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.
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?
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.
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.
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.”
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
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?
The Underground posters are superb but cities leave me cold. Unlike the open spaces with willowherb. How beautiful. Triffic wormhole, I have to say!
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.
I salute bombweed and Bill Wyman. Although bombweed is prettier.
Love the artwork and the journey down this wormhole.