Garden mixture

I have three big walnut trees in my garden. One has had a tree surgeon working on it, and looks much better as a result, one of the others, in a less prominent position also needs some work. So I set to, with my Dutch friend and his chain saw, to chop off some large branches that were drooping to the ground or had partially split from the trunk.

We are starting to have some Spring-like days here, and one warm afternoon I noticed that the stump of one of the branches I had sawn off was weeping sap. (French for sap: la sève) The lowest stump was weeping the most, the next higher up one just a little, and the still higher ones not at all. I was observing the rising of the sap in Spring.

Anyway I don't want my tree to bleed to death so I went and got some sealant, and it is painted onto the stump in this picture. Wierd stuff, the colour of brown boot polish, with a consistency very like Marmite, smelling of pine resin. It's very sticky and you apply it with a brush. Here is the result, a happy stump all nicely protected against sap loss and fungal infection. Someone told me it's better to prune walnuts at the start of Winter. Hmmmmmmm, thanks, but too late. Let's hope that all is not lost.


























This shrubby plant, flowering from the end of February is, surprisingly enough, a Honeysuckle. It has tiny flowers the size of a finger-tip, with the sweetest scent you ever came across.




















Well hello, my old and beloved friend. So nice to re-make the acquaintance.