows me document the good parts of my week…so thank you, readers!