A 14ft plant that’s still growing
WHEN the going gets tough, the tough get growing – but some have had more luck than most during lockdown.
Great-grandad Dave Armstrong, 78, has used his spare time to nurture the 14ft botanical beast you can see on the left.
It is now thought to be one of the tallest garden plants in the country – even though it was just nine inches tall when he bought it last spring.
Dave, who has five children, 13 grandchildren, and seven greatgrandchildren, said: “It started growing about two inches a day, unbelievably.
“Now I have to climb up a stepladder to measure it as it has become so tall.”
The garden flower is an Echium Pininana – an endangered species native to the Canary Islands.
The plants can grow up to 25ft in their native climate – and in 2017, one of the species reached 16ft in the glass house of the Botanic Gardens of Wales.
But keen gardener Dave, who lives with wife Pauline in Dovercourt, Essex, believes his plant could be one of the tallest grown in a private garden in the UK.
The retired parks and gardens supervisor, said: “We are quite chuffed with the plant. I just want to know if anyone else has one like this, in the area or in other parts of the country, so we can compare them.”
As well as gardening Dave’s also been keeping a close eye on the weather forecast, which is set fair for at least another week.
He added: “Our garden is open to the elements, so I hope there is not a bad storm. Every time it gets windy, I get nervous it will fall – I’d be devastated.”