I came across these tree ferns in front of a house in Notting Hill on Monday. They're at the corner of Portobello Road, not far from where we used to live, and they've clearly been there for years. It's amazing that such a delicate, tropical-looking plant can survive London winters -- but even in the wild, they actually live in fairly chilly places, like Tasmania. I remember seeing tons of them in New Zealand when I visited there in 2004.
Dave always says he wants a tree fern. Maybe we could keep one in a pot and take it with us, should we ever leave West Hampstead. I wouldn't want to put it in the ground and have to leave it here. I think they're kind of expensive.
It was busy in the library yesterday but otherwise uneventful. I've had two recent triumphs in getting kids to pay for lost materials -- a girl who owed us money for books due last May, and another girl who lost a computer charger in September. I always feel a sense of victory when I persuade someone to clear their account! It's the little things, right?
Oh, and I watched more Olga Cam. Yesterday's plot was the same as the day before.
How about President Obama commuting Chelsea Manning's sentence? I swear, he may be my favorite president ever.
Tree ferns like damp, cool climates but I'm not so sure they would thrive in a pot. Maybe you will find an abandoned one in a pot on one of your walks.
ReplyDeleteAlphie
you can always dig it up and pot it if you move. I dug up lots of things from the city house when we sold it.
ReplyDelete"The Librarian from Hell" could become a teenage fiction bestseller. See the blurb...
ReplyDelete"Mr Stevens has got it in for the kids of West Hampstead Academy. He rules his library with an iron fist. Even whispering gets you banned and an overdue book is addressed like a heinous crime. Yes the school library is his personal feifdom...until the kids fight back and that's when the fireworks happen, literally..."
"A tour de force" - New York Times
"Chilling fictionalisation" - West Hampstead Life
"Some of the words were too big for me" - Donald J. Trump
I just love those ferns. I mean, to my toes. I'd get one and the biggest, prettiest pot I could find.
ReplyDeleteI love that top photo, the tropical incongruity of the ferns and that corner, with those colorful shops around it. I want to walk down that street and explore.
ReplyDeleteYour photographs have made me want to give London another chance.
Those ferns look so out of place but, they also look like they are thriving. It makes me think of the place I saw when I was in London that had a fake alligator lurking in a similar looking garden area.
ReplyDeleteAs for Obama....I'm going to miss him a lot!
My dad has a Norfolk Island pine that he SWEARS we gave him to keep for us & he's going to give it back when we move. It looks similar to those tree ferns. I hope he's kidding - I'm pretty sure we don't have room for it inside (that's where he keeps it so I guess it doesn't like NC very much).
ReplyDeleteSurprising that tropical plants do so well there, our weather is a bit more extreme than yours but some tropical plants do well, hearty! Such great news about Chelsea M, leonard Peltier also needs pardon, that would win my heart.
ReplyDeleteObama rocks. What a brave decision, but so right. As to the tree ferns, I have several in my garden (I live in Norfolk so our weather is not too extreme) I keep them in pots so they don't grow too big. We have a wonderful garden centre near us called .'Urban Jungle' They have a wonderful selection of more 'exotic' plants, and their prices are very reasonable. Take a look at their web page, I think they deliver, even though you are quite a long way away. Anyway, at least it will give you a good idea of what's available suited to our climate, and also the prices. Hope this is some help to you. Blessed Be
ReplyDeleteI can see why Dave would like these very showy ferns.
ReplyDeleteIt IS the little things that make up a life. I happen to like the little things!
ReplyDelete