After hanging on to its withered leaves all through winter the beech hedge is finally letting them fall, one by one ...........
.... just as this year's buds burst to reveal their beautifully pleated leaves, fringed with downy hairs that catch the evening sunlight streaming through the hedge.
It was probably a mistake to plant this Doyenne du Comice pear tree - everyone says it'll never produce a crop here in North East England....... but I've planted it close to a neighbour's west-facing garage wall which soaks up all the afternoon and evening heat of the sun and re-radiates it at night. Maybe it'll keep late frosts at bay. There's a Concorde pear tree flowering well nearby, that invariably produces bumper crops of fairly tasteless fruits, which the flavoursome Comice is tricky and unreliable but has melt-in-your-mouth fruit - but isn't that always the way.
I love the way beech hangs on to the leaves until new ones are ready. Wishing you luck with the Comice pears.
ReplyDeleteI like the way that the dry leaves rattle in the wind - in early spring the sound runs through the hedge like a shiver, Toffeeapple.
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