Recollections

Iris reticulata in the chilly spring sunshine

And so the cold and unpredictable weather continues with more snow forecast for next week, it prompted me to look back at this time last year when it really was spring. It seems that I was full steam ahead with my seed sowing, we'd already started to mow the grass at Norton Conyers and were about to have one of the hottest March spells since records began. I doubt that will be the case this year but despite my moaning I would prefer it to warm up gradually, then we might see a proper summer in due course. On Wednesday Diana and I finished pruning the orchard and turned over the raised beds ready for the addition of her lovely home made compost, we just have to wait for the heaps to defrost before we can harvest it! Brilliant blue skies coupled with a concrete hard frost tempted us outside at Harlow Carr this morning for a walk around the gardens pinpointing many of the plants we have been tested on so far, cold on the toes but warming to the heart when you realise you can recall the Latin names!

"We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future"
George Bernard Shaw

Strange shapes are appearing in the vegetable garden, I like this one so much I wish I could take it home!

Snowflakes And Peach Blossom

Some days I think I might actually be soft in the head, this being the scene that greeted my eyes when I got to work yesterday. The weather conditions have certainly been challenging of late, yet still I go! I guess I've got the gardening bug pretty badly. On days like this there is only one thing to do, so we were back in the woods keeping warm by lumber jacking again, I wont bore you further. However one thing did make me smile, the juxtaposition of the blizzard outside against the peach blossom within. We may have to pollinate them by hand as no bees will dare these snowy skies. Giles has asked Shandy to catch us a rabbit so we may use the tail for the job but she hasn't been forthcoming as yet, so it will probably have to be a fine paintbrush!

"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake"
Francis Bacon Sr

Cold

Forgive the damp lens, some days are too wet for photography

I don't think I have ever been as cold as I was yesterday morning since I started this gardening lark. I was sorely tempted to stay in bed but turned out anyway as I knew the others wouldn't be put off by the weather, I soon regretted it as we doggedly continued to trim and tie in the willow hedge only stopping when our fingers were too numb to make the knots any longer. Break time and lunch time were hellish as we sat in the orangery in colder temperatures than outside, but at least the persistent rain and icy sleet couldn't reach us in there. It was almost a pleasure to load wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow with wood shreddings to mulch the beech hedge in the afternoon as it thankfully got our circulation going again! Enough ramblings for today as I'm going back to bed for a mothers day lie in,(blogging and letting the dog out must come first!), then I shall visit my own dear mum and spend the rest of the day in front of the fire contemplating the prospect of a repeat performance tomorrow!

"I like these cold gray winter days. Days like these let you savour a bad mood"
Bill Watterson

"Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while but their hearts forever"
Anon

Model Students

Time for some more musings on the past weeks activities. At Spofforth we had collected a large amount of clippings to get rid of after last weeks pruning session so we decided to have a bonfire. Considering myself something of an expert after the last couple of months working in the woods I took charge and soon had a lively little blaze going, so it didn't take long to clear what had been a considerable pile. Di and I then moved on to pruning the apple orchard, feeding any more twigs and branches straight onto the fire, a very tidy way of working. We had to don our tidy hats again on Thursday when our class was let loose on the borders of Harlow Carr to prune the cornus. As far as I know this is the first time the RHS has allowed any student this privilege, we are of course suitably grateful as there is nothing like actual experience. We were all very tidy and removed all the rubbish in the hope that they may allow us to do something a little more challenging next time!

"Learn everything you can, from anyone you can-there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did"
Sarah Caldwell

A type of salix grown especially for this fasciation

Planting For The Future

I promise never to complain about being too warm ever again as we reverted to cold and miserable on Monday morning, disastrously I'd forgotten my beloved hat too so I was chilly for most of the day. Still it wasn't all bad as I was back behind the wheel of the tractor for the first time since October and luckily I managed to start it and remember how to reverse too! We loaded up and chugged along to the clock tower garden to lay a new yew hedge which ended up looking surprisingly good for an area that has been sadly neglected until quite recently. Giles has plans to include fragrant climbers, a magnolia grandiflora and some foolproof ground cover so that maintenance will be minimal, all we need now is time for the transformation to be complete. I hope I'm still working here when some of these plants reach maturity, but we gardeners are only ever guardians of the future.

"Who has learned to garden who did not at the same time learn to be patient"
H.L.V.Fletcher

Suitable protection for the young trees as it is bunny central around these parts!

Sunny March Morning

Another beautiful early spring day soon had me wishing I'd left my thermal vest at home as we went about the days business in unbroken sunshine. The old vinery was in need of cutting back and weeding, being the warmest part of the garden it was a good place to start as the over night frost had been hard thanks to the clear skies. Planting Jerusalem artichokes took up the rest of our morning, I can recommend them as the easiest ever vegetable to grow. Pop them in and weed them occasionally and eight months later they'll deliver you a good crop without any other assistance from you, of course you'll also never be rid of them and I here tell they can give you wind, but you can't have everything! We whiled away the afternoon with more border preparation as the sounds of the local hunt passing by drifted over the garden walls, just another peaceful day at Norton Conyers.

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold, when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade"
Charles Dickens-Great Expectations

Shandy making the most of a good sunbathing opportunity

Busy Assessment Day

How many horticulture students does it take to plant a tree?!!

Diana and I caught up with some pruning again on Wednesday, her orchard is lined on both sides with shrubs that required taming, unfortunately every single one of them seemed to be armed with vicious thorns. Gigantic blackberries that delighted in hooking onto any glimpse of uncovered flesh let alone hats and jumpers, and a mighty pyracantha  that had got too big for its boots, I came away with a few battle wounds but it was a gorgeous day and even warm enough to take a few layers off. Thursday was a big assessment day for us at Skipton college which meant a 5.30am start for me as I made my way to Leeds to pick up my lift from Clare, a circuitous route I know but I'm very grateful for the transport! The main task of the day was to plant trees, they turned out to be bigger than expected and the ground was horribly stony but the weather was glorious again and everyone helped each other with much merriment. Seed sowing, plant identification and perennial division were all covered as well making it a long day by the time I got home again at 6pm!

"When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it"
Theodore Roosevelt