I found myself in turmoil and confusion on the tube yesterday as, for once, I read an article by Alan Titchmarsh and agreed with every word. For reference, it's Gardeners' World magazine, June edition, p. 186. You can't read GW online, but the general drift is him wondering how to get his wisteria to flower.
I have had my moments of moaning about Alan T, but when he talks about actual gardening he's so gently informative that it's difficult to remember he's also annoying. And his palpable and modest desire to have a nice wisteria up the front of the house so matches my own ambitions that now I'm finding it impossible to keep hating him.
My particular favourite line is this one: "I can get most of the long shoots off in summer by leaning out of bedroom windows". I'm afraid I'm completely charmed by this picture of Alan gamely dashing upstairs with his secateurs to dangle out the first-floor, pruning. (Although he should consider that if it's dangerous to run with scissors...).
And he writes about exactly the same sense of triumph on seeing the buds as I was gargling on about at the start of April - he's just much less smug.
On balance I probably still won't be running up to get his autograph at Chelsea, but while he continues to battle the idea of climate change, I am sensing a bit of Titchmarsh Warming going on in this particular glacial region.
(Sorry about the deeply unsmiling image: I think I was worrying the camera was about to slide off the car I was using as a tripod)
So GW's turning out to be very good value this month then ;)
Enjoy Chelsea!
Posted by: VP | Friday, 16 May 2008 at 10:01 AM
I am going to be racing back to my computer on Monday lunchtime hoping to scoop as many other bloggers as possible! Must remember to take the telephoto lens to get a good shot of AT's 2008 Chelsea outfit...
Posted by: emma townshend | Friday, 16 May 2008 at 11:46 AM
Hiya Emma,
The entire village is dripping with wisteria, except for us. Reason being we called in an expert two years ago to have it tamed.
After 20 odd years of the most exquisite lilacky pink, it has now been barren for two seasons in a row. And that at the exorbitant cost of £50 per hour's snipping.
Climate change? Just in our garden?
(and stop rubbishing nice Alan Titch will ye ;-) You can let loose on all the other two dozen we get inflicted on us every Chelsea. Don't get me started...
And please take a look at my BD picture. You can take this bit out.
Posted by: jocodeane | Friday, 16 May 2008 at 04:28 PM
I don't have a TV so I have to guess - but is Alan Titchmarsh to television what Nicholas Parsons is to radio?
Esther
Posted by: Esther Montgomery | Friday, 16 May 2008 at 08:11 PM
Difficult question. Gawd, what does anyone else think? How do you define L'essence du Titchmarsh? Perhaps we could get jocodeane to try - on the basis of having a much greater respect for the man.
Jocodeane - that wisteria problem sounds really annoying. But I have read that they take a long time to get going again after a real hacking back. Have you done the old two bags of manure to the roots trick? Big manure this year, and careful pruning, and hopefully you'll be back to floral mayhem in 2009.
Posted by: emma townshend | Saturday, 17 May 2008 at 09:22 AM
Hiya Emma,
That is good advice, thank you. I hadn't thought of feeding my wisteria. Although how I am going to get 2 bags of horsemanure down a tiny hole in the paving is a riddle.
I suppose hanging some manure in a woven sack inside a water butt might be an answer. Then I can use the liquid. Sniffy prospect though.
I don't have radio, so I can't judge the comparison mentioned above.
Are you into using Comfrey liquid? I sprinkled some leaves on the leafmold pile, but I wonder what it will actually achieve.
Posted by: jocodeane | Monday, 26 May 2008 at 12:10 PM
Ah, Comfrey liquid - one of the Kew gardens I blogged about recently had a bucket of the stuff and three different containers showing the different stages. Maybe I'll have to get out the photos and do a blog about it!
I think you might be right about the manure in a sack, but then you don't want water with so many nutrients in it for Mediterranean type plants, do you? Perhaps you could try one of those seaweed mixtures? That would definitely fit down the hole in the concrete!
Posted by: emma townshend | Thursday, 29 May 2008 at 09:26 AM