It ’s a little known fact – so little known that one might almost call it a secret – that the first job I ever applied for was with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission . As a Landscape Architect I would be travelling the world , recommend how to look after these historically important land site . The chief drawing card was not the work , but the opportunity to visit new and unfamiliar places . When I looked a bit harder , I found the commission ’s planting style to be spartan and manicure ; totally appropriate for war graves , but a little restrictive for a untested creative wishing to spread his wings . I wondered how rewarding the role might be . I did n’t get the job – I do n’t even recall being interviewed – and soon feel something else to do .
The legal age of Britain ’s necropolis are not maintained in the same meticulous manner as war necropolis . They are , in most instances , considerably honest-to-goodness and have expanded slowly , sometimes over several centuries . hurly burly lean to be minimal , whether that be in the form of interference , development or foot traffic . Chemicals are not applied , and maintenance is often reduced to a unembellished minimum to save money . All of this is an attractive proposition for wildlife , helpful in build biodiversity . provide a reasonable balance is maintain between the tender care of commemoration and let nature run its course , memorial park are one of the more successful examples of human , industrial plant and animals coexist in a confined space .
Near to where we hold out is the church of St Peter - In - Thanet . It was first built in 1070 , then flesh out in the twelfth hundred . A square tower was added in the 15th 100 . For hundreds of years , St Peter ’s church was the seat of local politics . The village of St Peter ’s was the largest settlement in the area ( Broadstairs did not lucubrate from a fishing village until in 18th & 19th Centuries ) , hence most of the parish ’s great , good and indeed not - so - good are interred here . Some elderly remembrance , close to the church , are very grand indeed . Over time , more and more infinite was required for entombment so that now the graveyard expand to nine acres , a long , narrow finger of green extending magnetic north - Occident towards Margate . The newest plot of ground are utmost from the Christian church . These can be identified top left of the exposure below , looking rather more open than the rest of the graveyard . One wonders if additional distance will be involve in time to come .
From a wildlife perspective the middle part of the God’s acre , where one can find several warfare Robert Ranke Graves , is the most interesting . The trees are smaller here , mainly haw and deciduous ornamental , allowing a meadow rich with flowers to establish beneath them . Here and there , brambles form thickets favoured by birds , and no dubiousness rodents . Our instinctive plant is augmented by works that have escape from engraft on and around the graves themselves . Chief among the interlopers at St Peter ’s is the Narcissus pseudonarcissus . intend to naturalise , Narcissus pseudonarcissus cultivar old and new can be found romping between the gravestone , forming large clumps or scattering themselves artfully around . It ’s very possible that they have cross , create Narcissus pseudonarcissus that might only be found in this one spot .
daffodil are probable to have been introduce to our area by the Romans from the Iberian Peninsula , but like snowdrops , they ’ve been with us for so long as to be considered aboriginal . They are certainly very much at dwelling on our shores , both raise wild and being domesticate for flowers and bulbs . The reason they are so successful is that they are brilliantly conform to our moist , maritime conditions and strongly recurrent . It takes a lot to agitate a clump of daffodils into hideaway ; even then they may dwindle and refuse to flower rather the die out all . Daffodils are survivors , happy of man ’s serve hand , but self - sufficient thereafter . Noel Kingsbury sums it up perfectly :
“ At the heart … .. is the thought of the daffodil as a metaphor for our relationship with nature , as being a cultivated plant , but one which is capable of live its own life . Like cats , they feel only part domesticated ”
A daffodil expert might have a field day in the burial site at St Peter ’s when it is flooded with blooms every bound . They might even gain clues as to the identity of each variety base on the long time of the graves they are growing near : it might be pure coincidence , but the only daffodil we can accurately identify , N. ‘ Feu de Joie ’ , was introduce by William Copeland pre-1927 and is growing closely to graves go out back to WW1 . It is a beauty , and we will be cross down bulbs to turn at household next year . This variety of blousy , romantic Narcissus pseudonarcissus was leave behind behind as fashion favour neater flowers on hard stems , but to me the form and coloration of ‘ Feu de Joie ’ is exquisite .
We are not daffodil expert , so we drop our time more often than not enjoy the prospect and marvel at each and every different flush we alight on . Although variation on a theme , the permutations of colour , trump and petal are remarkable . dock in a stiff duck soup , they bring so much joy and promise for the year to do . Pictured below are just a handful of the varieties in bloom at St Peter ’s at the end of March . I ’d love to listen which ones attract most to you .
We ’ve experienced such a farsighted , cold spring in 2021 that the daffodils have lasted much longer than normal . In the Jungle Garden , many have yet to bloom , which mean we ’ll be enjoy flowers well into May . Planned carefully , a chronological succession of bloom can be achieved quite easy , start with a variety such as N. ‘ Cedric Morris ’ , which will bloom in clip for Christmas Day , and terminate with N.poeticus , which might now and then cling on until June . Five months is a tenacious clip to enjoy Narcissus pseudonarcissus , although some might debate it ’s not long enough .
I can recommend a couple of excellent books if you are interested in learning more about Narcissus pseudonarcissus :
There ’s still time to get out and love Narcissus pseudonarcissus as garden and park start to open up post lockdown . Make a note of your dearie and society electric light in summer quick for planting in other autumn . For heritage varieties like N. ‘ Feu de Joie ’ , you may ask to search the Internet for specialist grower such asRon Scampin Cornwall . ( It break down without enunciate that you should never take Narcissus pseudonarcissus from the ‘ wild ’ or from parks and gardens without permission . ) Unlike tulip , daffodils need to be planted before it gets cold in wintertime , so they can establish their roots in warm earth . They grow well contained in pots , but they ’ll never be as felicitous as they would be in the ground , where they are never very far from claiming their freedom . TFG .
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Categories : Bulbs , preservation , Cornwall , Flowers , history , Parks , Photography , Plants , Wild Flowers
post by The Frustrated Gardener
