This was such a beautiful read Deborah! Filled with so much beauty and interesting information. Loved your apple blossom painting and your lovely pencil sketch of an apple tree. So much history attached to trees, not to mention beauty as well. I was just gifted the very popular book "The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben and I'm really looking forward to reading it. Have you read it yet? Thanks so much for your generous shares! xx
Thank you very much, Debbie, and am so sorry for the late reply. It is a book I have been meaning to read for a long time and somehow I have never quite managed to read it, but I need to lift it off the shelf and do so as I know I would enjoy it xx
Wonderful to read of the rich history of your garden, & to learn of Samuel Palmer's attempts to portray the sumptuousness of blossom by pushing himself in his techniques & methods.
Such a lovely written piece…we have apple trees, and it’s always a thrill to me when the blossom appears. There is one very old tree in one of our fields that is being propped up by a wall and is virtually hollow, and yet it still yields plenty of blossom and fruit every year - amazing! The interview with Dennis Potter I will come back to later on today to listen to the rest of it. The first 10 minutes have me captivated and I definitely want to listen to the whole thing so thank you for sharing x
Apple trees seem amazingly robust and I do hope your leaning one continues to flourish! I love how the blossom fades from pink to white as it ages, and it certainly my favourite blossom. The interview is astonishing, isn't it? It is something once seen, never forgotten.
The sight of apple blossom is joyful. We had a Blenheim Orange apple tree in our last garden and have planted another in our present one as the apples are so tasty. How lovely for you to have old Norfolk varieties too. It’s such a shame that so many old varieties and orchards have been lost.
My earlier reply seems to have disappeared, which is annoying! Old apple trees are so precious nad I did worry a c ouple of years agaom, in that extreme drought, that they would survive, but thankfully they did! It is such a special blossom and I vividly remember walking in my dad's cousin's farm orchard in Kent as a very small child. Like so many, they were grubbed up, as they not viewed as an economic crop and I was so upset at the loss.
Thank you. The bluebells are slowly spreading and come after the primroses and violets and then the daffodils. I don't mow until June to allow it all to seed. It is quite magical at this time of year (though very hard to mow! )
Thank you, Deborah. I am imagining your apple tree in blossom. We have an apricot tree, and the spring blossoms are also very special. We are heading towards winter now, so at the moment she is losing her leaves; they turn from a glossy green to lemon yellow, and cover the ground and surrounding garden for weeks. It's beautiful. I love the paintings and sketches you've shared.
I have never seen apricot blossom, but it sounds a beautiful tree. I know that can be grown here in sheltered gardens, but fear my garden too harsh a climate! I am so glad you enjoyed the post and thank you very much for letting me know.
This is a fantastic read. Sitting here by my back window we are lucky to have quite a lot of birdsong and two apple trees in the back garden. One, a cooker which always blossoms first at the start of April and the second an eater (bit sharp) that comes in later just as the blossom on the eater is falling away for good. We did have 4 but two were planted in a very shallow spot and grew up against a high wall that they had started to push over in the neighbours so we removed them for safety.
We have only been here a few years but I have consistently found myself gravitating towards those trees and find the blossom to be an Incredibly uplifting sight at the start if spring. Definitely inspiring much writing and photography.
Thank you very much, David, that is such a cheering thing to read! I am delighted that you liked it. Apple blossom is my favourite and can remember how, as a child, I used to love the two small apple trees in my garden in Wolverhamptonwhen they broke into blossom. It feels so hopeful!
Deborah, there is so much beauty in this post — your writing, imagery, concerns for place and the sharing of this most poignant and moving Denis Potter interview. 🪷
Thank you very much, what a lovely message to receive. Isn't the interview extraordinary? When watching it again for this, I was so moved by his words and am so glad you liked it too.
I can only imagine what the oldest tree has witnessed in 150 years; so many changes and some taking place so quickly. Yet, the tree remains, a testament of his durability.
This was such a beautiful read Deborah! Filled with so much beauty and interesting information. Loved your apple blossom painting and your lovely pencil sketch of an apple tree. So much history attached to trees, not to mention beauty as well. I was just gifted the very popular book "The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben and I'm really looking forward to reading it. Have you read it yet? Thanks so much for your generous shares! xx
Thank you very much, Debbie, and am so sorry for the late reply. It is a book I have been meaning to read for a long time and somehow I have never quite managed to read it, but I need to lift it off the shelf and do so as I know I would enjoy it xx
Oh no problem at all! I just started reading the book--seems like it will be an interesting read. xx
Such an enjoyable read, thank you! And you have introduced me to Samuel Palmer who I didn't know before.
Wonderful to read of the rich history of your garden, & to learn of Samuel Palmer's attempts to portray the sumptuousness of blossom by pushing himself in his techniques & methods.
Thank you very much, I am glad you liked it.
Such lovely words 🌱 April seems to have flown by, and suddenly, the roses are bedecked with buds!
It does! I am not sure what happened, it seems to have gone in a blink!
Such a lovely written piece…we have apple trees, and it’s always a thrill to me when the blossom appears. There is one very old tree in one of our fields that is being propped up by a wall and is virtually hollow, and yet it still yields plenty of blossom and fruit every year - amazing! The interview with Dennis Potter I will come back to later on today to listen to the rest of it. The first 10 minutes have me captivated and I definitely want to listen to the whole thing so thank you for sharing x
Apple trees seem amazingly robust and I do hope your leaning one continues to flourish! I love how the blossom fades from pink to white as it ages, and it certainly my favourite blossom. The interview is astonishing, isn't it? It is something once seen, never forgotten.
The sight of apple blossom is joyful. We had a Blenheim Orange apple tree in our last garden and have planted another in our present one as the apples are so tasty. How lovely for you to have old Norfolk varieties too. It’s such a shame that so many old varieties and orchards have been lost.
My earlier reply seems to have disappeared, which is annoying! Old apple trees are so precious nad I did worry a c ouple of years agaom, in that extreme drought, that they would survive, but thankfully they did! It is such a special blossom and I vividly remember walking in my dad's cousin's farm orchard in Kent as a very small child. Like so many, they were grubbed up, as they not viewed as an economic crop and I was so upset at the loss.
Lovely.
Thank you very much.
How beautiful! Your garden is absolutely gorgeous too...
Thank you. The bluebells are slowly spreading and come after the primroses and violets and then the daffodils. I don't mow until June to allow it all to seed. It is quite magical at this time of year (though very hard to mow! )
Thank you, Deborah. I am imagining your apple tree in blossom. We have an apricot tree, and the spring blossoms are also very special. We are heading towards winter now, so at the moment she is losing her leaves; they turn from a glossy green to lemon yellow, and cover the ground and surrounding garden for weeks. It's beautiful. I love the paintings and sketches you've shared.
I have never seen apricot blossom, but it sounds a beautiful tree. I know that can be grown here in sheltered gardens, but fear my garden too harsh a climate! I am so glad you enjoyed the post and thank you very much for letting me know.
This is a fantastic read. Sitting here by my back window we are lucky to have quite a lot of birdsong and two apple trees in the back garden. One, a cooker which always blossoms first at the start of April and the second an eater (bit sharp) that comes in later just as the blossom on the eater is falling away for good. We did have 4 but two were planted in a very shallow spot and grew up against a high wall that they had started to push over in the neighbours so we removed them for safety.
We have only been here a few years but I have consistently found myself gravitating towards those trees and find the blossom to be an Incredibly uplifting sight at the start if spring. Definitely inspiring much writing and photography.
This has been a great post, thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much, David, that is such a cheering thing to read! I am delighted that you liked it. Apple blossom is my favourite and can remember how, as a child, I used to love the two small apple trees in my garden in Wolverhamptonwhen they broke into blossom. It feels so hopeful!
Deborah, there is so much beauty in this post — your writing, imagery, concerns for place and the sharing of this most poignant and moving Denis Potter interview. 🪷
Thank you very much, what a lovely message to receive. Isn't the interview extraordinary? When watching it again for this, I was so moved by his words and am so glad you liked it too.
*Dennis
Absolutely everything about the interview is affecting!
I can only imagine what the oldest tree has witnessed in 150 years; so many changes and some taking place so quickly. Yet, the tree remains, a testament of his durability.