Category: Gardening

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The Art Of Bonsai

Twin trunk style bonsai (Acer buergerianum)
Maple and fern | Mendip Bonsai Studio

Bonsai trees provoke mixed responses, although well grown, they can be as beautiful as one of nature’s giants. This Trident maple (Acer buergerianum), grown in the twin trunk style, is around 120 years old. Its eggcup sized companion is some kind of fern. Techniques to keep plants so small include wiring them into shape, then pruning roots and branches while restricting them to very small containers.

It’s tempting to see them and feel torn. Is it unnatural? If so, is going against nature cruel? Continue reading “The Art Of Bonsai”

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Echinacea With Dark Stems (And A Request)

Echinacea Dark Stems

Before I post a flower (almost always) I google it. Then (almost always) I take a minute or so to marvel at the different flower pictures that have appeared in my image search results, listed under the same name. Unusually, I found nothing when searching for the name on the plant label, so I’m not sure if it it was a cultivar name, Echinacea ‘Dark Stems’, or purely descriptive – an unknown pink coneflower with dark stems. Continue reading “Echinacea With Dark Stems (And A Request)”

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Decorative Arched Footbridge, Desert Wash, East Ruston, Norfolk

Arched wooden bridge with spiky uprights

While this wooden footbridge prompted my post, I thought I’d add a few words about Old Vicarage Gardens in East Ruston where it can be found. Like many English gardens, it’s a series of themed garden rooms that make the most of micro-climates, both natural and created.

Being close to the North Sea, the garden doesn’t have the arid conditions or unrelenting sun we associate with a desert landscape but yucca, aloe, agave, dasylirion and cactus seem happy there in the Arizona-inspired Desert Wash. Continue reading “Decorative Arched Footbridge, Desert Wash, East Ruston, Norfolk”