Vanished Into Thin Air

"All the kitchens along Brambly Hedge were warm and busy. Hot soups, punches and puddings bubbled and in the ovens pies brown and sizzled. Clover and Catkin helped Mrs Apple string crabapples to roast over the fire. The boys had to sit and watch because they ate too many.
"It's not that I mind, dears, but we must have SOME left for the punch!" "

 ~ extract and illustration from 'Winter Story' by Jill Barklem

There is but one lonely crabapple hanging from my first time fruiting malus 'Red Sentinel' tree today, which this time last week was covered with bright red berries. I would not feel so aggrieved but all the blurb that I read before choosing the tree suggested that it would hang on to its berries until well into the winter. I had visions of using a few berries in festive decorations but ......

Does anybody else grow 'Red Sentinel' and if so what is your experience? I'm not sure whether the berries have been purloined by creatures or whether the ferocious gales we've had of late have stripped them off the branches. Another of those garden related mysteries which I will no doubt ponder over for some time to come probably never to reach a clearcut conclusion.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ Disappearing Act

After an absence from the garden catching up with my chosen tree and its neighbour was much anticipated on my return. We arrived back home in darkness so it wasn't until the next morning that I hurtled out to see my trees with visions of finding some ripe pears dangling from the branches. I had given up any hope of eating fruit from the 'Doyenne du Comice' tree this year but was looking forward to munching pears from its neighbour a few feet away. Back in September there were nine healthy looking tantalising fruits dangling from its branches. Well what was waiting for me? Not a single solitary pear was left on the tree and no traces of cores or pips in the vicinity! Oh what disappointment and yet another year to wait before I eat one of my own pears. This waiting for my first homegrown pear is in danger of becoming a saga that may yet outlive me.

I must admit that in the flurry of activity that seems accompany holiday preparations, I may have not paid close heed to them in the week or so before we left but they were definitely still on the tree when we left. I understand that the weather was mainly dry, sunny and warm whilst we were away. However there was one wet and windy day, which may explain the rather large broken tree branch I found on the ground nearby. This was from a tree growing on the boundary of the garden not so far from the pears. My theory is that the fruits had probably ripened in this golden spell of autumn weather, only to be shaken off on that one wild day and snaffled up by one of the many passing grey squirrels which haunt the garden. Oh yes I can imagine that the flavour combo with horse chestnut conkers would be quite delicious.

Well the wait goes on. My chosen tree is now looking rather sorry for itself as you can see from the top photo being already almost completely undressed. I'm sure that it did not look so weary last October. In comparison its pear tree neighbour is still wearing mainly green. Back in September our hostess Lucy commented that she would like a closer peek at the rust affecting some of the leaves. In response to this I took a couple of photos. I will add these as a postscript to September's post but have also included them here. If you have a pear tree and see orange spots like this take action and remove the affected leaves. I was slightly consoled by a comment from Brian over at Our Garden@19, who said that his pear tree was affected by rust for the first time this year. Maybe it's just not been the year of the pear.

Thanks as always to Lucy over 'Loose And Leafy' who hosts this meme where tree followers and their trees gather from all over the show gather every month for an update.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ September 2015.

Hopes of a bumper pear crop this year have long since disappeared! The last bulletin on my chosen tree for Tree Following With Lucy was back in June, when the tale was related of drastic June drop and the arrival of the disfiguring pear midge. We were away in July hence no update and I'm not sure sure what happened to August's post. Now in September the sorry saga has continued. The remaining grand total of all of six pears seem to have hung in a state of suspended animation all summer. The fruits are just not swelling and it's not as if it's been a dry summer in these parts. Not only that but to add insult to injury the leaves of the tree have now been afflicted by pear rust. Not wanting to hurt my tree's feelings further I decided that the tree paparazzi would steer clear of it this month. Instead the above photo is of its neighbour rescued from a bargain bin and planted only a few feet away. It has been affected by pear rust as well but not as badly - you can see the orange marks on the leaves. I need to remove these leaves as a matter of urgency. However on the plus side the fruit is expanding and there are more than six - well nine of them to be precise. Thanks as always to Lucy over at 'Loose and Leafy', who provides us with the opportunity to peek at trees of all shapes and sizes each month. Thoughts of putting my tree up for adoption are flitting through my mind - any takers?

Tree Following With Lucy ~ June 2015.

All was looking most promising with my 'Doyenne du Comice' pear tree until towards the end of May/beginning of June. Firstly the rough weather at that time scattered a good number of would be pears to the ground. I presumed that was the phenomenon known as the 'June Drop' so just muttered to myself. What followed though has been more traumatic when closer inspection the other day revealed that some of the remaining fruits have the pear equivalent of the 'Black Death'. Not a pretty sight as you can see from above! Research revealed that the pear has been affected by pear midge. This is a pest which causes the fruitlets to turn black and fall prematurely. Apparently though I've not done this yet but if I cut up open one of the afflicted fruits it will reveal lots of tiny white grubs. The advice is to remove affected fruitlets before they fall to the ground or to spray with some nasty sounding chemical just before the blossom opens.

So it looks as if this year's crop will be counted on two hands that is presuming all the other so far healthy fruits mature. I'm happy to report that the neighbouring pear has not been touched by the midge and although not exactly groaning with fruits it bears a couple of promising clusters one of which you can glimpse above.  This fruit growing lark seems to be full of challenges but I remain optimistic that I will consume at least one of my own pears this year. 

Thanks as always to Lucy over at 'Loose and Leafy', who enables us to share the ups and downs of a fascinating and diverse range of trees each month.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ May 2015

"Oh white pear, your flower-tufts 
thick on the branch
bring summer and ripe fruits
in their purple hearts."

an extract from 'Pear Tree' by Hilda Dolittle.

As expected the blossoms on my chosen 'Doyenne du Comice' pear tree are mainly done and dusted. You can see above that there are still a few petals still clinging on tenaciously after Wednesday's rain. Here she is in fuller blossoming mode on the 15th, 19th and then on the 25th April ~

Alongside her companions have also been flowering. The other pear tree was first to flower whilst although the crab apple 'Red Sentinel' was last in the race it still retains most of its blossoms. I'm hoping that the extra petal power provided by the crab apple will increase the productivity of both of the pears. All three trees escaped the cold weather at the end of April, which sadly frosted the blossoms on one of my apple trees at the allotment. From now on I shall be watching my pear tree with bated breath for the embryonic fruits to start swelling. I hope that they heed the words of the poem.

In other news I think that she has gained some height - either that or I've shrunk. You can catch up with what is going on with other wonderful trees over at 'Loose and Leafy'. Thanks as always to Lucy for hosting.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ April 2015

Hopes of reporting clouds of frothy white blossom adorning my pear tree have been cruelly dashed as you can gather from the above photo. Records have been checked to confirm that last year blossom was fully open by 13th April but it is lagging behind this year. The flower buds are now clearly visible but not as much as a tantalising sliver of white. I'm not sure whether I noticed any brown marks on the emerging leaves and flowers last year but they are very much in evidence this spring and are rather unsightly. Are they the sign of something sinister or is this a normal occurrence on pear trees? The tree was only planted in the autumn of 2012 so we are still getting acquainted.

In terms of wildlife there is nothing to report. I've still to see a living creature on it. Given the fact that my 'Doyenne du Comice' is only a young slip of a girl it's not surprising. I'm sure that any self respecting bird would not want to perch so near to the ground in a garden which has several regular feline visitors. Even the squirrels are not attracted ...... yet ......

In other news her neighbours which include another pear and a crab apple look set to blossom around the same time possibly even sooner.  A couple of Westmorland Damson slips have been bought this very day and will be joining their company soon. The pear blossoms may well come and go before May's tree following post but I will certainly take photos to record the occasion. As always a big thank you to Lucy over at 'Loose And Leafy' who enables bloggers to share and celebrate a glorious diversity of trees each month.    

Tree Following With Lucy ~ March 2015.

This year's tree is much smaller and younger than last year's willow and is one that we planted in the garden. It's the pear tree 'Doyenne du Comice,' which was introduced into the garden in the autumn of 2011. She was transplanted some twenty feet or so last February - a case of being in the wrong place and happily survived to tell the tale. At the moment she stands at about six feet - the tape measure has not come out but I've stood against her and worked it out that way. I will be interested to see how much she grows over the coming year. I forgot to check her girth so will do that before next month.

There was great excitement last year when she produced her first ever crop. A grand total of three fruits made it to maturity and then disaster struck - they turned mushy before they made it into our mouths. Oh there was much wailing and gnashing of disappointed teeth! As the comedian Eddie Izzard said of pears 'they're gorgeous little beasts, but they're ripe for half an hour, and you are never there. They're like a rock or they're mush". Well that might be exaggerating but I do think that I will have to check them on a daily basis after picking this year. That's of course presuming that I will have a harvest to pick.

As suggested by its name this pear originated in France and it is widely reputed to have the best flavour and texture of any pear. I think it was those character references that sold it to me. It was raised in Angers, France in the 1840s so has now been around for some time. It was apparently introduced to Britain in 1858.  I think that I was so sold on the mouth-watering descriptions of' Doyenne du Comice' that my research stopped at the f word i.e. flavour. Further reading following purchase and planting revealed that she is sterile so a pollination pear partner was introduced the following year which I think is 'Concorde'. Now a third tree Malus 'Red Sentinel' has joined them to add to the blossom effect. The latter which is only a small tree, was only planted last spring so I'm eagerly anticipating its first flowers. 

Only a couple of close-up photos today as the weather has thwarted my plans to take a couple more photos in addition to the ones I took yesterday. It is pouring down out there and from what the forecast is predicting we are in for a cold weekend. However as you can see the leaves are poised ready to break out any day now. Possibly next month will see a pear tree dressed from head to toe in white.

Thanks as always to the lovely Lucy over at 'Loose and Leafy' who enables a veritable parliament of trees from far and wide to get together each month. I'm really looking forward to another year of tree following.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ January 2015

I've been wondering when the new tree following year starts so have been looking back at my blog posts. It turns out that it was in March 2014 so my willow still has another month in the spotlight. I must apologise for not posting in December. I'm not quite sure what happened then. At first glance it seems that the willow is just the same as when I last posted in November, apart from the fact that it is now definitely leafless. However when I looked closer at the trunk I noticed that the ivy growing up the bark is not just one variety but two. This shows just unobservant I've been over the last thirty years - hangs head in absolute shame! So a big thanks to you Lucy for opening my eyes to the smaller details. I also noticed when taking the photos yesterday that there are daffodils fully open on the other side of the stream. This gave me such a shock that I nearly fell into the stream. I've never noticed them open so early in the year, let alone before the clumps of snowdrops that grow alongside have opened. Visit Loose and Leafy to see what fine tree specimens from all over the world are up to this January.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day ~ December 2014

"We are into December, Mid-winter-monath in old Saxon, and what a difficult time it is to produce flowers to fill even a few vases in the house. The winter flowering - cherry, Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis' is a great stand-by. I have been cutting small branches of it for two weeks past, standing them in water in a warm room, when the green buds surprisingly expand into the white, faintly-scented blossom suggestive of spring. This is a little tree which should be planted in every garden. It doesn't take up much space, and pays a rich dividend for picking from November until March. Even if frost catches some of the buds, it seems able, valiant little thing that it is, to create a fresh supply. This year, the winter cherry was in full flower in the open during the first fortnight of November ; I picked bucketfuls of the long white sprays; then came two nights of frost on November 15th and 16th; the remaining blossom was very literally browned - off, I despaired of getting any more for weeks to come. But ten days later, when the weather had more of less recovered itself, a whole new batch of buds was ready to come out, and I got another bucketful as fresh and white and as virgin as anything in May. 

There is a variety of this cherry called 'Autumnalis Rosea', slightly tinged with pink; I prefer the white myself, but that is a matter of taste'. 

~ Vita Sackville West, 1892 -1962.

Sadly my beloved Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea' is now a pale ghost of its former self. It has probably reached the quarter of a century mark and although still producing flowers, they seem to be increasingly sparse and now mainly decorate the higher branches of the tree. Picking any branches for vases would now be a ladder job even for himself who is a good six footer. Taking photos of the clusters of blossoms is a challenge too which was beyond me today so the above photo is of a solitary lower down open flower. This year the tree was showing some blossom in October, which must be the earliest I've seen it in flower. I think though that the time has come for a replacement reluctant that I am to cull it. This time round I will be looking for the white flowering version which I could not track down all those years ago.

Thanks as always to Carol over at 'May Dreams Gardens' for hosting this inspirational meme, which I always visit equipped with notepad and pen.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ November 2014

My willow has stood on tippy toes during the last month and has shed all bar a few leaves which are still clinging tenaciously atop of the branches. It's rather windy today and I'm not sure whether there will still be any hangers on tomorrow. There was no dramatic autumnal colouring up with my tree but a subtle thinning away. As Chloris from 'The Blooming Garden' commented in October "You will probably see the real difference next month when all the leaves will have faded away like silver ghosts" and that indeed is what has happened.

The foliage around the base has died down considerably now enabling a glimpse of the stream which runs close by. You will often find willows growing near to water and the word 'salix' which is the genus they belong to derives from the Celtic word, sal (near) + lis (water).

Our willow is on the opposite bank of a small surface water stream which runs alongside one boundary of the garden. Some time ago by sheer serendipity I stumbled across a photograph which shows the lie of the land just over a hundred years ago in 1913, when it was decidedly more watery than it is now.

Both the pond, cottages and greenhouses have gone but we do still get ducks swimming along the stream. I can't make out any definite willow form in the photo or work out exactly where our house is now, which is rather frustrating as it would be brilliant to pin an age to the willow, but I can see why the willow whenever it arrived chose to make its home in such a spot.

To see what other trees are up to this month do visit Lucy over at 'Loose and Leafy' who came up with the great idea of tree following over the course of a year.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ October 2014

Some real wildlife action this month - if you look very closely you might be able to spot the pigeon lurking in the branches. It was conveniently waiting for me when I ventured out to take a photo between yesterday's dramatic cloudbursts. I only wish that it could have been less camera shy as it had its back turned to the camera.

There's really not much in the way discernible difference in my willow's appearance from September's post. The weather has been so kind so I think that it has just been basking in the sunshine and stretching out its branches in content. Something has changed though and for a few minutes I was hard pressed to pinpoint what it is. The penny eventually dropped as I decided that the foliage is gently fading as well as thinning out. Nothing dramatic but a slow slip-sliding into its quieter time of the year. I'm wondering what changes the next month will bring.

For more monthly tree updates do have a peek at Loose and Leafy. With special thanks as always to Lucy for hosting this excellent opportunity to share both information and some fabulous photos on the subjects of trees.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ September 2014.

 Subtle changes are afoot on the willow front. Gazing up at my tree in the glorious sunshine yesterday I noticed that there are hints of yellow creeping into the leaves. As I watched there were soft rustling sounds as leaves slowly drifted down to the ground. Not enough to merit the word "flurry" but a definite coming adrift for some of the leaves that have clothed the tree since April. I wondered if the first leaves to appear are the first to fall but I suppose there's no way of establishing that theory.
I also noticed how smooth the surface of the branches are especially compared to the bark which graces the trunk. Lucy bought the smoothness to my attention when she commented on my tree following post last month.

A blue tit was sitting in the tree but flew off on hearing my approaching footsteps. Other than that no sign of wildlife although I'm sure it receives numerous visitors. Unfortunately I can't get close enough to the tree to look for smaller creatures. I had not considered this factor when I made my decision about which tree to follow!

In other willow news I've broken my self imposed embargo of trying not to buy any news books this year. After all this purchase has been made in the interest of serious scientific research. The book concerned is Willow by Alison Syme. It looks a most fascinating book. I have only dipped into it so far, but am looking forward to reading it thoroughly and to sharing some willow snippets with other tree followers over the next few months. The book is one of Reaktion's Botanical series. The publisher describes the series as the "first of its kind, integrating horticultural and botanical writing with a broader account of the cultural and social impact of trees, plants and flowers". Other tree titles include yew, oak, pine with a new book on the subject of the apple tree coming out next month.

Thanks as always to Lucy over at 'Loose And Leafy', who came up with the excellent idea of a monthly post in which bloggers follow the progress of a specific tree over a year. I must check whether there are any other willow watchers out there.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ August 2014.

There was a break in transmission last month as there was a few hundred miles between willow and myself. Now into August the willow is probably at its fullest in terms of leafiness. I say probably as I've never really monitored its progress so closely throughout the course of the year. June's fluffy missiles have well and truly disappeared into a distant memory so the tree is all leaves again. I've still have to make that death defying leap to try to grab one of the leaves marked with orange blisters. This phenomenon has only appeared on a few leaves, a few more look as if they have been scorched at some point (wind maybe?) but the majority look happy and healthy.

I'm coming to the conclusion that if the willow was in another spot it would be much easier to observe. As it is I only have access from one side and then with a wall and stream in the way getting close and personal is becoming more problematic as the year goes on. I am sure that there are loads of insect visitors but I have never seem them. Time to fish out the binoculars methinks. There is a substantial thicket of growth at the base of the tree now which is partially overhanging the stream. What I can see consists of mainly ferns, brambles and nettles. Excitement though last night when I noticed that a shrub or small tree under the willow's canopy is sporting clusters of small red berries. I had barely registered this growth before now but have now a case of an unidentified mystery on my hands. Please can you help me to solve it.

Thanks to Lucy over at  Loose and Leafy who has kindly invited bloggers from all over the globe to follow our chosen trees over the course of the year.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ June 2014

Sometime between my May tree following post and now my affection for my willow has rapidly diminished. Remember those innocent looking catkins - well every year without fail they turn into a billion of fluffy missiles that float away causing an unsightly mess in their wake. This year's initial snowstorm coincided with the late May bank holiday and is still continuing. The fluffies coat the ground, the washing line, the greenhouse etc., etc. and would no doubt make their way into every room in the house if we were to leave the windows open. Sometimes the fall is so intense that I'm too frightened to open my mouth outside but as I mentioned in a previous post I count myself lucky. I could after all live in Moscow and have to contend with some decidedly anti-social female Balsam poplar trees.

Another happening has been the appearance of orange blisters on the some of the willow leaves. I think that these may be some sort of rust fungus but need to find out more. I'm going to see if I can get hold of a leaf to examine this phenonomen more closely. This will involve an almost impossible aerobic feat so don't hold your breath. I've also only just noticed the dark spots on some of the leaves in the photo. My eyes must have been distracted by the fluffies when I took the photo. I'm not sure what these marks could be.

I'm sure that the willow hosts all sorts of wildlife but rather disappointingly I've only observed the odd squirrel and wood pigeon in its branches. Underneath has more or less morphed into a mass of humungous nettles dotted by the odd fern.

No doubt I will harbour fonder feelings for my willow by next month but in the meantime I hope to discover some better behaved trees over at Loose And Leafy. Thanks to Lucy for giving us the opportunity to share news of our chosen trees each month.

Tree Following With Lucy ~ May 2014

What a transformation from the first tentative leaves opening in early April to the full on state of greenness that is my willow today. Today's forecast is for intermittent rain, so photos were taken yesterday just in case. I've decided that the best view of the willow is impeded by the rotary washing line. It was in full flow drying mode yesterday so I will try to remember to temporarily remove it next month. I've nipped out into the garden though today and peered over the stream (the tree is just outside our garden boundary close to a stream) to observe the vegetation. Nettles, cleavers, herb robert and cow parsley definitely have the upper hand. Nearby neighbouring trees a horse chestnut and a hawthorne are both wearing white. I hope that the willow is not envious of their finery.

As well as leaves the willow is now sporting innocent looking catkins as you can see in the photo above. The word' innocent' has been chosen deliberately. An explanation will in due course. Watch this space! 

Writing about my willow has reminded me about a book I bought some time ago. 'Why Willows Weep : Contemporary Tales From The Woods' is a collection of some nineteen short stories by modern authors. The star of each story is a different variety of tree each with their own tale to tell or to be told of. I've written more about this book here and  here.  I'm sure that it would be enjoyed by any tree lover and sales of the book enable The Woodland Trust to plant more trees.

A special thanks to Lucy over at Loose And Leafy who came up with the idea of a tree following meme. You can read all about what a host of other trees are up to this month here.

Willowy Wednesday ~ Tree Following In April

Sometime silently last week the willow opened up its first leaves of the year. There was no fanfare as far as I know and sadly I was not around to pinpoint this most special magic. I was slightly miffed as I was doing daily checks but then the lurgy and other events meant that I briefly took my eye off the ball and then look what happened !

Other than the leafing there is not much more to say about my willow this month other than I've noticed that there is a substantial patch of moss on the trunk.

I've discovered this because I'm looking at the tree more closely than ever before and squeezing in behind the shed to look at it from angles. If  I become permanently wedged there and don't hear from me for a while you will know where to direct the search party. More on my willow next month. Thanks to Lucy over at 'Loose and Leafy' for hosting this excellent meme. I will be visiting some of the other participants later today when I look forward to meeting some new to me trees as well as reaquainting myself with others.

Tree Following ~ March 2014

This year I'm joining in with Lucy's 'Tree Following' meme. I'm ashamed to admit that I really don't know much about trees and am unable to identify most of them once they loose their foliage. So this year I'm hoping to get to know one tree more intimately. The tree in question is a willow. It sits just outside our garden with its toes dipping in water as do many willows. One of our garden boundaries is a small stream and the willow is just on the far side of the stream. At the moment its trunk is nestled in ivy, brambles, nettles and ferns. I'm not sure of what sort of willow it is so will have to do some research, although I do know that it's definitely not a weeping willow. As for wildlife I think that I probably scare off any larger visiting creatures when I'm nearby, although I did see a blackbird flying out of the willow yesterday as well as a grey squirrel who was tenaciously clinging upside down to the main trunk.

The tree was here when we moved to our present house when it was much bigger than it is now. Himself tells me it was about seventy feet high until it suffered some serious damage from a gale in early January 2012, which I described here. A tree surgeon came to inspect the damage subsequently performing major surgery. I was most upset at the time as I could not envisage it growing again but sure enough later that spring green shoots sprouted. In one respect the willow is much improved. Although I did love listening to it creak on windy nights the overhanging branches were rather too near our house for comfort, so it is now an easier tree to live with.

So that is a brief introduction to my tree which I'm looking forward to getting to know better this coming year. Thanks to Lucy over at Loose And Leafy for coming up with such a brilliant idea.