Tuesday 27 July 2010

Delicious


Clipping Box hedging creates an intoxicating perfume; not sure what it is that is released from the stems but it is almost pungent, like an aromatic oil. We planted the Box in stages during the first few years we lived here. Every time I did some garden design work, while our sons were at playgroup and infant school, I spent a little of my earnings on some more Box plants.

A few were particularly cheap frozen Dutch imports, but you can't tell now which they are. With two young boys, Box hedging was great as it protected the other plants when they played football; it's tough old stuff and the ball bounced off it very well. Now, however, it is a little bigger than I really want and will be difficult to reduce to a more acceptable size. But clipping it is a therapeutic activity at the end of a busy year teaching. It also feels like quite an art form ... like sculpting.

One of those happy accidents has occurred just outside our kitchen window; brushing past the self-sown tomato plant yesterday was absolutely delicious; there's something promising about the smell of tomato plants. Even though it's growing in dry gravel in a south-facing spot, it seems to be flourishing and covered in flowers.

I've recently developed a real love of carnations and dianthus, growing mine in pots so that I can put them on the garden table in order to fully enjoy their perfume. The old white favourite, Mrs Sinkins, has a heady clove scent, which is quite addictive. I bought them from the famous Allwoods Nursery in nearby Hassocks. (I'm the mad woman with her nose stuck in the blooms of roses, pinks and other plants at the garden centre.) Allwoods claim to be the largest retail nursery of Pinks and Carnations in the world. Another of my favourites is Dianthus 'Summerfield Amy Francesca', also with a strong clove scent. They're particularly good plants for pots as they like good drainage and don't seem to mind too much if you occasionally forget to water them.

Sadly, my father, who at 90 is a great gardener, has lost his sense of smell, which seems quite a tragedy, but he still enjoys freshly picked strawberries and the prolific Paul's Himalayan Musk, which thuggishly takes over great swathes of our garden each summer.

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Many thanks for reading my blog ... I look forward to reading yours, especially if it has anything to do with plants and gardens. I'm happy to answer questions and would love gardening advice if you've some to give.