A good thing about living in a village where most of the land is owned by the very few, is that for cottage-dwellers the views are lovely. We overlook a walled paddock at the front, just over the road, and when we moved here there were sheep and a beautiful white horse to gaze upon. They have all moved on and been replaced with a collection of trees. None of them are exotic: they are mainly malus, prunus, sorbus and crataegus, which you would expect to see on any roadside in the middle of England. They are wonderful unpretentious trees, especially now with their blossom and later on with their fruit. Generally they are dotted about but some are in lines, creating avenues to walk down. On closer inspection though, many of the trees have little circles around them, like a necklace at the base of a long neck. These are neat plantings of spring flowers including daffodils, primroses and - oh horror - hyacinths. Garden snobbery is not really allowed in public but can be so much fun and to my wilfully ignorant mind, a necklace of flowers to decorate the base of a tree is just... completely un-called for.* Discuss.
*Except perhaps in a formal garden, like this one, with a ha-ha nearby.
I put necklaces around trees to prevent weed whacking stripping the trunks and to simplify mowing. Its easier to mow around a large circle than a small one. Sheep would eliminate the problem, but not practical in my location. Of course, they are large necklaces, in proportion to the drip edge of the trees... An American point of view. Probably similar to the way my mother put a circle of parsley around every dish that was supposed to be special. The trees in your photo look silly, of course. Why not just make a meadow of bulbs and skip the turf?
ReplyDeleteAll for skipping turf. But with these circles, the wider the better. Was very keen on a large population of lily-of-the-valley under a tree at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden but just the sight of a tree was exciting back then.
DeleteMalus, Prunus, Sorbus and Crataegus will be the names of my first 4 children.
ReplyDeleteYou are funny. Funny and completely serious at the same time I suspect.
DeleteA Hyacinth should not really be allowed anywhere outside a vase or a moss lined pot.
ReplyDeleteAnd even then, only in the louchest of households.
Likewise the necklacing of trees should be outlawed by staute. Is that sufficient discussion?
Sufficient, succinct, screamingly silly discussion, thank you.
DeleteWas just looking out my window at the neighbour's garden (she is a "professional") and thinking--what are those funny lav brush-looking things? Until I realized they were white hyacinths. But then she does have a yellow easter ribbon attached to a hanging basket which dangles over a blue reflective ball.
ReplyDeleteAnd what is her garden shed like I wonder?
ReplyDeleteBlessedly, she has a classic New England red barn so there's no need for a shed that resembles a Swiss chalet.
ReplyDeleteOh, I suppose you mean the Swiss chalet outside my kitchen window? It has a verandah as well you know.
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