Gardens as life itself, never stand still.

Some 35 years ago snowdrops followed the line of the hedge but they have sprawled ever outwards and now they carpet the ground beneath the apple trees. But not all growth is welcome. Fifteen years ago I planted two pine trees beside the pond. Too close as it turned out, for my friend, Paul chopped the first down a few years ago and now Sue has taken down the second. It has opened up the view and saved me from being pushed into the pond by those sharp pine needles.

I should have bought the dwarf Pinus mugo but this small, slow growing pine is expensive and I had discovered three unlabelled pine trees at a sale for a few pounds. These are Monterey pines and yes, they grow into giants but thanks to a Japanese technique even after fifteen years they are some 4 metres high rather 50. Taming a giant that can put on a metre a year isn’t as difficult as it sounds if you follow the Japanese and nip the new growth back because those pale green ‘candles’ snap off easily although they will cover your hands in sticky resinous sap.

I considered taking out the lower branches because raising the canopy is one solution to an overbearing tree but the pine would have looked ungainly and so down it came even though it felt like sacrilege and most especially in this year of the Queen’s Green Canopy. It isn’t the only tree that I have taken down and I doubt whether it will be the last. One tree that I was loath to lose was the pretty little cherry pictured here.

This is the winter flowering cherry, Prunus subhirtella autumnalis rosea that now sits halfway down the garden where its pale pink blossom is a delight. The original which formed the centrepiece of the bed in front of the kitchen window had to make way for French windows and a patio although its removal was a wrench. It really is one tree that I would always want in any garden because it begins to flower in November if the weather is kind and rather than one short burst of blossom it continues on and off for months ending in March. Admittedly the blossom isn’t as showy as its springtime cousins but it is a treasure nevertheless and so it was an easy decision to plant another.

As for the Monterey pine, I had planted it beside the pond to frame the view and give some shape to a garden that was a straight up and down rectangle. Just for once, and this very rarely happens, I could foresee that the pine would need to be removed and six years ago I planted a small specimen of the evergreen shrub Eleagnus ebbingei in front of the pine. It has now grown into a fine rounded shrub two metres high and most importantly it can be pruned to maintain its size and shape. A second Eleagnus sits on the far side of the pond together with a pine that I planted at the same time. I dug deep into my pockets to buy the dwarf Pinus mugo for I have done with taming giants.