When I was training to be an RHS gardener propagation was very complicated and precise. There was kit involved. Things like sterile pots, special compost, hormone rooting powder, plastic propagators and dibbers. There were cuttings of all manner – hardwood, softwood, semi-ripe, heel, root and probably toe. Now I’m a proper gardener things are very different.
That’s because I’m a proper cottage gardener and can just make things up as I go along.
This is what happens:
I wander around the garden wondering which of the myriad of tasks I might do next. I see a shrub that has a dangly bit, or a branch that is hanging over a path, or is just a little larger than I might expect. I pull my secateurs out of my back pocket. I always have my secateurs in my back pocket which sometimes causes embarrassment when I arrive at the pub, cinema or other non-gardening venue. I trim the offending branch. I hold the offending branch in my hand and suddenly it is no longer offensive but a poor lost plant looking for a home. I wander around the garden wondering where a nice new dogwood/box/philadelphus etc etc might look nice. I find a spot. I stick the not-so-offending branch in the ground, trim off a few extra leaves, and leave. Mostly the not-so-offending branch grows into a new shrub.
A few years later I’m wandering around the garden and see a shrub with a dangly bit … . As the years go on I notice and excess of shrubs and so have to trim them to a more appropriate size. I hold the trimmings in my hand and wonder what to do with them. Luckily I have pots. And friends.
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