Weeding the Web

Presents for Gardeners: a personal cartoon (the result!)

Before Christmas I mentioned the cartoon talents of Martin Rolfe. I suggested that his offer to create a personal cartoon would make an unusual present, and, rather wowed by my own suggestion, I followed it up for a gift for Husband.

Martin asked that I send a couple of pictures, which I did (I even found a couple of Hubs in the garden) and I suggested a theme, based on Husband's gardening habits, and we had a bit of a brainstorm about captions.

And here's the result! Talented man that he is, Martin has definitely caught the likeness (how he did that for someone he's never met makes me brim with admiration), and it's a lovely colourful bit of fun for the wall. 

I'm dead chuffed that I managed to keep quiet beforehand (it was a struggle). And, when he saw it, Husband was also dead chuffed. It's not often I've managed to give him a complete surprise or something that's unique. At least, not something he's liked.

In case you're wondering about the subject matter, let's just say that we are becoming expert in how to move plants at any time of year, in any state of growth - rarely do they settle in before they're off to a new rooting ground. So often have they been moved that, in the cartoon, they have actually learned to transplant themselves.

If you're looking for a unique present for a gardener, then I'd highly recommend contacting Martin over at his Online Sketchbook. Just remember not to leave it to the last moment; creativity needs space to think.

(It's surprisingly difficult to photograph artwork - you'll just have to take my word that the colours are jollier than they appear and the image is more 3-dimensional.)



Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: winter aconite

After reading that the winter aconite was already blooming as far north as Berwickshire at the beginning of January, I was beginning to fear that mine had succumbed to the winter wet. But no, at last they've appeared. Thank goodness, Spring is really on its way.

GBBD is run by May Dream Gardens. Why not pop along and see what else is out?

 

Garden Book Review: Powerhouse Plants by Graham Rice

One shrub I wasn't expecting to see in Graham Rice's new book, Powerhouse Plants, was Forsythia. It's bright, it's cheerful, it flowers generously but, once the yellow stars have gone, it's very dull indeed. Or is it?

Powerhouse is the description used by Graham for plant varieties that offer interest at more that one point of the year; they might combine two (or even three or four) attributes such as interesting bark, winter stems, good foliage, flower, fruits, seasonal colour.

I've enjoyed Graham's books before - last year I reviewed his Planting the Dry Shade Garden - and this one doesn't disappoint. He draws attention to stages of plant growth that normally elicit no comment. In future, I shall think about the possibilities of emerging plants. As he says, "the fresh new growth on perennials as their shoots shoulder aside our mulch" can offer appealing and, in the case of something like the spear of Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-Pulpit), colourful and dramatic punctuation to the border.

A stylish bird feeder from recycled garden pots

Earth-friendly writer John Walker first alerted me to the benefits of recycled plastic in Plastic Tears, his article that first featured in the now-defunct Organic Garden and Home magazine, but which you can read on his website.

In essence, he says we should use recycled plastic where possible to keep the oil we've extracted in circulation, rather than burying it in landfill. He mentions Filcris, who make recycled plastic lumber, among other things, saving a myriad plastic bottles from waste disposal. There are plenty of other companies to choose from, and not just for lumber.

Way back near the start of this blog I mentioned a Slate Effect Sundial. It's made by ashortwalk, a Cornish company that specialises in recycled plastic items for home and garden, who were a winner in the Cornish Sustainability Awards 2012. Their products include plant labels, a chalk board, herb kit and plant holders.

However, as each year sees mountains of plastic plant pots returned to garden centres, their rice-scoop/bird-feeder, made from recycled pots, caught my eye, especially with the birds disconsolately looking for food during all that snow. They also have a nifty spike feeder for apples, cheese etc.

I haven't seen any of their products up close, so can't personally vouch for them (John Lewis likes it, though), but I love the fact that, with a little ingenuity, we can find ways to keep the oil we've extracted for future use.