Water's Edge Gunnera

Some Gunnera seedlings made their home in Middle Garden by the water's edge. How cute they were when small - and how nice that they'd done all the planning and planting for me!

Another Garden Oops

Oops... From little seedlings mighty Gunnera do grow. It wasn't long before they started to - well, dominate is the word that springs to mind!

Their huge leaves hung dramatically over the rippling water in summer, and took some robust handling in winter when it was time to cut them down.

The Sweetest Plant

In springtime Gunnera is the sweetest plant. It unfurls its leaves so shyly and slowly, with no hint of the expansion which is to follow. What a fabulous plant - as long as it has the space!

This spring I took some slices off the roots and planted a new batch further down the water. This will probably lead to another gardening 'oops'. Technically Gunnera is a semi-menace. Where I garden it cannot be sold, or propagated.

I've decided that seedlings must recognise a good, well-nurtured garden, as they bob down the water course. And so they stop, and take root - and who am I to send them packing?