A dubious inheritance

You never start with a blank canvas. There are plants and trees you inherit and you decide over time whether they stay or go.

The hideous blue pine (a Christmas tree) planted in the east garden in a very prominent and utterly wrong spot was the first to go.

And over the years we have ‘edited’ the trees.

When we first came to the farm, Peter, the previous owner was very proud of the almond tree growing out of bare rock below the south facing terrace.

It had appeared completely by accident and it was encouraged as it was such a novelty.

He had even rigged up a complicated watering system from the top of the terrace so it could be drip fed without him having to leave the comfort of his aperatif tray out from the living room.

But the almond was hideous.

Always half dead, it had to push out to seek the light as it was growing in rock below the terrace.  Some years it produced a few fruit. And every year it had dead branches and sickly leaves.

And all the flood water seems to have finally killed off a lot of the roots.

Am I trying to build up for the big reveal? Yes. Today we cut it down.

And yes I did feel a twinge of guilt.  But I have planted three new almond trees in preparation for this big event.  And none of the new trees are growing out of the rock below the house.

The symmetry freak in me is also pleased that the front of the house is now neat. Why, I might even attend to the weeds on the rocks now.  There is no distraction in the form of a dying tree.