Lockdown hair

Lockdown hair

When we first moved into the cottage at Genus HQ it had a functional but extremely ugly concrete garage.  It’s the first thing we see on our return home and after much thought we decided to grow ivy over the entire structure.  The variety name has been lost over the years but it has attractive marbled foliage and grows in a gentle manner requiring a trim only once a year.

We have to admit to missing a cut last year and its ‘lockdown hair’ was starting to look decidedly ruffled.  This week with a hedge trimmer and secateurs to hand we started on the sides and window areas leaving the roof for the next day.  The roof had been a bit of a catchment for the nearby copse and after clearing away all of the fallen leaves and not wanting to put the weight of a human on the corrugated roof, we resorted to some very useful long reach telescopic secateurs.  At full reach we could trim the apex of the roof and with a deft flick of the wrist send the cuttings floating to the ground.

A quick rake up and the job was done leaving us with a garage that looked a lot smarter than many of us in these testing times.


Gardeners' notes - what to do in April

Plant out potatoes Whether you’ve just purchased your potato tubers or you’ve had them chitting away for several weeks, now is the time to get them outside and into the...
Read More

Modern heroes of horticulture - Alexandra Campbell

Alexandra Campbell’s journey into horticulture began long before she ever put pen to paper.  Growing up as the daughter of a diplomat, moving home was a regular occurrence and she...
Read More

Exceptional trees - the Wood Wide Web

In recent years the ability of trees to ‘communicate’ with each other has been well documented.  Researchers have discovered  communication systems amongst trees and far from being passive organisms, it...
Read More