Jo's News and Views No 9 September 2022
Hello Everyone
The passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday 8th of September marked the end of a truly remarkable life. Serving her country for over 70 years she will long be remembered by us all. Our thoughts are with the Royal Family as they mourn their loss.
We have all lost loved ones and the one thing we know for certain is that life goes on. It will never be the same but it will continue.
My first offering is the view of the pond from the house, photo 1. In Mr Bowles time this was his morning room, a wonderful place to start his day. The Bowles Society committee were on duty to welcome over 200 visitors to the house when it opened under the London Open House scheme in early September.
The garden seems suspended in time at the moment. Perhaps the lack of rain has slowed the growth down as plants, shrubs and trees conserve their energy. Therefore the pops of colour all around the garden from the Colchicum, autumn crocuses, photo 2 and the many shades of pink from the cyclamen, photo 3 and 4, are very welcome. They have thrived this year so it's good to know that some plants are not unduly worried about the dry weather.
More colour can be found at the front of the house. The Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum', known as Golden Full Moon Maple, together with the Catalpa erubescens 'Purpurea', Indian Bean tree, looked wonderful in the sunshine, photo 6. The Catalpa is the dark leaved tree as opposed to the variagated one in the Tom Tiddler Border but it is already showing autumn colours.
In the Tom Tiddlers border the Cotinus is looking good, photo 6. This is known as Smoke Tree or Smoke Bush because when its flower plumes are back lit by sunshine they look like smoke.
Nearby the Yew Tree is looking as though it has dropped a lot of needles, photo 7. However it is completely covered with berries which the birds will enjoy, photo 8.
On to the Sunken Lawn area. Here stands the imposing Ginkgo biloba, known as Maidenhair tree, photo 9. These trees can reach heights between 20 and 35 metres. They are usually deep-rooted and resistant to wind and snow damage. The leaves are unusual as they are fan shaped, photo 10. The leaves turn a lovely buttery shade of yellow in the Autumn and fall quite quickly usually within two weeks.
Finally on the Front Lawn the Cedar Tree looked very impressive with the storm clouds gathering in the background, photo 11.
Sorry, but I do not have any fauna photos for you this month.
However, I do hope you have enjoyed this wander through the garden with me.
Best Wishes
Jo
