Combinations and Night Attire

This is another lovely combination for growing en mass and taken from my Savill Gardens scrapbook.

In the foreground is the black lilyturf, "Ophiopogon planiscapus Nigrescens" which is a hell of a gobfull for such a small plant. It is however a very useful hummock or tuft growing perennial, although it is strictly speaking an evergreen (everblack?)...

In the mid-ground are the ubiquitous "Euonymus fortunii Emerald & Gold" for which I have now, after many years searching, finally seen some use that raises this plant above the "incredibly fucking boring" level....Here for the first time ever it is used to good effect.

In the background are five Prunus serrula, that wonderful flowering cherry from Western China with its glossy, peeling, copper-brown bark.

I do not know who chose this combination, but whoever it was should be commended for selecting such (generally) individual plants so well and having the vision to see the result. I could not have done this, the thought of euonymus alone would have numbed my brain cells. I would not have believed it had I not seen it, so my gratitude to Jane Hewett for taking me back to the Savill Gardens last year. It is a place I would advise all gardeners to visit, especially in April and May.

NOTE**** My apologies for the lack of posts in recent weeks, and thank you for the messages of concern. I am not dead or ill or incapacitated, just very busy on the nurseries and writing a catalogue of plants. For anyone unfamiliar with the task of cataloguing it is about as exciting as wearing a vest, which I am informed is not very exciting (or attractive) at all, I am also told by my work colleagues that pyjamas are not exciting or attractive either, not one of the seven males associated with Eggleston Hall Gardens will admit to wearing them (or a vest). I find this peculiarly odd and would not dream of sleeping naked or going out vest free......it just wouldn't be cricket, though I do sometimes wear a nightshirt, however there is a strange regularity that by morning it will have ridden so far up it's more of a night scarf...one assumes women get the same problem with nighties, there may of course be other reasons for their dishevelment, needless to say I am pretty much 100% sure nobody will have slipped me a length in the small hours, or anywhere else for that matter, so I do not know why this should happen, I would have thought the general hairiness of mens (and some women's) legs would have acted as an opposing force. It must remain one of life's little mysteries I guess.

My apologies to patrons of the Rose and Crown in Romaldkirk also.....the inn and hotel is very much the crown of Teesdale....It's just a touch temporarily rose-less right now after the proprietor christopher Davy invited me to prune the delightful old Alfred Carrier rose around his entrance....or rather the hotels entrance. One would have thought he'd have been more reticent after I hatracked his lovely old holly a couple of years back.....Sorry Christopher.....It'll grow back in time, and thank you for the coffee.....but could we have some f***ing biscuits next time.