Monday
A telephone message came in over the weekend asking if we could identify a possible ash dieback case. It turned out to be mistaken identity. Not the disease, the tree; it was an unhealthy mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), not Fraxinus excelsior. From the (kneejerk) reaction of said owner, I can’t help thinking that recent media coverage may not be helping the plight of the ash tree, as anything resembling an ash on the property was about to be burned.
And as for all the finger-pointing going on: blaming nurseries for the spread of ash dieback and the government for not dealing with the problem sooner … deal with what exactly? Initiate a Reaganesque anti-spore missile defence system for the airborne pathogens that drift across the channel? In my opinion, no amount of slashing and burning, import bans or witch-hunting is going to make a lot of difference in the long run. Nature produced the die-back; ultimately nature will resolve it.
Chalara fraxinea is a particularly virulent fungus that will have devastating effects on the British landscape and associated living flora and fauna. But our native ash is a prolific seeder. There are signs of resistance in the ash populations of Europe (as much as 5% in Denmark) and we are likely to have similar amounts of genetically advantaged trees here. In time, this genetic resistance should be passed on in the seed and, just possibly, nature will right itself if we allow it. But it will take a while and is truly saddening.
Tuesday
I met Fiona Wells, the agricultural and conservation consultant for our project on the east coast of Suffolk. The parkland is 100 acres and we are in the process of applying for Natural England’s higher level stewardship scheme, an environmental benefit scheme in the management of the parkland for wildflower margins, hedgerow restoration, wildlife habitats and so on.
Fiona has produced a management plan for the estate and we were keen to meet the staff to instigate it. It’s exciting stuff as the owner is completely behind returning the estate to its pre-war self; small scale farming, coppicing woodland and hand-laid hedges – this scheme will help achieve this.
Wednesday
My regular fortnightly trip to Devon was exciting: the first phase of our rhododendron walk is now complete. Despite the tiny plants, it already gives a sense of what is to come. This will be the most comprehensive collection of regionally-themed species rhododendrons that I know of. It’s amusing as we walk through the area saying things like: “just popping down to Tibet and will meet you in Sikkim”.
Our esteemed head gardener Graham has skilfully built a series of streams and pools using a nearby lake overflow as the source, transforming the slope into something truly beautiful. I promise to issue some images of this area should the sun ever shine again, allowing for half decent photography.
Thursday
Stopped off in London on my way back from Devon. A new client in Regent’s Park would like a garden similar in style to our Chelsea show garden – but as a roof garden. I met with the client’s project manager and Dan Riddleston from Bowles Wyer Contracts to determine what design parameters we are up against. We will have only 100mm of soil depth to play with, although weight restriction is not a problem. I suspect we are going to go down the raised bed route, but how do we make a raised bed not look like a raised bed?
Friday
Attended the Society of Garden Designers’ first ever awards ceremony. It was a great success; I take my hat off to the organisers. I’m a little hazy on the details; I got to bed at 5.30 am and had a very expensive bar bill. Note to self: must train harder for the BALI awards on December 6.
Saturday
All day child-related cross-country events resulting in very proud parents.
Sunday
A blissful full day of logging. We have about an acre of wetland; mostly crack willow (Salix fragilis) and alder (Alnus glutinosa). Historically, the willow was pollarded for firewood and the alder was used for the production of charcoal. The alders have since grown into fine multi-stemmed specimens, some of which are entering into mortal decline (but will probably outlive us all). Each year, thousands of seedlings appear and we encourage suitably positioned specimens to grow on for the future. The willows have become unwieldy and continuously live up to their name, shedding large limbs all over the place – often crushing the young alders. I am nearly finished pollarding the worst limb-shedders and trees that were done over the last few years are showing good signs of regeneration. All deadwood and branches are stacked up and left to decompose au naturel.
The only other trees that grow down here are ash – three real beauties too. Priorities have now been changed and I spent the day clearing the competitive rank undergrowth beneath them. Sure enough, I found a number of ash seedlings in the vicinity and they were quickly given a cane, spiral guard and mulch. Fingers crossed.
• Thomas Hoblyn is a landscape and garden designer. This is the latest in a series of posts on the ups and downs of a life spent creating beautiful gardens.
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