One of the good things about living closer to my family is the 'swopping' between us. We propagate veg, they have a variety of shrubs. Broom flourishes in their light sandy soil and, when offered, we took some home. We positioned it in the warmest and most sheltered spot on our damp clay close to the hedge next to the sage and the oregano and now, two years later it is flowering. (Incidentally the lily of the valley from our friends in the same resort, that plant that I formerly confused with a snowdrop, has also come up.)
The short-lived broom has long been rooted in England, as readers will know - lending its Latin name to the Plantagenet dynasty - and it has personal memories for me. I associate yellow broom with the tea-rooms of that name on the sunny borders of Cheshire and Shropshire where our parents would take a weekend drive and stop for refreshments. A little reminder of my Cheshire lineage is now growing on heavy Lancashire soil and as I prepare to investigate further the family history of the Lancashire side I am equally an heir of the maternal branch, which seems, from up here, so far south and sometimes so distant.
Broom struggled in my heavy clay soil. I had some left over from a garden being done over and cheerfully planted it in mine, it manged to last two winters, sulked through the summers and finally was laid to rest in the compost.
ReplyDeleteHopeful about ours. I've cut it back by a third as recommended and it is still looking healthy. Fingers crossed!
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