Sunday, August 22, 2010

Garden Watching

I am sitting here watching the garden.  I’m tucked up snug in our conservatory while the rain is falling on the Perspex roof.  It always sounds worse than it actually is, a little drizzle sounds torrential, a heavy shower like a monsoon.  Today we’re somewhere between torrent and monsoon, probably nearer the lower end of the scale.

I like just watching, I can see the birds coming and going.  Just now there were four Long-tailed tits in the Birch tree, as well as a blackbird, magpie and sparrow.  The Birch is quite mature, so I suspect it affords a degree of respite from the otherwise wet outside its canopy.

The rain means I won’t have to do much watering tonight, just the tomatoes.  This year we’ve had a little more success that last including a variety of black-cherry.  Yes that’s right black-cherry tomatoes, and they really are black, or at least a very, very dark purple and they have a magnificent taste.  Simply go to the potting shed, pick one warm from the bush and consume.  There is something wickedly decadent about eating a warm tomato straight from the bush, no third party involved.

I can see the subtle feather like leaves of our mimosa tree.  When we first moved in there was one close to the garage, but it died back.  I think it might have been struck by lightning; it has a suspicious dark line and split in the bark from top to ground.  Now it just acts as a glorified bird feeder, home to a feeder full of nyger seed for goldfinches, who love it.  Its replacement sits in a pot, only four feet high, and will probably stay in a pot for the foreseeable future at least.

Wet Sunday, watching the Small Suburban Garden.

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