“So when some dear joy loses
Its beauteous summer glow
Think how the roots of roses
Are kept alive in the snow”
Alice Cary
Snow we certainly did have in a freak snowstorm towards the end of November. The grey skies and bleak landscape are bad enough without early deep snow.
Clean up of the devastating tree loss of the last few years continues here in the valley.
The unfortunate Duchess apple tree was cut down the day after the big snowfall. It was one of many casualties of last year’s gypsy moth invasion. This tree was the most beautifully shaped of the three remaining old apple trees. And it was dramatically placed halfway down the drive and a seemingly permanent part of the landscape that I see every day.
But alas in nature nothing is permanent and the old tree will make its way to the woodshed. The rootstock grow up and eventually there will be a new wild tree in place of the old one. I will, of course, get used to the space where the tree used to be. But that doesn’t mean that this particular tree loss hasn’t been one of the most difficult to accept.
In the bush to the south there are lots of trees that came down in May’s tornado. The tornado happened on the second last day of my trip to Palm Springs. So fortunately or unfortunately I missed all the drama of that event.
On that particular day I was touring the wonderful Living Desert oblivious to what was going on back home. Living Desert has gardens that recreate desert habitat as well as breeding programs for endangered species. And they have giraffes. The highlight of my visit there was feeding the giraffes. Who knew that giraffes have black tongues to protect them from harmful UV? I know that now and the tornado will always in my mind be associated with the giraffes at Living Desert. I have given up being surprised at the strange associations that I have accumulated. This one at least makes me smile when being reminded of a truly devastating event.
The seed and bulb catalogues seem to arrive earlier every year. I have no interest in them right now but I expect that will change once we are in the depths of winter.
I didn’t end up adding any daffodils to the hillside of naturalized daffodils this year. Other jobs like tree clean up took precedence. But there is always next year. This is the gardeners’ constant refrain. I will get to it next year or, in the event of any kind of catastrophe, it will definitely be better next year. I have to believe that, for what is the alternative?
Finally, I hope to master dahlia winter storage this year. I failed at this dismally last year. I am told that the secret is to take them out periodically to make sure they’re not drying out too much. I have done well at glad storage which I think is an easy one. But it will be a small victory if I manage to keep this year’s dahlias and not have to buy new ones in the spring. We will see what happens.
By Jill Williams
