Feb 14th 2005 - Hammers and Spells
I woke up this morning and immediately started a mental tour of the garden, visualising and naming every plant that I could remember. It reminded me of that swotty Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter books reciting her spells.
Forgive the whimsy, but some plant names do sound like they could be spells. Lavatera aboreum, chanted correctly, ought to make a tree appear in the toilet, whilst Begonia metallica would rid the world forever of Heavy Metal music. The first might please dogs but the second would certainly appeal to me.
"...whilst Begonia metallica would rid the world forever of Heavy Metal music"
It’s good that there are so many different types of plants as this naming exercise will be very useful for the exam. Our teacher, Gail, has told us several times, during her many tests, to ‘walk round your garden’. It’s a good idea and I shall start doing it before going to sleep, as it’s a good way for me to remember names and details. She never calls them tests, mind you. ‘Now then,’ she says ‘Some questions…’ and smiles wickedly while we shuffle in our seats.
This week we did an exercise on marking out ellipses in grass, using accurate measurements, which is something I’d never done properly before, having tended to do things by eye. It’s surprisingly easy to do, the end result being very pleasing. I’ll put together some instructions and post them up soon. We practiced first on paper, using paper, pins and cotton thread, and then went outside to do the real thing.
Creating an elipse
"...She said it was her husband’s idea, though the handwriting was hers"
Gail had provided us with all the necessary pegs, string, measuring rods and mallets. When I went to collect my tools she came to the box with me and picked out the one mallet that had a rubber head, the others being metal or wood.
This rubber-headed mallet had a label on it saying ‘Miranda’s’. She said it was her husband’s idea, though the handwriting was hers, and I do wonder what was said between them.
Rubber mallet
Last week’s mild and dry weather was a good opportunity for moving plants around into better positions. This is part of the project to get the garden looking more ‘pulled together’ and, whilst it’s interesting, it was quite complicated to start with. Firstly I needed to look at all the plants to check that they’re in the right situation in regards to light, moisture and exposure, then look at which plants would look better with which.
Whether by luck or judgement, they were pretty much all the right places but there is still room to move them. Do look out for books about planting combinations for ideas; find something with plenty of pictures, as well as plant information, to help you visualise the possibilities.
How ever familiar you are with plant combinations, there is always a new idea, always something surprising that makes you wonder why you hadn’t thought of it for yourself. I think part of it is that it’s easy to get narrow minded about what we grow and we stop trying to stretch ourselves, going instead for known and reliable mixes.
"...revisiting them after a long pause can bring a surprising amount of inspiration."
Also, our tastes continue to change, so combinations that were surprising and exciting a few years ago grow tired and we need to see something new. Books can gather dust for years, in the same way that recipe books often do, but revisiting them after a long pause can bring a surprising amount of inspiration.
To start with, a Euphorbia mellifera was put with a Bergenia cordifolia ‘Purpurea' (Elephant’s Ears). The narrow leaves of the Euphorbia immediately set off the large round ones of the Bergenia and the Bergenia’s clusters of pink flowers go well against the green leaves. Next to them, I put in a Stipa tenuissima and a Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’. The deep bronze-red leaves of the Heuchera will contrast well with the buff-coloured Stipa whilst the Stipa’s delicate flowing stems will soften the other plants’ outlines as it waves about in the lightest of breezes.
Next, Hebe ‘Autumn Glory’ was put next to Mahonia x media 'Charity’. The Hebe has small, rounded, dark green leaves with shades of purple in them, whilst the Mahonia has large spiky pinnate leaves, also in glossy dark green. They flower at different times of the year - the Mahonia with sprays of yellow flowers in winter and the Hebe with conical inflorescences in a rich purple-blue in autumn - so we’ll have a succession of colour there. When there are no flowers the foliage will be pleasing to look at.
Rudbeckia triloba
"...the weather has suddenly turned quite wintry again so the rest will have to wait"
There is also a charming combination I saw at Goltho House, a garden and nursery near Wragby, which was Sedum telelphium 'Matrona’ and Rudbeckia triloba. I must have this combination! The Sedum has dark purple stems and dark green leaves with shades of purple.
The stiff upright stems are topped by domed heads of clustered, tiny star-like flowers in dark pink. The Rudbeckia is new to me and I want some very much. It has dark brown wire-like stems and golden yellow, daisy-like flowers with raised dark brown centres. The petals are a rounded oblong shape and the leaves are toothed and a rich green.
There are many more changes to make, but the weather has suddenly turned quite wintry again so the rest will have to wait for a short while.
Good news on the bird front. The robins are still an item and we see them together every day, sitting or feeding side by side. I wonder if they roost together now?
© Copyright Miranda Hodgson 2005