A visit to a splendid garden is always an inspiring thing. One stands in front of borders and vistas and, stroking a metaphorical beard, thinks '....Yerss, give me a fastigiate this and a horizontalis that, a chainsaw, spade and a team of willing slaves and I too could have a slice of paradise....'Bodnant and a walk with Bodnant's Head Gardener was just that. Inspiring. Covetous. The scale of the place is fantastic - deep borders and neat expansive terraces fall away to a tamed wilderness where trees - great soaring monsters - are the thing. Here water gushes and roars in lush green gullies - where above, in the formal garden a delicate tinkling trickle refreshes and compliments the painterly planting. Sigh.
Such a visit can be chastening too.....there is not a thing out of place. Even the miniscule amount of blackspot has its days numbered. Rabbit proofing - neat circlets of galvanised chicken wire in the borders are almost aspirational. Sigh again.
Back home I undertake a comparative survey; where Bodnant is a haven of order, a model of correct gardening technique, my garden seems to be making a bid for freedom. Chaos reigns. It's a jungle out there, a jungle where the twining stems of bindweed have coiled themselves ever more anti-clockwise into wiry ropes through anything and everything in their path. The shoots' relentless sun-ward growth binds binds all in a thick green blanket with, oh such pretty virginial flowers which belie such a tenacious nasty brutish plant.
Bindweed? How did it come to this:
It's fairly obvious I'm not proud of that. I've spent the morning untwining, pulling, snipping and hauling in an attempt to be rid of the stuff. A bit of a fruitless task because I think without getting rid of the roots, it will like Arnie, be back. I can tell you that it is horrid, sappy green and sticky.So pretty amongst the clematis though....
PS My brother reminded me of this a few weeks ago. Check it out. Snigger if you must.
5 comments:
We have the same problem in our back garden. If you find a way of getting rid of it for good do let me know. Like you we just keep pulling at it.
About twice a year The Great Dane makes a valient effort to pull it all up and then he feeds it to the appreciative goats. I have a hard time getting upset about it, as til now the deer have eaten everything but the weeds, and at least this weed has a decent looking flower!
I have it all over the place here too. There is always a moment in late April when I think I am beating it and another in mid July when I acknowledge it has won again.
I think about four full time gardeners and no more than eight volunteers should do for me, perhaps Bodnant could spare a few.
I moved house and left the bindweed behind. I now fight with Japanese knotweed, couch grass and gone-wild crocosmia and strawberries. As Pondside says, at least bindweed as a pretty flower!
PS: Your trip to Bodnant sounds wonderful.
Mountaineer, that trip to Bodant sounds truly inspirational.
Your reports of you own garden's battles with bindweed go to show what is real
I am not sure that bindweed is something that gardeners here in the states have to deal with. Perhaps a reader from this side of the pond will come forward with her/his own tales of bindweed skirmishes.
What I do hope is that you won't mind when I say that I would so trade a morning/afternoon vs. the bindweed as a trade for what I see everyday on the platforms while I wait for the next subway train to arrive.
xo
Post a Comment