Splosh
Among the minor pleasures of the last few days has been spiffing up the lake. I bought some skunk cabbage on Ebay, having seen them looking wonderful in a garden in Moffat: since they are evil-smelling and a bit weird they struck me as perfectly suited to Twisby Island. I picked up some bargain painted ferns during our border raid, and these have now gone in the fernery I am making on a deep, dark bank completely overshadowed by trees. The Real World Consultant brought me a gunnera, looking quite small and meek at the moment, but with any luck, it will dig itself in and unfurl five-foot leaves. At various points, the flow of the stream creates silt to the extent that it comes right to the surface, and I would rather have patches of skunk cabbage, gunnera, and kingcups (the kingcups have happened by themselves) than patches of evil-looking ooze.
Less successful, sadly, was a parting present from the RWC which arrived in this morning’s post: a small water-lily seedling. I carefully planted it into a basket, and weighted it with masses of gravel. I then launched the basket carefully into the water only to watch it heel over and dump the seedling God alone knows where. There is some faint hope that it is buried in the pea-gravel, so if it roots, it may yet right itself and appear. I do hope so. Planting aquatics is a ghastly business. All the same, it has been a muddy but triumphant afternoon, and I am still in possession of both wellies, rather to my own surprise.