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Taking Time
I discovered this plant eight or nine years ago in the bargain corner of a nursery. It looked like a small stick that was about to expire. I bought it and its companion for two euro with no expectation that they would ever come to anything. Years later they have grown to six or seven […]
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Nemeses
This is the night time activity on the wall behind the house where all of my Hosta sit in pots in the shade. The snails are already shredding some of them and I presume that this one is on his way home for the evening after a satisfactory feast. I have tried everything to deter […]
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Juxtaposition
I am always surprised when the cherry blossoms appear just after the crab apple trees are at their best, as they all seem far too delicate to survive here. Even more surprising is that the blossoms can withstand strong winds and cold. One of the things that I particularly like is the juxtaposition of the […]
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A LONG JOURNEY
I was very distressed recently to discover my collie cross Millie standing beside me with a dead goldfinch in her mouth. I would like to think that she was not responsible for its death, but fear that the evidence is against her. This was one of at least forty goldfinches that have spent the winter […]
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Rejuvenation
The mating season for foxes is supposed to end in February, but there is no sign of this here. My sleep is still interrupted on a regular basis by a cacophony of sounds, including screeching foxes and an apoplectic Millie (my collie terrier cross), who sees it as her duty to ‘raise the dead’ at […]
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From Furry Slippers to a Bad Hair Day
My Mount Aso willow is still providing me with a lot of cheer on these windy days. The furry slipper catkin changed to a very dignified deep wine/pink and then it opened up to this grey, orange and yellow creation. However, it remains a furry slipper at heart and in its last throes looked like […]
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A Storm
by Any Other NameAfter weeks of some of the worst storms in decades it is both a relief and a surprise that this lovely young pine cone is one of the few casualties despite the trees being buffeted without a break during a week of storms. I am so pleased that I had them thinned out by professionals […]
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Small Miracles
This plant may not look like much, but is a testament to its resilience in the face of human neglect. I have always loved box hedging and the smell instantly transports me back to childhood. In one of my gardens in Scotland, I managed to produce a full hedge from the cuttings of one plant. […]
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Winter Tasks
The trees on my drive have been given a much-needed trimming to remove dead or dying wood and thin out the crowns so that they do not present a large top-heavy mass of branches at the top of the plant during storms. The branches are perfect for the birds when approaching the feeder and the […]
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A Frog By Any Other Name
Gardening at the moment is an exercise in dodging thunder storms, rain showers and wind gusts that can knock you off your feet in a very undignified manner. Everywhere there are hints of the jobs to be done and even the grass is growing despite the cold. So are the lichen as Fergus my frog […]