Eden Project.

Wow. At long last, I have been to the Eden Project - what a place it is.

Before I begin, I must say that there is more to the Eden Project than the famous domes - nevertheless it was the rainforest dome ("biome") which really did capture my imagination.

Indeed, one senses that the entire place is sculpted with that in mind: to capture every visitor's imagination, rather than impress a select few interested in botany. The intense heat, the paths meandering through surprisingly established-looking environments, the props, structures and artwork positioned playfully around each corner. It all comes together to tremendous effect.

I won't describe everything in laborious detail, I'm not sure that would be in keeping with the place. However, I shall say that, upon leaving, I felt great contentment in having spent a day in such fascinating surroundings as well as an instant desire to return. I hope that is a feeling I can recreate in future gardens of my own.

Pieris floribunda.

I'm not sure I have mentioned it before on the blog, but I've been working with two local gardeners for a couple of months - James and Dave. It's recently been getting to the time of year in which working outdoors is no longer a test of manhood in the wind and the rain, but a pleasurable pursuit beneath cloudless skies - although today was a wet exception!

One plant that seems to embody the excitement and heat of the coming seasons is the Pieris floribunda (especially the 'Forest Flame' cultivar*), with its deep red young leaves and white bells. It has appeared in many of the gardens I've been working in, and at this time of year it really is striking.

Pieris floribunda, "Mountain Andromeda".
(Evergreen shrub.)


Planting: Spring or autumn.
Flowering: March to April (now!).
Aspect: Full sun or partial shade. Non-north facing, sheltered.
Hardiness: Hardy.

Notes: Originating from the slopes of the Appalachians, the Pieris floribunda is poisonous enough even to hold its own against deer.

*I learnt that the correct term is cultivar here: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/plantnaming/hownameswork.asp

Gerard's Herbal.

Having been inspired in the previous post by some charming fiction, we now move on to something real, and really very exciting indeed. Dating from 1597, John Gerard's Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes (thee moree e's, thee bettere) is truly a masterpiece~ perhaps not in clinical science, but certainly in beautifully demonstrating human wonder in the world around us.
Accompanied by fabulous woodcut illustrations, Gerard discusses thousands of plants encountered personally or by contemporaries, each with a gentle charisma that sets his delightful work apart four hundred years later.

"For if delight may provoke mens labor, what greater delight is there than to behold the earth apparelled with plants, as with a robe of embroidered worke, set with Orient pearles and garnished with great diversitie of rare and costly jewels? If this varietie and perfection of colours may affect the eie, it is such in herbs and floures, that no Apelles, no Zeuxis ever could by any art expresse the like: if odours or taste may worke satisfaction, they are both so soveraigne in plants, and so comfortable that no confection of the Apothecaries can equall their excellent vertue. But these delights are in the outward senses: the principal delight is in the mind..."