Keep out or stay in
Fence
By Darren Bond
Fences: is this the ultimately boring topic?
No, think about it. They recently spent a billion dollars on a meeting of twenty people over a couple of days in Toronto so fences must play an important role.
Granted, our stuff will amount only to some fruit, vegetables and a cute little Schnauzer, but, still. Those rogue deer could start wearing all-black disguises and then where would we be?
Webster’s says it’s a “defense, protection; a barrier, as of wooden or metal posts, rails, wire mesh, etc. …”
I’m not sure they’ve thought through the aesthetics of their examples, but, having made my point, there are numerous options to think about. Setting aside the wire mesh – hmmm, not so fast, what about the strawberries – let’s think about the scenarios.
Noise: at the top of the property (our sloped lot being roughly the shape of an amphitheatre) is the main road that leads down to the ferry landing. During busy summer months, the line-ups of cars waiting to get on can snake up the hill, right outside our door. Part of Michael McNamara’s layout, I’m guessing, will be to set the house down far enough to be a bit hidden and to let sound waft over the top of the roof. Nevertheless, it would be nice to stop as much sound as possible from getting through in the first place.
Now, the most obvious solution would be one that is quite common: the wooden fence. I’ve seen places with tightly-placed vertical boards. I guess I like it, but they tend to bend and lean over time and need maintenance. I’d like something more rigid, but perhaps that gets costly.
What I’ve seen that turns my crank is in France where it is quite common to have high “walls” (that’s a fence, right?) of, what, plaster? Would a wall of concrete be appropriate? It could be made a bit decorative and perhaps have evergreen shrubs planted in front to avoid the prison-camp look.
Tendrils: what’s the use of installing a canning room if the previously-mentioned deer have had their way with my fruit? Our property, not surprisingly, has four sides. How do we “protect” ourselves and still have a view? Is this where the wire mesh comes in? Does it have to have curly-cue razor tops for ornamentation?
Wind: this morning, for example, the breeze was still a tad chilly, even though it’s the middle of July, so we had our coffee and cookie snack on the back deck rather than the front verandah. A courtyard has entered our minds as a nice architectural touch, and functional, too.
Heat: related to the wind issue, I’ve always remembered the walled gardens of English Victorian homes as a great way to generate extra heat to allow things to grow in a bit of a micro-climate that otherwise wouldn’t do well. (I will still need the hired help to bring the bounty up through the butler’s pantry slash mud room slash utility room.) Would this be an eye-sore and look like some kind of enlarged outhouse or bath-house?
Harvesting: I was enthralled the first time I saw the flat “espalier” fruit trees. How cool and functional is that. Looking at Wikipedia, it would appear that all kinds of trees are candidates. Who needs or wants to climb up a ladder (I have a phobia about them ever since putting my foot through one, climbing up to clear snow off the roof)? Also, I just saw a reference for a Belgian fence, which seems to be using pleaching (weaving, plaiting) for interlocking espaliers into a fence. Wow.
Supporting: will I want climbing roses? Or, do I need to stick to the principle of native plants and let bushes of native Nootka roses suffice? Hmmm, perhaps the fence up at the road could be supportive of Nootka roses.
See? So many considerations, and I haven’t even touched upon the secret gardens concept.
Also, upon revision, I notice I haven’t even mentioned neighbours. Don’t fences make good neighbours? Well, we won’t really have any. On one side are non-resident people and, in any case, there are trees between us. On the other side, there’s a forested lot and those folks have indicated that they’d like to leave it as is as long as they own it. And they’ve owned it for decades.
So, the topic is wide open at this point.
What’s your political bent on fences? Have you seen one that knocks your socks off?
Daphne is a bitch
Invasive daphne
By Darren Bond
Humans are perhaps the ultimate invasive species, but here on Hornby Island, as in many rural settings, there lurks an attractive yet harmful plant. It would appear that plants like to live out beyond, too.
Daphne (daphne laureola) was likely brought as an ornamental addition to a country garden. As often seems to be the case – think blackberry and English ivy – it has thrived and taken over wherever it finds a conducive spot without natural predators.
We hadn’t really noticed it much, even up to recent years, but it has seemingly really multiplied in the past while. At first it seems like a welcome bit of greenery with nice leaves, making friends with its neighbours under the trees. I tried pulling one up and realized what a tough little sucker it was.
A few months ago, we asked a local resident what it was. She replied, daphne, and set us straight on its reputation.
Now it seems that we have a multi-year job on our hands to get rid of it and perennial surveillance to keep it in check. Getting rid of daphne is a bitch.
It’s quite toxic and apparently not good for people with respiratory problems. Advice on best practices is that you should start with isolated little plants to avoid letting them get started in the first place. Then, you work from the outside in in patches so as to control the spread. You need to wear long clothes and gloves. Cutting should be done below the level of the dirt to prevent them from starting up again. You should take them away (to where?) but not in the closed environment of the car.
After all this, it is deemed a good thing to replant with native plants, such as Oregon grape or salal. (This I have already thought about and want to explore further as I touched upon in another posting.)
Gee. Why don’t the bloody opossums – another invasive species – eat the daphne?
This is all too stressful. Maybe it’s time to call the whole project off and move to the serene safety of the city.
What do you think?
Going native
Camassia Quamash. Photo from Wikipedia
We went for a walk after dinner along the road which winds above the ocean on one side and fields on the upper side. At one point, my favourite on the walk, there is the most delicious breeze of sweet fragrance that blows down from up the hill towards the water. In the late summer it’s because of the blackberries, invasive and tasty as they are.
Tonight, the source of my pleasure was a large swath of Nootka roses. This is the perfect time of year for them. While a simple flower compared to the modern varieties, this one holds it own in understated colour, shape and bouquet.
More importantly, it reminded me that this is indeed a native plant and does very well on its own. What else can we learn from this for our new home…
With just a few Google searches, I realized that there are dozens if not hundreds of native plants: trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers. Why go for the same varieties that are used over and over – terrific as they are – when something local would be just as beautiful with a little pruning (unless this is politically incorrect) and would probably be much happier and less reliant on careful fertilization and watering? Does this give me brownie points towards a smaller carbon footprint?
Just a few of the obvious choices (because we already know and love them) would be:
- arbutus
- dogwood
- Oregon grape
There seem to be lots of others with complicated Latin names that I’ll have to investigate at one of the specialty nurseries that carry native plants. One, for example, that looks nice is called, Camassia Quamash. (It turns out, from Wikipedia, that it’s very nutritious and was a good food supply to the Lewis and Clark expedition. Interesting.)
So, more food for thought, figuratively and apparently literally.
Nootka Rose
The Nootka Rose is a wild rose found on the coast of British Columbia. It gets its name from Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver where it was first described.
It blooms in late spring and early summer with a very fragrant scent. The flower itself is rather plain looking. The hips can be used to make tea and they are very high in vitamin C. Rosa nutkana has been used medicinally by Native peoples for years.
We definitely plan on planting the Nootka Rose in our garden along with other native plants.
–
Sorry if all this sounds a little like “Hinterland, Who’s Who”
See Wikipedia for more information.
