Month: May 2013
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Look who’s driving a tractor! (Week 7, Friday)
And, finally, this was the day I had been waiting for for nearly 2 months: I was thought how to drive a tractor! Despite sitting in a pool of water that the waterproofs did not manage to keep out, this was really really enjoyable and I was so impressed how maneuverable it is, much more…
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Rubus crataegifolius (Week 7, Wednesday)
To anyone that has ever seen a Crataegus, this must be a mistery. Why this Rubus is called crataegifolius (with leaves like Crataegus), I mean. No similarity whatsoever to a Crataegus (not that this is an isolated mystery case: have you ever seen a Spiraea betulifolia?). Anyway, if anything the palmatifid leaves with bidentate margins resemble…
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Cloud pruning (Week 7, Monday)
This morning we were shown the very basics of how to cloud-prune a conifer, a Pinus nigra to be precise, in the Japanese gateway. Cloud pruning is in fact a Japanese technique of topiary that is used on garden trees and bonsai: it is so called because the branches look like clouds with their rounded…
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Back in the beds (Week 6, Friday)
We have had so much to do with the Smyrnium first and filling the pits left by the Nash sculptures that it felt like we had not seen the South Canal Beds for ages. Rubus allegheniensis Being back to our collection, working in our beds. felt really good this morning, despite the fact I was…
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The Jodrell Lab (Week 6, Wednesday)
If it looks like a freezer it’s because it is one. But it’s a freezer unlike any other. It operates at temperatures around -80°C and contains 7.5 million samples of plant DNA, the largest collection of its kind. The genetics team in the Lab select plant material, they shake it up so that the cell walls break…
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IDing plants (Week 6, Tuesday)
I was in only in the morning today, and we did some more filling of the pits left behind by the Nash sculptures. I am not going to talk about that today, however: there’s more to be done and I’m sure the topic will pop up again. Instead, I’m going to blabber on about plant…
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Taking stock (Week 6, Monday)
The plants in our area are in need of stockchecking, so I volunteered to do it: I will learn more about the area, the plants and stockchecking – what’s not to like? Besides, a bit of light work will give some rest to my wrist, which need it. When plants are accessioned – I talked…
About Me
M.Paola Andreoni
I got the first allotment in 2007 (in the UK) and started growing my own food for the first time. Learning as I went along was not enough, so I studied some horticulture. I am striving to abide by organic principles. Brexit gave me a new life in the Netherlands, and two new plots by a nature reserve.
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