Kari-Astri Davies thins out a patch of trees, extols the virtues of hardy begonias, and harvests the season’s first tomatoes
EVENING ADVANCES OVER the garden. Pipistrelle bats are on the wing – silhouettes against the last of the apricot sunset to the west. There is no rain forecast for the next two days, and, in the distance, the whining rumble of combine harvesters can be heard, working into the dark. Every so often, there is the smell of corn dust in the dampening air.
I wander along the path behind the patch of trees I planted when we first moved here. These trees are located towards the end of the garden as it merges into the copse of wild plum and hazel, which were here when we arrived.
It is very tempting when sourcing bare root whips to order more of the cheap spindly sticks than will be prudent in a few years. Now, more than 10 years later, they are planted too close together.
So far, I have cut down two crab apples. The picture in my mind of gorgeous, fleeting spring blossom, in reality became twisted, woolly, aphid-ridden foliage all summer, and no flowers at all.
The quince, ‘Champion’, has grown into a smallish, but wide-canopied, shade-casting tree. Of the three bird cherries, Prunus padus, that were planted, one has been allowed to grow ‘free’, producing abundant candles of white flowers in early spring. Another is clipped to allow more light into a border.
The third I have attempted repeatedly to cut hard back, but it refuses to give up. Now, in August, its long, sappy, waving new growth impedes my progress along the path.
The three Amelanchier lamarckii, which I want to keep, need a light prune to bring them ‘back down’ into the garden, rather than pushing sky wards.
Lush leaves
In addition to the big, blousy-flowered, tender tuberous begonias, there are also many hardier types for shady areas in the garden, which add lushness now as the season gently progresses to autumn.
I have a beautiful, very cut-leaved, Begonia panchtharensis, which originates from moist forests in Sikkim. It is said to be fairly hardy, given a good mulch, but it wasn’t thriving. In some of the woody shady areas in the garden, it seems the trees put out a fine network of roots just under the soil surface, taking advantage of the annual mulching. This root system leaves the soil dry, making it harder for some plants to establish. The begonia has been moved to a less competitive bed, although it would probably be happier in a damper part of the cou
