Vaccinium delavayi
24th April 2014
I hate cold blooded horticulture. Those grey obligardeners who reluctantly push mowers through
mediocrity, trimming it back into conformity.
I prefer to leap wildly from success to failure cushioned only by enthusiasm and occasional
intemperate outbursts.
Usually the plants I grow are selected on the whim of the moment, an unexpected stirring of the blood,
the passion of posession. However, I am a rational person and occasionally the rational voice tells me
in a stern not-to-be-trifled-with way to do something, and I generally do it.
I have a garden full of trees and moisture and have been looking for short shrubby evergreens to fill
space in an interesting lower down sort of way. I used to grow a selection of rarer Vaccinium
(thanks to the kindness of Barry Starling) and it seemed sensible to revisit old haunts and possibly
explore the Ericaceae more fully (not Erica of course, tedious little twiggy boot cleaners).
So I find myself peering into the dusty closets of Vaccinium without passion but with some dim
hopes of practicality and an outside possibility of enchantment.
Vaccinium delavayi had no idea of the expectations loaded onto it when I picked it up at a nursery.
It is currently in a pot while I wait for it to shine.