making plans for the conservatory

In the conservatory the Eriobotrya 'Coppertone' is flowering.  This is an evergreen of uncertain parentage, which forms a shrub or small tree, and at this time of the year has strongly scented, pink flowers.  The new foliage that follows is an attractive shade of copper.  We started stocking them at work four or five years ago, and I was enchanted by them, and amazed that our customers didn't buy all that we had at once.  They were semi-large standards and quite expensive, which may have been one reason, and also dubiously hardy, which is a consideration when you are thinking of spending that much on a plant.  I asked for one as a birthday or Christmas present, and my records show that we got ours in April 2007, which is slightly confusing as that's not when my birthday is.  As we've had it for four years I can report that it makes a good long-term subject for a container.  It is now in a 50cm pot, and I have pruned it a few times to keep it within bounds.  It suffers a bit from caterpillars that roll up its leaves, but appears immune to red spider mite, and the mealy bugs that came in on another large specimen.  I can also vouch from personal experience that if you let it get dry and it wilts (a good gardener wouldn't, but these things happen) it will recover, unlike some evergreens like Callistemon which will simply die.

The conservatory needs a good sort out.  I had a moment of epiphany a day or two back when I realised that I should get rid of the Acacia longifolia.  This species has willow-like leaves, which are not so pretty as A. dealbata, the classic mimosa, and it has grown too tall for the available space and is trained across the ceiling, and half-blocking the doorway.  I have been tidying out the dead leaves and twigs for the past couple of seasons, but the plant, while nice in its youth, has become old and ugly.  This is sad, and a fate that awaits many of us, but good gardens and a ruthless attitude to individual plants often go hand in hand.  I am not so ruthless as I should be.

Addendum  The editors of The Journal of Animal Ethics have decreed that it is demeaning to animals to term them pets, and that we should call them Companion Animals and ourselves Human Carers.  Vets seem to use the term companion animal anyway, but I draw the line at becoming a Carer to the cats.  It sounds too unspeakably dreary.  A more appropriate word would be Servant.