Daily details from the garden to bring you inspiration throughout the year
Seedpods and leaves of the sweet gum tree, Liquidambar styraciflua
This is the seedpod of the sweet gum tree, Liquidambar styraciflua. I was once compelled to sack a client for, among other things, an infuriating insistence upon pronouncing the Latin name, “Likwee-ambar”, with great gusto, after the self-satisfied manner of one who feels the necessity to invoke the very soul of Gaul each time a French word intrudes upon a sentence in a way that momentarily hauls you to the Rive Gauche for the duration of ONE WORD and abruptly back again. It was an eccentricity too far, and they had to go. There’s no need for this kind of nonsense with such a majestic tree, boasting some of the finest autumnal colour in the garden; green turning to gold, gold to deep reds on leaves superficially similar to a maple, only arranged alternately, rather than in opposite pairs, along the stem. The sap (sweet, fragrant) can be sucked from the leaf stalk in spring if you’re quick enough. Just don’t let anyone bamboozle you with outlandish articulations of its name.
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I have a few spaces available on my 12 month one-to-one online garden coaching programme. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, click here to book for a January 2020 start.
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Hello! I’m Andrew, gardener, blogger, podcaster, and owner of a too-loud laugh, and I’m so pleased you’ve found your way to Gardens, weeds & words. You can read a more in-depth profile of me on the About page, or by clicking the image above.
