Gardening
Mr Fox’s Garden As the autumn gets going, Mr Fox looks at the pros and cons of lockdown and muses on the wisdom of pulling weeds.
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mongst all the negatives, one or two good things came with the lockdown. Back in the spring, our planet had a full two weeks to recover from the endless and meaningless destruction that we humans like to partake in, given the odd exception. The two main weeks of lockdown must have been our street’s turn on the rota for the council to spray the weed killer on the pavements. We got missed, and a few months later a little tomato plant started growing out of the crack in between my front garden wall and the path. It has already given a few fruits albeit a little too dodgy to fancy eating. I’d have a small fortune if I had a pound for every time some one told me, “a weed is just a plant growing in the wrong place”. Nowadays I know it’s a fact for sure. I say leave the weed killer on the shop shelf; look at the weeds and if you don’t have time to pull them out, and if you can’t afford to pay someone to pull them out, then don’t start spraying poison about. I whisper words of wisdom, and say, “Let it be”. If I’m in danger of copyright infringement, I hope Paul McCartney’s not reading this. Summer’s lease hath all too short a date! It’s that time of year again. Nothing states the madness of summer quite like an overgrown garden full of spent flowers. It’s been something of a roller-coaster ride with the weather this year and it’s pleasing to think that by Christmas all but a few leaves will be down on the ground and rotting,
beginning the cycle of regeneration and feeding the plants and trees for the future. Autumn leaves are sublime, on a par with the summer flowers if you ask me. I think to myself at the end of every summer, “I’m going to enjoy this next bit” and I hope you enjoy it too. All the best
James
We are James and Catherine (Mr Fox’s Garden). We provide a garden maintenance and landscaping service around the Bay but the main part of our business is making plant supports, garden art and sculptures - and it’s all made right here on the English Riviera. After our display garden won the People’s Choice Award at the 2019 Tavistock Garden Show, we can now happily say we are ‘award winning gardeners’. We’re also proud to say that this year we have pieces on permanent display at RHS Rosemoor and Buckfast Abbey.
Mr Fox
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October/November 2020 | 43