Art exhibitions and events

Mr Fox’s Garden

In this issue Mr Fox enjoys having more time in his shed and rejoices in the delights of snowdrops and hellebores.

I’m just sitting down to write this page and I’m thinking to myself, “I’m not going to mention the current state of a airs - it’s a gardening page - I’m just going to write about gardening.”

But the subject is almost impossible to avoid. It’s February and our gardens have been battered by the wind, frost and rain; it’s all looking rather grim out there and the news is dominated by statistics about the virus or things that are happening over the sea in America. I usually have a few good garden conversations with people every week and at some point think, ‘Arr! I’ll make that the topic of my page’. But the series of lockdowns are now coming up to their one-year anniversary and no one’s going anywhere. Aside from my kids, aged 3 and 5, I’ve not spoken to anyone.

On a brighter note I’ve been getting lots of ‘shed time’ and I’m actually really rather chu ed with myself. I’m approaching the end of a project that I started what seems like an age ago. It’s like a big jigsaw now – I’ve got the pieces, I’ve just got to put it all together. e story starts 6 years ago, I was digging away and snap! e handle of my spade had gone. It was no big deal; I’ve been breaking shovels and spades all my life. e broken spade was put back in the van, taken home and put with all the other broken spades. Everything’s so cheap nowadays; it has apparently become uneconomical to repair anything - uneconomical! Anyone with any sense can clearly see the madness in this approach.

I decided to buy only the best quality from then on. I’d found out that lots of the tools we buy are manufactured in the Far East and shipped round the world to us. I thought to myself somebody should start making gardening tools in England – so o I went. e rst thing I had to do was to learn about working with metal then start studying metallurgy then to learn woodworking. I had some limited knowledge in all those areas but putting a fence up and turning a trowel handle are two very di erent things. Before me lay a task of the most grievous kind. Starting out with no knowledge, skills or money, it seemed impossible, but soon after my wife Catherine got involved we started a journey, which has ended with us making a lot of lovely garden art... Mr Fox

We are James and Catherine (Mr Fox’s Garden). We provide a garden maintenance and landscaping service around the Bay but the main part of our business is making plant supports, garden art and sculptures - and it’s all made right here on the English Riviera. After our display garden won the People’s Choice Award at the 2019 Tavistock Garden Show, we can now happily say we are ‘award winning gardeners’. We’re also proud to say that this year we have pieces on permanent display at RHS Rosemoor and Buckfast Abbey. Mr Fox

Snowdrops and hellebores are out in flower now... One of the rst bloomers of the New Year, the snowdrop is one of our most endearing and collectable owers.

Fun facts about snowdrops

The Snowdrop’s scienti c name is Gallanthus. This translates to ‘milk ower’. The common snowdrop we normally see with one ower per stem is a Galanthus nivalis, which translates as ‘milk ower of the snow.’

Snowdrops were named after earrings not drops of snow. During the 15th to 17th centuries women often wore dangly, white drop-shaped earrings known as ‘eardrops.’ Snowdrops and hellebores contain a natural antifreeze. Even if they collapse in freezing weather they recover once the temperature rises. During World War 2, the U.S. Military Police were given the nickname ‘snowdrops’. This was because their green uniforms and white cap/helmet with white gloves made them resemble snowdrops. They are not native to the UK - they were introduced before 1600.

Snowdrops have a naturally occurring substance called galantamine; it is used to help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, although the bulbs themselves are poisonous. A single Galanthus plicatus ‘Golden Fleece’ sold for £1,390 on eBay in 2015! There are more than 2,500 varieties of snowdrop. They vary in height from 7cm to 30cm and are divided into approximately 20 species.

Hellebores

ey are by far my favourite ower (along with tree peonies). ey burst into bloom pre-Christmas and are still owering their hearts out all the way through to March. ere are so many colours and forms, each one as beautiful as the next!

Jobs for early spring...

• Order bare-rooted plants now, as they can only be supplied while dormant, during the winter months and come without plastic pots. Trees, shrubs, roses, hedging plants and fruit are cheaper and often bigger and better than container grown plants. • Fertilise the ground where your bulbs are lying and remove dead ower heads. Allow the leaves to die back naturally as this is how the bulb builds up energy for spring. • Many veg and ower seeds can be sown now, in a propagator if you have one, or on a welllit windowsill. Re-use your old plant pots but wash rst in hot water to avoid pest and disease problems. Food containers like yoghurt and margarine pots, and mushroom punnets are great to grow in so long as holes are made for drainage.

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