Topic: GMG Green Thumb Club

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I don’t know where you live in the USA, but obviously it’s to the south of here , so I guess it’s too late indeed. My ramps are still up and started to sprout flowers (a single one) which means that the leaves should be falling soon, 1 or 2 weeks max. The bulbs have thickened and have a nice size  .

How late do you eat them?  At what stage do you stop?

Best,

PD

[André]

Not every plant sprouts a flower stalk. Maybe 1 in 5-10. Basically when the leaves have fallen you can’t tell there’s something under the ground, so the season is over. I never uproot the plants with a flower stalk, for obvious reasons.

I eat the bulbs raw, not cooked. With a sprinkling of salt, that’s it.

 

[Herman]

Are the images working for you?

No I'm sorry they don't.

However, apart from an aesthetic notion that the pear tree should be 'apart', there's really not much against the rose climber growing up the tree. It doesn't feed or have those little roots some climbers have.

[Mandryka]

Alas, I can't see your photos.  Sounds like the variety Cecile Brünner is a tall climber?  I have a climber but it's on the shorter side.  I also prune it every year along with another variety--David Austin's Constance Spry which is great for pegging or for training to grow up something.  Perhaps consult with a nursery?  Or some rose association to see what they think?  How tall is the rose bush at the moment?  And how thickly is it covering your pear tree?  I suspect that it might not be in the interests of the pear tree in terms of health.  Are you able to get many pears from the tree and if so, how do you find them?  Good I hope!   

PD

No I'm sorry they don't.

See if it's better now. I want you all to sing "oh how beautiful" so I can gloat.

The Glory of the Garden


OUR England is a garden that is full of stately views,
Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,
With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;
But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.

For where the old thick laurels grow, along the thin red wall,
You'll find the tool- and potting-sheds which are the heart of all
The cold-frames and the hot-houses, the dung-pits and the tanks,
The rollers, carts, and drain-pipes, with the barrows and the planks.

And there you'll see the gardeners, the men and 'prentice boys
Told off to do as they are bid and do it without noise ;
For, except when seeds are planted and we shout to scare the birds,
The Glory of the Garden it abideth not in words.

And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose,
And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows ;
But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam,
For the Glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing:-" Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade
While better men than we go out and start their working lives
At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner-knives.

There's not a pair of legs so thin, there's not a head so thick,
There's not a hand so weak and white, nor yet a heart so sick
But it can find some needful job that's crying to be done,
For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth every one.

Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,
If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
You will find yourself a partner In the Glory of the Garden.

Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees,
So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray
For the Glory of the Garden that it may not pass away!
And the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away !

[Mandryka]

However, apart from an aesthetic notion that the pear tree should be 'apart', there's really not much against the rose climber growing up the tree. It doesn't feed or have those little roots some climbers have.

I think I'm going to give it a long leash, see what it does. I like it!

[(: premont :)]

As you will see Cecile Brünner is really thriving in my garden and she's started to invade the big pear tree. I like the effect but I'm wondering if I should nip it in the bud -- will she completely smother the tree?

Looks rather dramatic. Interesting whether or not they may be able to live in peaceful coexistence in the long run.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I think I'm going to give it a long leash, see what it does. I like it!

Clearing her throat and warming up her singing voice:

Whistle, whistle..."Oh, how beautiful!"   

Is Cecile B a one-time bloomer or a repeat?  I'm guessing a one-timer.  Truly lovely though. 

I would suggest bringing in a sample of that diseased plant into a nursery on the sooner rather than the later side to find out more about it and what you can do.

Are you able to harvest pears from your tree Mandryka?

Best,

PD

[Mandryka]

Clearing her throat and warming up her singing voice:

Whistle, whistle..."Oh, how beautiful!"   

Is Cecile B a one-time bloomer or a repeat?  I'm guessing a one-timer.  Truly lovely though. 

I would suggest bringing in a sample of that diseased plant into a nursery on the sooner rather than the later side to find out more about it and what you can do.

Are you able to harvest pears from your tree Mandryka?

Best,

PD

Cecile Bruner does one spectacular show and then a few intermittent flowers here and there until the first frost.

The pears are very good, some sort of Comice I think, and it produces a huge crop every year. The problem is harvesting them at the right time (I'm still not sure when the best time is -- I do know that it's important not to let them ripen on the tree because they ripen from the inside out), storing them (very hard to do!) and, of course, it's impossible to get the ones right at the top of the tree unless you can find a small boy and bribe him to climb up there.

[Herman]

yeah that's a very pretty sight. There may be a future issue with the neighbour who seems to have a bitch tree right behind the fence (?) and maybe he does not want Cecile to cross over. <let's make that birch>

Ideally you harvest the pears just in advance of ripe.

This is in Greater London? You're very lucky to have all that space...

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Mandryka,

What about making various preserves like chutney, etc. from them (besides eating them fresh of course)?

Just back inside from watering garden....a quick bite to eat and then need to get back to planting, weeding, etc.....never ends!

Best,

PD

[Ratliff]

I have the opposite of a green thumb. I planted a native sage plant, essentially a weed. It died, while identical plants grew nearby from cracks in the sidewalk.

[Mandryka]

Ideally you harvest the pears just in advance of ripe.

Easier said than done!

House is in Wimbledon SW19 -- since the lockdown it feels a hell of a long way from London. In normal times it's close enough.

[Mandryka]

Mandryka,

What about making various preserves like chutney, etc. from them (besides eating them fresh of course)?

You just get so tired of that stuff rapidly! There's only so many pears a man can eat, whether in the form of fruit or chutney or crumble or tarte tatin or whatever.  I've got a similar problem with apples because I covered all the fences with espaliers. I've now learned to become ruthless about thinning them out in June -- if not there are more apples than you can shake a stick at. The garden smells like the old Covent Garden market at 5.00 p.m.

It's a nice problem to have of course. Ich grolle nicht

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Easier said than done!

House is in Wimbledon SW19 -- since the lockdown it feels a hell of a long way from London. In normal times its close enough.

I have the opposite of a green thumb. I planted a native sage plant, essentially a weed. It died, while identical plants grew nearby from cracks in the sidewalk.

Oh, no!  Is this the plant that you had planted?  What kind of soil did you plant it in?  https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/texas-sage/growing-texas-sage-plants.htm

Just potted up two tomato plants.  They are dwarf varieties that should grow well in containers.  I've never tried these varieties before now.  One is called Dwarf Confetti and the other is apparently a popular English variety called Cyril's Choice.  Came inside for some water. :-)

Hope that you can figure out what went amiss Baron.

Easier said than done!

House is in Wimbledon SW19 -- since the lockdown it feels a hell of a long way from London. In normal times its close enough.

Have you been to The Championships before Mandryka?

Perhaps hire someone with a tall ladder (and insurance) to help?

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

You just get so tired of that stuff rapidly! There's only so many pears a man can eat, whether in the form of fruit or chutney or crumble or tarte tatin or whatever.  I've got a similar problem with apples because I covered all the fences with espaliers. I've now learned to become ruthless about thinning them out in June -- if not there are more apples than you can shake a stick at. The garden smells like the old Covent Garden market at 5.00 p.m.

It's a nice problem to have of course. Ich grolle nicht

  Wish that I was there to help you eat them!  And apples!  Neat!  Quite the green thumb!  Perhaps share with neighbors and/or food banks when they start rolling in?

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Back inside from planting a bunch of seeds:  French baby carrots (Babette), mixed-beets, turnips (Hakurei) and a few French Breakfast radishes....watered them in a bit...now praying that the birds, chipmunks, etc. will leave them alone!   

Time soon for food....but not from the garden (yet).

Best,

PD

[Mandryka]

Back inside from planting a bunch of seeds:  . . now praying that the birds, chipmunks, etc. will leave them alone!   

One for the wind, one for the crow, one to die and one to grow.

[Herman]

Thinning out them apples and pears is an idea.

The other thing is giving bunches away to friends.

Or move to a highrise.

[Mandryka]

Or move to a highrise.

I know someone who lives on the fourth floor, not of a high rise but of a 60s development of private apartments. There's a pear tree in the garden and the top of the tree is right at the level of his balcony. If he had very very long arms, superhuman arms, he could reach them.  It is so tantalising.

Yes, friends and neighbours get apples and pears -- I don't know if they're always so appreciative.

As far as thinning out goes, I'm quite tempted to just leave four or five apples on each of the espaliers. It's really hard to do, they always look so cute . . .  Last year a Bulgarian friend made me a Bulgarian apple and walnut pie with filo pastry. Very nice, but very very fattening. Once a year though.

By the way, I have one of these, which helps

[Herman]

we have a fruit net like that, too, though we don't have a fruit tree anymore. However we do go out hunting for walnuts, or s my girlfriend calls them, nuts du wall.