Old Hooknose passed by this way a few times. The Duke of Wellington is said to have planted Elms in the city of pomegranates and there are certainly lots of Elms to be seen here in Granada.
When I see an Elm I often think “What’s that? I’m sure I know that tree.’ which, I guess, says something about the status of this once abundant hedgerow tree in the west of England where I grew up (although, I am still growing up).
The virulent form of Dutch elm disease (it seems slightly unfair to name a disease after a nation whose scientists did important and useful research) arrived in the UK in 1967 and I better remember the landscape dotted with dead and dying trees than how it looked before the disease arrived.
But here in Granada, looking up at the Alhambra, there are Moroccan Orange Tip butterflies, Crag Martins and also lots of Elms apparently unaffected by disease.
Dreadful man. His human rights record was appalling, even by the standards of the day. I don’t care how many trees he planted, I long for the day when his reputation is re-examined and no longer obscured by the veneration of UK’s military past.
Absolutely and as for that Nelson chap he was just a jumped up farmer from Norfolk! Look on the bright side; at least you don’t have to learn to speak French if your an airplane pilot. Oh et le airport !
I understand the Spanish have put some effort into finding varieties of elm which are resistant to the disease.
The wisteria must be at its best in the Generalife.
Alan – yes indeed.
We have planted six supposedly disease resistant trees , at a hundred quid a throw, the idea being to take cuttings and grow them on.
What would all the pubs be called if he had got his arse kicked ?.
Mark: Watch out (and listen) for hawfinches feeding on the developing (bright green) elm seeds…just the time of year when they gravitate to them.
Nick