Towards the end of last summer when the ground was utterly parched, all around this young White Poplar suddenly there appeared a crowd of young ones, shooting directly from its roots in a last ditch attempt at DNA preservation. Fast forward a year and we have a miniature grove of White Poplars the tallest of which is already two metres in height and all genetically identical. I plan to keep the trunks clean so that the entrance to the workshop becomes framed by a lattice of these smooth sinuous forms. I’ll try to remember to photograph them next year to …