Rebuilding a nursery - Copton Ash

[David Nicholson]

............I have some Lilium martagon and L. monadelphum in a few openings between the trees but lily beetle is a scourge to keep up with! I think some of the easier fritillarys would be good too - F. meleagris is gradually seeding and combines well with everything else.

But the lily beetles love Frits too Tim.

[Tim Ingram]

They do David, but because the frits flower earlier on the whole they haven't been a problem - but in summer it's almost impossible to keep up with them on the lilies.

[Tim Ingram]

Every gardener should plant trees but sometimes they need also need pruning or removing. We planted this Metasequoia about thirty years ago and for a long time it grew well with the watering of the surrounding nursery plants. But a series of very dry summers eventually led to its demise. Eventually we decided it was just to big to deal with ourselves and contacted a local tree surgeon to cut it down (Henri Stevens - www.treefolk.co.uk). Unfortunately the winds and rain on Thursday meant it was impossible for Henri to work towards the top of the tree but he made an amazing job of working up three-quarters of the way under such challenging conditions. Hopefully the weather will be calmer when he returns tomorrow to take down the top and work down the trunk.

The world is a friendly place and only a short time before he had had all of his gear (around £10 000's worth) stolen! I would just like to put on record our great appreciation for his highly professional work.

[Tim Ingram]

Oops don't know what happened there - here they are again...

[Tim Ingram]

A large eucalyptus also needed some larger branches removed - a bit easier to deal with - and this has begun a cleaning up of this part of the garden and the prospect of replanting and working into more of the overgrown areas that eventually need to be reclaimed.

[Maggi Young]

Definitely a time when professional assistance is required, Tim.  A sorry tale of the theft of  Henri's gear though.

[Matt T]

What a tidy job they've made of it! Getting folk in to do tree work is always a worry in an established garden, but you've found a true professional there.

[Tim Ingram]

These are a couple of pictures of the eucalypt now we've cleared the ivy from its trunk and tidied up around it a bit. A really magnificent tree - this was grown from seed collected in Tasmania back in the early 1980's and planted out as a very small seedling. Amazing to look on now and the idea is to replant around it with cistus, phlomis, salvias, ceanothus etc., etc. (would be wonderful to establish manzanitas here but the soil is probably too rich and summers not 'Mediterranean' enough).

[Maggi Young]

Like a new tree altogether.  Very satisfactory result.

[Hoy]

A great tree! I am envying you My only eucalyptus died many years ago after doing fine for several years

Does it have deep roots or is it greedy? I have read that eucalyptus use a lot of water.

[Tim Ingram]

Trond - our soil is a wonderful deep fertile loam and the tree was planted as a small seedling so it must have got its roots down deep! (Although another big eucalypt we had in the garden was blown down in a gale a couple of winters ago - it had made three large trunks from ground level which must have made it vulnerable). They do dry the soil out, and drop a lot of leaves and twigs, but underplant well with Mediterranean-climate shrubs and perennials - genera such as Euphorbia, Cistus, Phlomis, Coronilla, Salvia and so on, quite a bit of scope.

The real reason for Henri coming was to cut down the Metasequoia and they have just come today to finish this off. These are a couple of pictures. We've left the stump as a seat in the nursery area - counting the rings the tree was planted around 25 years ago.

[Tim Ingram]

(A short excerpt from Facetwit for David )

A wonderful talk tonight by Jon Evans to the Mid Kent Alpine Garden Society Group on Robin and Sue White's garden at Blackthorn (Part 2). Not only superbly and sympathetically photographed but putting across the extraordinary skill that Robin and Sue have in growing an unparalleled range of plants, and the way they have introduced so many choice species and cultivars to plants-people around the country. A tour de force, impossible to come away from without new ideas and inspiration.

[Maggi Young]

I have never had the pleasure to attend a talk by Jon Evans - but I can well believe that he delivers a most excellent presentation. Lucky you to experience it!

[David Nicholson]

(A short excerpt from Facetwit for David )

I'm honoured Tim

[Philip Walker]

We have that talk making the trip across the Thames later in the year.One to look forward to.