The green and rolling countryside of Worcestershire, England, is home to the cider apple orchards which surround the gardens of Pear Tree Cottage. They enjoy a sunny south westerly aspect with sweeping views across to Martley Hillside, Woodbury and Abberley clock tower. The Teme Valley lies just over the hill and, not far away, is the Herefordshire border. Although our climate is temperate, our seasons are often uncertain and always a challenge to a gardener! This began in 2010 & follows the weekly ups and downs of garden work chronicling both successes and failures but, above all, demonstrates the fun enjoyed by three people who regularly garden in all weathers

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22 October 2015

No More Cowboys & Indians!

Near Grand Junction, Colorado.
Head Gardener & Chief Blogger is back having travelled 3,500 miles between Minneapolis & Phoenix via 'awesome' National Parks, Indian Reservations and  geographical & geological features for which there isn't an adjective in the English language!  It was real cowboy country. We didn't find too many gardens BUT we did find the Boyce & Thompson (yes Thompson!) Arboretum which was very garden like!  The planting was totally alien with cacti and succulents thriving in the high desert conditions.  Check out:  here!  Because our altitudes varied between 2000 and 12,000 feet we enjoyed huge variation in both the natural vegetation and the temperatures.  At the higher altitudes, the trees were mainly coniferous but with Birch & Aspens in among them. The buttery yellows and golds stood out against the much darker conifers. Descending down to the desert couldn't have been more different.  See massive cacti growing wild on the slopes and hillsides was quite something.  All these sights were far removed from anything seen here at Pear Tree Cottage and today was mowing and hoovering up fallen leaves!  It really is back down to earth - shame about the jet lag!

Highway 60 outside Globe, Arizona.

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