Our garden backs onto Yewbarrow Wood, which covers 60 acres. Red squirrels used to live there; the previous owner of our house was so proud of the fact that there is a picture of a red squirrel on the entrance sign to the house. Alas, that sign is the only trace of red squirrels here now as they have long since been replaced by the greys. Does it matter? I think so, and not just because the reds are better to look at; they are indigenous, they belong here. But the greys have prevailed because they infect the reds with the squirrel pox virus, to which the greys are immune. Although the reds have been lost here, there are still populations in the North of England, which are being fiercely protected. At Morpeth, in Northumberland, a retired military policeman, Norris Athey,  has legally trapped and shot hundreds of greys in his battle to protect the local population of reds. After reading about the unjust prosecution of Raymond Elliott by the RSPCA (see 3rd August) for drowning a squirrel, Mr Athey publicly challenged the charity by announcing that he had drowned one too. Whereupon the RSPCA had him arrested too and he was held in the cells for 9 hours pending questioning. This is outrageous action, for which the officials of the RSPCA should be thoroughly ashamed.

Our tree ferns sit under a canopy of yews, which give them protection, much as the eucalyptus trees would protect tree ferns in their native New Zealand. We never wrap them in winter because the fronds look good all winter long and it would be a shame to make them ugly with wrapping, especially as they are close to the house and we see them every day. Last winter, for the first time, the fronds were hit by the frost and snow and turned brown long before any new fronds emerged. Some of the tree ferns were so battered that they didn’t get round to producing any new fronds until mid-July. It’s a good lesson never to give up on a plant. I remember hearing a questioner on Gardener’s Question Time asking what to do about a tree fern which hadn’t produced any fronds- and they were  told, with great authority, that if it was still dormant by the beginning of July they should throw it on the skip. Bad advice. Tree ferns can remain dormant for more than one season. I have a 12 foot tree fern in the Orangery which I bought for next to nothing as a dead log and after a little mollycoddling it sprang back into life.
The picture above was taken today; the one below on 20th December last.

These are the flowers of the Pineapple Guava (Acca sellowiana or Feijoa) as pretty as anything you’ll find in the garden. They grow on a small evergreen tree which has lovely gaucous green leaves. In its native Brazil it will reach 25ft, but will struggle to get above one third of that height here. The flowers are edible and are quite tasty, so they are brilliant at decorating a salad. In its native habitat the Pineapple Guava produces fruit which look like an elongated lime, although my specimen, which flowers very freely, has never produced any fruit. I’m told that if you keep it in a container, with the roots restricted, it has a better chance of fruiting. In spite of its exotic appearance it does seem to be hardy.