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Corkscrew Hazel

Corkscrew Hazel

Corylus avellana 'Contorta'

  • Corylus avellana Contorta is also known as Harry Lauders Walking Sticks or Corkscrew Hazel
  • This is a slow growing deciduous shrub that can grow to 20′ high when mature.
  • Yellow catkins droop from bare twisted stems in February before small green leaves appear. I have never collected any nuts from my tree. Propagation is best done by layering branches.
  • Corkscrew Hazel has a distinctive appearance with curious, twisted branches but occasionally throws upright succors. I have just pruned out my succors from the graft. I got 10 long straight poles of hazel to use as supports.
  • The shrub is very hardy and easy to grow. I was given mine from a neighbor about 10 years ago. ‘Contorta’ has earned an RHS Award of Garden Merit
  • A superb feature for winter borders, woodland areas and oriental planting schemes.
  • Corkscrew Hazel looks best in winter and from February-March there are pendant male catkins on the bare branches.
  • When in leaf the mid green leaves show an ugly deformed appearance.
Grewelthorpe Himalayan Garden Images

Grewelthorpe Himalayan Garden Images

The Himalayan Garden at Grewlthorpe continues to mature and develop. It is great to see a wide range of trees allowed to grow their natural size without undue lopping or arbocultural work.
A new arboretum will opened at the end of May 2017 and the  autumn season is well  worth a special visit. The hydrangea and sculptures are also looking great.

As ever the sculptures are excellently located and seem to breed in number every time I visit.

Rhododendrons are the key feature for me that makes return spring visits a must.

Landscape views from the many well located paths are set to delight.


The artist Subodh Kerkar has several new installations at the Himalayan garden in North Yorkshire, many miles from his home in Goa.  I couldn’t say what type of tree trunks these 18 carefully and vertically  place ‘logs’ were!

Even walking through the gap I was still stumped. The message on these ‘Logs of Dialogue’ is that ‘terrorism is a product of non-communication between  nations, groups, regions religions and ideologies’.

Take a leaf out of another sculptural installation. Or take another leaf from my inspiration and visit these Grewelthorpe gardens, infant arboretum and sculpture trail during April or May or October for autumn colour.

Many Magnificent Magnolia Varieties and Species

Many Magnificent Magnolia Varieties and Species

Magnolia

Magnolia Varieties

  • Magnolia ‘Sunrise’ – White with red stripe
  • Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’ -Deep purple with full petals
  • Magnolia ‘Red Lucky’ -Pink with red base
  • Magnolia ‘Jade Lamp’ – Pure white
  • Magnolia ‘Crystal Cup’ -Cream
  • Magnolia denudata Yellow River
  • Magnolia ‘Pink Beauty’ –
  • Magnolia ‘Betty’ – Deep pink to cerise

Available from Thompson & Morgan
magnolia

Magnolia in Oxford

magnolia

Magnolia bloom in early April

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Winnowing My Garden Books

Winnowing My Garden Books

 

A Yorkshire success following my post 3 years ago on Yorkshire day. (See below). I set a resolution to reduce by book collection which has been achieved in part by charity donations and Free Cycle to a Ripley lady. Over 500 gone and only 100 or so special interest books to follow in 2023 and onward.

‘On this first of August 2020 I am resolved to winnow down my collection of books on gardening and related subjects. I want to separate the wheat from the chaff and boy is there a lot of chaff to sort, probably 500+ tomes plus related ephemera. Not all of this winnowing activity will lead to new posts on this site but my first effort has done.

The most recent book I have read from cover to cover was the entertaining ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben. To me it is a master piece of accessible writing about trees, what they feel, how they communicate and how nature interacts  with them. It is based on years of experience as a forester. Peter has acute observational and analytical ability that is well reasoned and simply communicated. The main themes I have taken into my wider gardening and ecological understanding include:

  1. Trees show we can take the long view and there is no need to rush, in fact time may create a far better and sustainable result.
  2. There is a place for everything and with everything in its place we disrupt it at our peril.
  3. We don’t know what we don’t know and there are more things in heaven and earth ( but what the Hamlet to mix my metaphors.)
  4. If trees have social networking with many skills similar to human abilities and traits, then what else can our gardens teach us.
  5. Look at what is easily visible and look again to develop understanding.

Fired with this enthusiasm I looked through for further enlightenment before I  pass on the books to others as part of winnowing down from  my book shelves. I came across a 1974 book ‘Plants and Environment’ by R F Daubenmire a self professed Textbook of Plant Autecology. The book’s definition of Autecology is wider than a dictionary definition claiming it considers: geology, soils, climatology, zoology, chemistry and physics which are connected to the welfare of living organism and evolution of species. Not dissimilar to Wohlleben’s offering.  As I have only read the preface and introduction in detail some chapers have been dipped into to suit my mood at the time. These include; soil, water, temperature, light, atmospheric, biotic, fire, evolution and complex environmental chapters.

As a text book it is more detailed and less apocryphal than the Hidden Life of Trees but aims at ‘the intelligent management of plant life (and trees in particular) for the good on mankind’. Both books have excellent notes and references.’

 

The Flora of West Yorkshire F A Lees

The Flora of West Yorkshire F A Lees

My winter pastime is to sort and dispose of some of my many gardening books. My collection has grown even more  invasive than the worst weeds and it is time hoe them out. Charity shops will be beneficiaries as will our local gardening club but the recycling industry will get 500 or so books. I thought of composting but I will leave that to the landfill which still contains all those old telephone directories.

Bearing in mind my local heritage and garden location one book that is worth a mention is ‘The Flora of West Yorkshire’ by Frederic Arnold Lees (1847-1921). My copy is a professional 1978 facsimile of the first edition of 1888.

Interesting Facts

  • Lees was Leeds born and schooled and became a member of The Royal Colleges of Surgeons and Physicians
  • He also Presided over the botanical section of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union and was recorder for the Botanical Record Club
  • Frederic collected plant material for Leeds medical school and his book collection of 535 items is retained by Bradford reference library.
  • The book contains 2.000 references in a comprehensive index and starts with information on Climatology and  Lithology as it pertains to botany. This shows how weather and under lying rock and soil structure influences the species that thrive in various conditions
  • Observations – Victorians and Edwardians took great care to study the natural world and invest time and energy in study. This work helped classify the wild  flora discovered in West Yorkshire in that era.

 

Garden and Natural Art

Garden and Natural Art

For the winter months I reduce my time in the garden and use art as a replacement hobby. I remember that over 1o years ago our sister site focused on Garden Products. There was a category for Garden Art Products and a selection of updated posts is below. The full range can be accessed on this link

Garden Art

Tucson Botanical Bottle Garden? Not quite, but artistic bottles in the garden.
If you have the bottle to produce your own art then give freedom to your bottled up instincts.

A local garden has used their old empty wine bottles inverted and buried around a sapling to produce a circular no go area. It may not be good in the longer term for the sapling but for the wine drinkers it seems to work.
I am less sure about the bottle tree below but everyone to their own tipple.

The final picture has little to do with bottles but shows art in the garden in the garden so to speak.

Art in the Garden, Tirau

Credits
Garden Art by SearchNetMedia, CC BY-NC 2.0
Art in the Garden, Tirau by EssjayNZ CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Dicentra Art for £10

Posted: April 2nd, 2012 | Author: | Filed under:Art | No Comments »Dicentra

Dicentra are both photogenic and artistic. We often feature them on our Gardeners Tips site as they are rewarding plants to grow.
Plants are widely available for less than £10.

New Dicentra Art for £10

Photographic Prints of Dicentra specabilis Alba from Science Photo Library. Check here for the actual image which differs from the one above which is credited to Facing North East on creative commons BY-NC-SA 2.0

Technical Details of Dicentra Art

A 10×8 Print features an image chosen by Science Photo Library. Estimated image size 254x169mm.
Printed on 254x203mm Fuji Crystal Archive paper for stable image permanence and brilliant colour reproduction with smooth tones, enhanced sharpness, and excellent definition. Size refers to paper used
For any queries  contact Science Photo Library c/o Media Storehouse quoting Media Reference 6281632 © Adrian Thomas/science Photo Library

Something a bit different that might appeal during the long winter nights when gardening gets tough.‘Stitch and Sow’ are a range of Embroidery kits with a packet of seeds to grow alongside the Embroidery you are creating. Indian silk fabrics are provided and the A5 sized flower range includes
Cornflower or Lavender, Geranium (Pelargonium), Lupin or Poppy.
Sunflower (Grow your own Van Gogh), Morning Glory, Foxglove, Dahlia and Hearts-ease.

Artistic Garden Hangings

Posted: August 17th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Art, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Trees are a great places to locate art in your garden. RHS Hyde Hall has a series of these woodland nymphs in various strategic locations around the garden. I hang all sorts from branches including old cycling equipment and sundry glass pieces.

An explanation of each wood nymph is provided alongside the sculpture. Both enhance the experience of walking through the woodland glade and do not detract from the natural beauty of the trees.

 

Gardeners Visit to London 2022

Gardeners Visit to London 2022

Not what you would expect for a garden called ‘The Phoenix Garden’  in the middle of  Tottenham Court Road near Crown Point. It isn’t a phoenix from the ashes of a great fire or a WW11 bomb site at but was built on a disused car park in the 1980s. It may be part of an overflowing burial ground for St Giles-in-the-field church back in the 1600s and is reputed to be the last surviving Covent ‘Garden’. The entrance is located in St Giles Passage

Despite being surprisingly close to the busiest part of central London there is a peace and tranquillity about the small but well formed, free to visit garden. It is maintained to a high standard by volunteers with lots of flowering plants and secluded seating. I was walking or ambling from Kings Cross to Westminster and unexpectedly came across the garden where I spent a tranquil time in a well stocked, well planned space. The large number of insects and wild life is a tribute to the planning and care that has gone into maintaining this community asset. The surrounding buildings do not intrude on the space but the photo below shows the competition from concrete.

Not Making Gardens Anymore

Not Making Gardens Anymore

It is a sad fact that the British hobby of garden-making is in decline. That is partially due to social changes and more importantly there being no new land for gardens.

Scarce Resource

  • Land is a scarce resource and what the suitable land is required for a multiplicity of other uses.
  • Concrete jungles are preventing the sensible development of gardens other than for displaying onroof top gardens, patios or other man made efforts.
  • The Dutch have developed plant growing to a fine art utilising land reclamation whilst our East Coast is eroded and some gardens fall into the North Sea.

Social Expectation and Change

  • Our UK population continues to grow, even though there is a blossoming interest in ecology and the environment, such growth is not noticeably translating into new gardens.
  • There are fewer new parks and gardens in public ownership (unless you count skate parks and playgrounds). At least not in proportion to population growth.
  • Living accommodation has changed in several ways with many more retirement villages, apartments and single occupation homes. Land  is being converted in to a concrete jungle that will not return to a garden opportunity for many life times.
  • There are many competing activities to distract potential garden aspirationalists. Whilst RHS membership may be growing that may reflect the hobby of observing not gardening.