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| A Certain Impulse continued on page 45 |
THE FLOWER OF A PEACE
A fine winter's day is a precious thing!
A Countrywoman’s Diary * by Ruth Pitter
In spring, we plan for open air jobs and fine weather, longer days and increasing activity for many weeks ahead.
But now we are going through a reverse process, gathering in our crops, providing fuel, seeing to the house repairs, setting everything in order for the winter.
There will be a good many days in the coming months when we can get out quite a lot, and these fine winter days are precious, because there are essential things to do then, jobs that can't be done at other seasons, winter pruning, digging, planting. But there will also be days when we shan't go out at all unless we must. Days of strong, bitter winds, drifting snow, or incessant rain.
YOU might think those are the days when country life, isn't worth while.
Well, some of us think the same, and rather wish we had a theatre or a cinema handy, or at least a row of shops. But I never miss the town. I'd always rather be in the country, come what may.
On a short, dull winter day, when there's never a gleam of sun, and outdoor work is impossible, I feel a deep peace.
With some necessary household jobs to do, and when those are over a silent, warm study, it seems to me that life is like a small brook that makes a little, contented sound.
There will be slight variations from time to time; family news of unusual interest, or a friend may turn up unexpectedly to lunch or tea.
BUT these chance comers don't disturb the peace; They are part of it.
It only means another cup, an extra round of buttered toast, and sitting a little longer into the twilight, talking of the things nearest our hearts. So, on these quiet days, we gather up the threads of our lives, and look at the pattern that is being woven.
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Gardening Notes by Roy Hay
A garden that is shaped like a rather long, narrow rectangle presents some design problems.
One of the most vexing of these is how to screen off one part of the garden from another-how, for example, to divide the flowers from the vegetables.
Often this division is made by fencing covered with rambling roses, all right in summer, but pretty gaunt in winter.
We can do better than this. In the first place the division need not be very high. In fact, a glimpse of a well kept vegetable garden over a four foot hedge of rose. “Queen Elizabeth” could be rather exciting.
This rose is strong growing and smothered with pink flowers. If you remove the side buds, the main flower on the stem is as good as any hybrid tea rose for cutting.
One of the nicest divisions is a beech or hornbeam hedge. The russet leaves hang on all through the winter until the new green leaves come along to push them off in the spring. But it should not be trimmed until very late in the season -September is quite soon enough.
One tip with beech. If you want it to grow quickly, put the plants fifteen inches apart, and never cut the leading shoot until it has reached the desired height of four, five or six feet.
If you have plenty of room, plant a briar hedge. Delightful when in flower it has a wonderful scent on a moist evening. But these rose hedges do need a fair bit of space.
Escallonia makes a lovely hedge, choose the variety “C. F. Ball” if you live in a cold part of the country, they are evergreen and covered with flowers if not trimmed back too hard.
If you do not mind deciduous hedges a screen of forsythia can be beautiful. And the more you trim. it back, the more flowers you will get.
Or for something more unusual, choose a two coloured hedge of Prunus pissardii nigra and the green leafed plum " Myrobolan B".
If you plant two of the purple leafed P. pissardii nigra and then one of the green" Myrobolan B", in time the whole hedge merges together and you get a wonderful mixture of the colours. There will be flowers, too, in the spring.
You can of course have low divisions of Santolina incana, lavender, rosemary, or if you want something more formal, yew or box. All of them add distinction.
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