DEAR EDITOR:
Many thanks to David Weir, Summerland arborist, for acknowledging in last week’s Undercurrent, our efforts to plant a mate for our beloved chestnut tree – the Diva of Davies Orchard.
Turns out she may be fulfilling her destiny in a way we had not imagined.
David informs us that the newly-planted Bouche de Bétizak – a fast grower producing large tasty chestnuts – is not a good pollinator: his pollen is, gulp, sterile.
Well, these things happen, as John Riley, orchardist extraordinaire, explained to me over the phone, giving the example of the Bramalea Apple, a delicious heritage apple also unable to pollinate other apple trees. It is our Diva who will be pollinating the young hybrid. And judging from the photo, John declared Bouche de Bétizac to be a healthy, vigorous tree and that we should anticipate a harvest in a few years.
Although my poems assign gender to the trees, the chestnut is, in fact, both female and male, but cannot serve itself (end of botanical lesson).
As an artist, I learned many years ago to enter into every project with a full heart, and to remain open to the possibility that the whole thing might shift. Like this one.
For those who haven’t seen Meribeth Deen’s playful, heartwarming videos, get over to Youtube: The Chestnut Agreement, a poem (youtube.com/watch?v=tptm5u0g_w8) and Planting of Le Bouche de Bétizak (youtube.com/watch?v=s0Db_S_xJiA).
Pauline Le Bel
