2002 - Truncated
I was the pride of this garden, a magnificent Acacia dealbata. I grew here, despite being bred as a conservatory plant, and claimed by garden centres to be too tender to survive in the open - rubbish, I was planted out in 1993 in a protected spot, and have never looked back.
In 2001 I put on a magnificent 5 feet in height, extending my gracefully arching branches, making me the queen of this garden. I was happy to support the old, and decrepit, Yew. They had the mistaken idea that I was unstable, supported by the Yew, and becoming a danger to the miserable, and inadequate, plant-life I looked down upon.
I was happy to have a haircut following my wonderful display of yellow flowers in February. Then in 2002 they went mad, having got the idea from the Eucalyptus gunnii which they pollarded to a totem pole. I expected the same treatment, brutal, but I would recover from that in a couple of years.
They just got carried away, pollarding me is one thing, but removing half my trunk is quite another - give some people a large saw, and a pair of loppers, they don't know when to stop. I suspect they have transferred their affections to my young cousin Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea' just because it had even more flowers this year, and has pretty purple new growth - pathetic.
They think I will give up the will to live, but I may yet give them a nasty shock rejuvenating myself by sending loads of suckers.
Meanwhile, here I stand, erect and unbowed. Sans flower, sans leaf, sans branch; with my feet still firmly planted - a proud erect trunk.
2004 - Recovered
Several people have been nagging me to update my personal Acacia page. This update proves that I did not die!
I produced lots of suckers, some 2metres away. Now I am growing at a magnificent 2 metes each year. They now realise that it would have been kinder to me, and easier on them, if they had taken a couple of years to complete my renovation.
The RHS pruning and training book recommends that pruning is kept to a minimum - but how many have they done? They, and Kew, specialise in "champion trees" growing them in a vast park to see how large they can make them grow.
They have become reconciled to the idea that I cannot be killed, and now treat me reasonably - giving me the odd meal, and keeping my hair in a reasonable condition. The coiffure is done each spring following flowering. This prevents my hairdo being bashed about by the worst winds, whilst allowing me to look down on the lesser form of plant life and retain the excellent views.
This picture was taken in the early summer of 2004. It was taken from a slightly different angle from the 2002 photo in order to include my magnificent crown. It shows my best side, and reflects my true elegance.
