In 2020, my wife mentioned how it would be nice to have a mulberry tree. The pandemic panic buying made some things unavailable. Mulberry trees was one of them. None of the plant nurseries had any in stock.
2021 was the same no mulberry trees.
2022 and mulberries were back. I ordered a dwarf red. It arrived and in the ground it went.
A few weeks later while preparing a large flower bed for new plantings, I noticed something with the roses. Something growing that wasn’t roses. It was a white mulberry tree.
A bird ate a mulberry somewhere, and planted the very tree I was looking for. It’s size says it’s been growing unnoticed a couple of years.
Wow, what a serendipitous seeding! And for the cherry on the cake (or should that be the mulberry on the cake?), mulberries - which I haven't heard anyone speak of in years - have now cropped up twice here on The Earthworm in recent days. First in my Q&A with Mark Diacono, and now again in your comment. Thank you, and enjoy the berries!
I seem to remember Anne Wareham having a mass of the white rosebay willow herb in her garden at Veddw - I just did a quick google and found this article from 10 years ago.. people use to view it with disdain for sure
I really enjoyed reading this. I wasn't familiar with William Spradbery or the artists commissioned by London Transport. I love the posters you shared here. Maybe I'll have a serendipitous William Spradbery experience now?
As someone who grew up in a big city, with very urbanite parents, it took me a long, long while to fully discover and appreciate the wonders of nature. I'm glad that I have, and can now join you in appreciating the wonders of the wild willowherb.
I'd never heard of Spradbery until today but I love his work that you shared here; I might have to get a print of one of these!
I was half-hoping that Act 3 would somehow involve playing disc golf with Spradbery's great-great-granddaughter in a field of bombweed as a Bill Wyman base line wafts in gently from a nearby bluetooth speaker.
Dan, this is an unfair question. Bill Wyman's arthritis would make his sojourn in the compost bin somewhat uncomfortable. And my rewilding of the back yard (with interruptions by raised vegetable beds) mean that I indulge all all kinds of untidy weeds, as well as local wildlife. I am more likely to place both at my table, one in a vase and the other in a chair, and feed them well. I am a retired chef, and I do love to feed people, and plants (with different foods).
Oh wow, I certainly hadn't heard of Trümmerblumen, but Google informs me that it's the very same bombweed. When thinking about war, it's tempting always to do so in Us and Them terms. Goodies and Baddies. Soldiers and more Soldiers. We don't necessarily think about the civilians on both sides just trying to get on with their lives. I find it very poignant that Rosebay Willowherb may have represented the same thing to people in both England and Germany (and possibly elsewhere!). Renaissance and renewal. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Thanks for sharing the memory!
A very Jungian experience, your synchronicities!
Here’s mine...
In 2020, my wife mentioned how it would be nice to have a mulberry tree. The pandemic panic buying made some things unavailable. Mulberry trees was one of them. None of the plant nurseries had any in stock.
2021 was the same no mulberry trees.
2022 and mulberries were back. I ordered a dwarf red. It arrived and in the ground it went.
A few weeks later while preparing a large flower bed for new plantings, I noticed something with the roses. Something growing that wasn’t roses. It was a white mulberry tree.
A bird ate a mulberry somewhere, and planted the very tree I was looking for. It’s size says it’s been growing unnoticed a couple of years.
Wow, what a serendipitous seeding! And for the cherry on the cake (or should that be the mulberry on the cake?), mulberries - which I haven't heard anyone speak of in years - have now cropped up twice here on The Earthworm in recent days. First in my Q&A with Mark Diacono, and now again in your comment. Thank you, and enjoy the berries!
And a note from Anne in reply to my message on her brand new substack:
“ I have all kinds of rosebay - the pale pink comes first, followed by the white, then the wonderful weed: https://veddw.com/south-garden-wild-garden-headstones/ Love them all.”
Aha! Sounds like a visit to Veddw is on the cards!
I seem to remember Anne Wareham having a mass of the white rosebay willow herb in her garden at Veddw - I just did a quick google and found this article from 10 years ago.. people use to view it with disdain for sure
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2010/may/14/gardens
What a brilliant article! Quite inspirational, really. Thanks so much for sharing. And I’d love to see the Gordon Brown-inspired bramble patch!
I really enjoyed reading this. I wasn't familiar with William Spradbery or the artists commissioned by London Transport. I love the posters you shared here. Maybe I'll have a serendipitous William Spradbery experience now?
Maybe! Either that, or your garden will become over-run by Rosebay Willowherb...
The Underground posters are superb but cities leave me cold. Unlike the open spaces with willowherb. How beautiful. Triffic wormhole, I have to say!
As someone who grew up in a big city, with very urbanite parents, it took me a long, long while to fully discover and appreciate the wonders of nature. I'm glad that I have, and can now join you in appreciating the wonders of the wild willowherb.
I'd never heard of Spradbery until today but I love his work that you shared here; I might have to get a print of one of these!
I was half-hoping that Act 3 would somehow involve playing disc golf with Spradbery's great-great-granddaughter in a field of bombweed as a Bill Wyman base line wafts in gently from a nearby bluetooth speaker.
Sadly not, but who knows, we could save that for the sequel...
I salute bombweed and Bill Wyman. Although bombweed is prettier.
Prettier, yes. But if they both popped up in your garden, which would you keep, and which would you banish to the compost bin?
Dan, this is an unfair question. Bill Wyman's arthritis would make his sojourn in the compost bin somewhat uncomfortable. And my rewilding of the back yard (with interruptions by raised vegetable beds) mean that I indulge all all kinds of untidy weeds, as well as local wildlife. I am more likely to place both at my table, one in a vase and the other in a chair, and feed them well. I am a retired chef, and I do love to feed people, and plants (with different foods).
You sound like a generous host - Bill and Rosebay both would be lucky to find themselves in your home!
Love the artwork and the journey down this wormhole.
Thanks Robyn, I'm so glad!
I know – I want all of his posters on my wall. Sadly, they're not all for sale, and more to the point, I don't have enough wall!
Oh wow, I certainly hadn't heard of Trümmerblumen, but Google informs me that it's the very same bombweed. When thinking about war, it's tempting always to do so in Us and Them terms. Goodies and Baddies. Soldiers and more Soldiers. We don't necessarily think about the civilians on both sides just trying to get on with their lives. I find it very poignant that Rosebay Willowherb may have represented the same thing to people in both England and Germany (and possibly elsewhere!). Renaissance and renewal. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Thanks for sharing the memory!