Today at the historic gardens group, we decided to tackle (amongst other things) the Cornus Mas or Cornelian Cherry. Like all cherries, this ancient variety had grown large and dense with many ‘crazy’ branches shooting backwards and forwards through the tree. It was not an easy task working out the effect of each cut and avoiding damaging neighbouring branches.
So, we proceded slowly, checking the shape of the tree after each cut. Also, anyone who has lopped or sawn cherry trees will know how hard and dense the wood is! The photo shows how we left it, allowing the professionals to finish the tidying up operation. We hope we got it about right and haven’t harmed its character.
Later, we had a fascinating discussion with a new group member who was actually born at Park Hill and looked after the garden before the Trust took it on. We also fixed two dates for summer gardens trips. They are both in the lakes, Wednesday 24th June, Sizergh Castle garden, and Wednesday 29th July, Holehird and Stagshaw gardens. If you are interested in coming, pop the dates in your diary – more details soon.
Finally,after lunch, I went next door to see the superb art exhibition currently in the barn. Despite the wonderful Geoff Selkirk and Jo Taylor paintings, my favourites were a Henry Moore and ‘two dogs’ by David Hockney. Yes, I did say ‘Henry Moore’ and ‘David Hockney’. It’s a great exhibition but only one week left!
David