Old Man's Beard, or clematis vitalba, always looks so contrasting to the sparse brown hedgerows that it trails over, with its silky, round whiteness. I took these snaps in between Bibury and Ready Token on a place called Shagborough Bank, which is covered in an almost impenetrable mass of shrubs and brambles. Shagborough Bank is a great name, don't you think?
Old Man's Beard is a type of clematis, which are surprisingly members of the same family as the buttercup, and can grow up to forty foot in length. It always reminds me of cotton plants that I have seen in photographs and I wonder if it has ever been used for its softness? Next time I go out I will take a cushion cover and stuff it full of Old Man's Beard and see if it is any good for soft furnishings.
Your first stop should be the Bagpuss episode here dealing with the practical applications of Old Man's Beard. And by the way, wasn't you prediction involving overladen hawthorns spot-on?
ReplyDeleteI've never seen more Old Man's Beard than that strung alongside the road between Burford and Bibury near the Barrington turn off. Reminds me of a gamekeeper's gibbet.
ReplyDeleteFugee - Wow! That's a great explanation - good old Bagpuss, knows everything.
ReplyDeleteGAW - Really, you are a morbid old soul!
That Bagpuss episode is also notable for a charming if stunning bowlderised rendition of 'Calton Weaver' (aka 'Nancy Whisky') - odd how that sort of thing simply never happened in e.g. 'Bob the Builder'. But this is slightly off topic really!
ReplyDeleteKids' TV ain't what it used to be you are right!
ReplyDeleteAnd as regards the snow; you heard it here first!
Ah, the Bagpuss tells some fascinating stories about the uses of all kinds of objects. I doubt if he mentions, though, that some thatchers used to use the flexible stems of old man's beard to secure thatch to rafters. (I don't suppose that's in Bob the Builder, either...).
ReplyDeletePhilip - thanks for that. The stems appear to be really tough so well suited for that task I should think. And no shortage of them either.
ReplyDelete