Wednesday, April 9, 2008

FORSYTHIA

One-track conversation:-

Is it morally acceptable to escape prison by swapping identities with your eight month old son?

Ming says Worthing wanted to do it. He chose to be eight-months old. It was perfect cover!

(No wonder Worthing suddenly seemed to like Syllabubs!)

True; no-one noticed the baby that left in the Head Guard's arms was Ming.

The Head Guard even changed his nappy!

(I'll send three pumpkins, I think!)

Until yesterday, I didn't feel like a mother.

Didcott fed and clothed Worthing.

I dug the garden.

But, now, he's in prison - and I want him back!

Ming is sorrowful.

"Didn't you want to see me?" he asks (as he follows me mournfully round the house).

I've invented a repost -

'Oh! Go pull a weed!'

Good that, eh?

(Not that I say it out loud!)

Of course I was wanting to see him! Every minute!

"We'll just swap around," he says consolingly. "Me, Didcott and Worthing. We'll go to prison in turns."

* * * * *

(He's given me Forsythia cuttings. Leaned over a neighbour's wall and . . . )

* * * * *

(Now he's at the Horticultural Society buying Rooting Powder.)

* * * * *

(He's alright really!)

(Even if he has left our youngest son incarcerated on an M.O.D. bus!)

(!)

_____

14 comments:

Barbee' said...

Never a dull moment at your house. I had to google syllabubs. I'm learning things here.

Frances, said...

Your tree is really leafing out up there. You will be needing to trim the boxwoods soon. I loved your remark to Ming about the weed pulling. Excellent.

Esther Montgomery said...

Barbee - Your comment about the Syllabubs reminds me that I need to work out how people can 'back-track' through the story.

It's all very well putting things clearly in 'Day' order but it's impossible (at present) to find particular 'Events'.

To me (and probably to you, now you've Googled it!) Syllabubs are a very rich (alcoholic) desert made with cream.

To Ming - 'Syllabub' is what they call 'Jerusalem Artichokes' on Mars.

(I'm growing Globe Artichokes for the home garden. Ming's growing Jerusalem Artichokes at the allotment.)

Martian 'Syllabubs' are able to communicate with their growers - which is why Ming is following their progress so carefully.

- er - I hope you've followed that!

. . . . See day 7.

Esther

P.S. I've looked at the photo of your woods on your blog so much now, I can see it in front of my eyes whenever I feel like a little peace. (Which is often!)

P.P.S. 'Syllabub' is such a wonderful word, don't you think?

Esther Montgomery said...

Frances - Yes, it's an espaliered apple - and the leaves are suddenly doing a 'burst spurt'.

And you are right - the box bushes need trimming too.

In fact, today, I put my hand on the sheers - then decided to leave them a bit longer - partly because the new leaves are a lovely gold on top and around the edges, cheerful against the darker green of the older leaves, - and partly because I find box cuttings work best from greenwood . . . so I use the trimmings.

Esther

P.S. Thank you for putting 'Picks' on my posts so often. I really appreciate it!

VP said...

Esther - I'm constantly amazed at the amount of work you're putting into your blog. You must be changing your header picture practically every day, so that we can see how your garden's growing. :)

Re key information for people to know - you could try using the sidebar in some way perhaps in addition to your pictures? E.g. I've put a glossary of terms on mine for the abbreviations I use frequently. I've also put some of my introductory articles on there as links for new readers. Both of these ideas perhaps don't fit in with the style of your blog, but you might be able to think of some others ways more useful to you from these starting points?

Esther Montgomery said...

Nancy - Yes! Forsythia is one of those 'Have to smile when you see it' kind of plants!

Esther

Amanda said...

I don't know what I ever did without your blog- whew! I'm glad that I don't have to find out. Because, now I know where you are.

Linda said...

I have Jerusalem artichokes in my garden, Ming and I will have to compare notes.

Esther Montgomery said...

VP - I've taken a look at your sidebar.

One of the interesting things I have learnt from recent comments is that I don't actually know what readers will, or will not, be familiar with.

Syllabubs are a bit esoteric even in this country - but I hadn't previously realised that 'pasties' and 'swedes' would perplex people.

I'm now wondering whether there are 'Horticultural Societies' in the U.S.A. (and elsewhere) - and if there are, whether they bear any resemblance to our 'local' one.

Esther

Merlinprincesse?

Frances?

Barbee?

Nancy?

Amanda?

Anyone?

VP said...

I foresaw that problem and that's why I went for providing a lot of links with my posts. Therefore I don't need to spoil the 'flow' of what I'm saying, but if people want to find out more, I give them a helpful site to look at as well (sometimes I put a spoof site in just for fun!). It also serves as a 'notebook' for me to refer back to later as well, especially when I'm talking about specific techniques or plants.

Again, just an idea and it may not fit with the style of your blog.

Have a great weekend!

VP said...

Oh, I forgot to add - I got fed up of providing a Guerilla Gardening link - I've talked about it more frequently than I was expected. That's why my first Guerilla Gardening post went up in my sidebar this week.

Your Word Verification says Geumwrs at the moment, could this be advice from Blogger for the next flower for you to plant in the garden?

Susan Harwood said...

Could be!

merlinprincesse said...

There are many Horticultural Societies in Quebec Province and in Quebec City... :) I've googled them and I was amazed to see how many. You know I don't have plants cause I live in the middle of the City. But I love plants and my mom has a beautiful garden... :)

Anonymous said...

As far as I know, there are horticultural societies (official and un-) in every state of the Union: href="http://www.ahs.org/master_gardeners/". We also have "extension offices," which are run by universities and are connected to their agricultural programs. Extension offices, though, are less related to gardening and more to farming, although of course gardeners and farmers both are welcome to use the extensions as resources. Extension offices will do things like test your soil for free, help you identify pests, etc. Very useful.