It was 12 years ago that we discovered and fell in love with the sculptural properties of common box following the purchase of two dozen small plants.
H's chisel came out, and the task of planting began in earnest.
Box is very easy to look after, it only needs a good hair cut once a year during the month of June - tradition says Derby Day. For any overseas readers Derby Day is a horse race held on Epsom Downs in early June, and is Britain's richest horse race.
H, however, doesn't like to waste anything. He could not bear to throw all the lovely new green shoots away, and so began his marathon potting of the cuttings. We have given many plants away, and carried out various different schemes using the cuttings in the garden.
Eventually I decided that enough was enough. I finally persuaded him to call it a day, and be content with what we had achieved.
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Dracunulus Vulgaris
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There must be two green thumbs at your house because your garden is lovely twice over. I'm not sure how box would do in tropical Florida, but my yard is in need of an update, and some ground cover.
ReplyDeleteHello Rosemary:
ReplyDeleteWe love Box hedges and Box topiary as they add such wonderful structure to a garden and, as you say, are really quite easy to maintain. And, how marvellously you have used Box in your own garden, lining paths, creating special effects and holding the borders together. This has definitely come a very long way from your first purchase and your husband's first steps in propagating. Lovely!!
Hello Jane and Lance - as you say Box gives wonderful structure to a garden. However, before we tried using it, we had not understood how very easy Box is to shape and create interesting effects. I think more people would use it if they realised.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark - I visited the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Florida in March. I did not see any Box there, so do not know whether it would flourish with you or not. However, I think that a yard can look very good with some attractive paving and gravel, topped off with some nice pots filled with flowers and greenery.
ReplyDeleteOnly one word for your perfect box balls - WOW!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rosemary - I must say we are quite pleased with them, and they get better each year.
ReplyDelete