I always try to show the Priory off at it’s best.
By posting photos of it looking (hopefully) alluring and interesting and
A self sown Nicotiana sylvestris – September 2011
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it is easy to cut out the dandelion or dock, the fading flower and withered stem.
Hamamelis – August 2011
And concentrate on the pretty stuff. The easy on the eye stuff. But that isn’t true to life is it? And it is a deception I’ve become increasingly aware of and a wrong I will now start righting. There is plenty (such bountiful plenty) of things wrong with the gardens at the Priory, that it seems dishonest not to write about and photograph them. So to start off what I initially thought would be an occasional series (but now realize will appear often and run and run), here’s the first post on things that make me sad, annoyed, anxious or just a little depressed at the Priory.
The East Pond – August 2011
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No, not the ducks. I really like having mallard at the Priory (and this is a fine re-enactment of a battle-cruiser squadron at the Battle of Jutland, May 1916. Though number four is looking to be court martialed). No it isn’t the ducks, it’s the duckweed.
The East Pond – August 2008
When I started work at the Priory the ponds were clear of it. Now, whether it’s been carried in on the breast of a splash-landing duck or surreptitiously introduced by my gardening arch-enemy, it smothers both ponds.
The west pond – August 2011. Looking verdant and very duckweedy
" data-image-title="To Make A Gardener Anxious" data-orig-file="https://theanxiousgardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dsc_0036.jpg" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" loading="lazy" data-medium-file="https://theanxiousgardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dsc_0036.jpg?w=300" data-permalink="https://theanxiousgardener.com/2011/10/10/to-make-a-gardener-anxious/to-make-a-gardener-anxious-8/" title="To Make A Gardener Anxious" alt="" srcset="https://theanxiousgardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dsc_0036.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://theanxiousgardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dsc_0036.jpg?w=150 150w, https://theanxiousgardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dsc_0036.jpg?w=300 300w, https://theanxiousgardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dsc_0036.jpg?w=768 768w, https://theanxiousgardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dsc_0036.jpg?w=1440 1440w, https://theanxiousgardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dsc_0036.jpg 1600w" class="size-large wp-image-554" data-large-file="https://theanxiousgardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dsc_0036.jpg?w=676" />The west pond - August 2011. Looking verdant and very duckweedy
I can’t imagine that the ponds have never had duckweed on them before. After all, the east pond has been here for hundreds of years – the west pond is modern. Maybe it comes and goes like the tides. Maybe the nutrient levels in the water determines whether it flourishes or not – I suspect so.
August 2011
Maybe I ought to just concentrate on the pretty stuff after all. And just pretend that the not so pleasing things in life aren’t happening. Easy to do. After all – you would never know. Would you? But I would … and, to be honest, there is such a rich vein to be tapped of all that is wrong at the Priory, that I can’t possibly ignore it any longer. Besides, often it’s the things that haven’t turned out right or that have died or that have simply perplexed that are the most interesting. So yes, this is a series that will run and run and run.
