Cotehele-March 11 2012

[David Nicholson]

Lovely day here today so made our first visit of the Spring to Cotehele in Cornwall, high on the banks of The River Tamar that forms the border between Devon and Cornwall in these parts. About half an hours drive for me across the Tamar bridge. Free to go out, £1.50 to come back. I sometimes drive all the way round through Tavistock and Dartmoor to avoid paying the bridge toll and probably spend more than double the toll in diesel. But in so doing we pass the best ice cream van in Devon (well, we don't pass it so it's all worth while.

We really went to see how the Daffodils were progressing as, at Cotehele , they have an annual Daff festival and this is taking place over the weekend of 24/25 March. The Daffs in my garden will probably be past their best by then but at Cotehele there are masses still to come out and it will be a very good show even allowing for the many "blind" clumps. I'll post some Daff pics in the Narcissus thread.

Here just four things that caught my eye.

I know little about Ranunculus but spotted this white form of waht I assume is R. ficaria. Probably someone will tell me that it's quite common-but, I didn't find any others!

The first of the Blubells beginning to appear and I spotted this nice clump of white ones.

Loads of Primroses and just a few clums of pink ones dotted around.

Mistletoe is not common at all in these parts, indeed it's rarely seen in the south-west apart from round the Taunton (Somerset) area. This is one of a few clumps dotted around an old apple tree orchard and I suspect it's been introduced rather than being natural.

[Lesley Cox]

What colour flowers does your mistletoe have David? I've only seen pics of it in berry, for Christmas purposes. Here I've not seen ours in fruit but in flower it is a glorious scarlet. There's one down the road on a hill, in a kowhai (Sophora tetraptera) tree. I keep meaning to look for fruit in the winter but keep forgetting. If it grows when a bird shoves a seed into a cleft branch, I wonder if it would if a person were to do the same?

[daveyp1970]

David i have never seen a white R.ficaria before nice find.

[David Nicholson]

What colour flowers does your mistletoe have David? I've only seen pics of it in berry, for Christmas purposes. Here I've not seen ours in fruit but in flower it is a glorious scarlet. There's one down the road on a hill, in a kowhai (Sophora tetraptera) tree. I keep meaning to look for fruit in the winter but keep forgetting. If it grows when a bird shoves a seed into a cleft branch, I wonder if it would if a person were to do the same?

Haven't a clue Lesley, normally it's too high up the tree to see.

[Brian Ellis]

If it grows when a bird shoves a seed into a cleft branch, I wonder if it would if a person were to do the same?

Strangely enough Lesley, I was at a Hardy Plant Society meeting on Saturday where someone had brought a large spray of mistletoe from their apple tree.  By holding the berries up to the light you could see that the seed was starting to extend - this is the perfect time in England to do some hand 'planting'.  The members were invited to take a piece with up to four berries, and smear a berry on the underside of a fork in a branch, preferably on the north side of the tree as they don't like to be cooked.  The birds will not go for it if it is underneath, and after a year there should be a slight swelling, after two years a small shoot and by year four you should have some berries.  I must check mine as I did this the year before last so should have some centimetre long shoots with a bit of luck

[Lesley Cox]

Mmmm, more to this than I had thought. It seems quite a long-winded process, won't happen overnight but it will happen - hopefully. Of course ours, presuming it fruits in winter as yours does, would be used for the usual purpose at winter solstice, Christmas being 6 months away. Kissing under the mistletoe just doesn't happen here.