Update from the Gardens – October 2024
Posted on October 5th, 2024
Autumn is here at last, which in the words of Keates it is the 'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,' and in my opinion the best time of year.
I love Autumn in the garden. Spring and summer have their place, but in my opinion nothing can match the glory of Autumn. The smell in the air in the early morning, gentle warmth without the blazing heat from the sun and all the colours in the garden seem richer with the change in the angle of the light.
Some plants which are looking particularly beautiful at the moment are berrying plants in the Unusual Fruit Garden. The berries on the Callicarpa bodinieri and the Photinia davidiana are developing in colour becoming brighter and richer.
The autumnal display in the 17th Century garden is also developing. The foliage of the Parthenosissus quinquefolia is starting to put on a show as are the berries on the Pyracantha coccinea.
The Peace garden garden is not to be outdone, the hips on many of the roses in the garden are looking wonderful, especially the Rosa cannia in the white theme border.
Jobs in Autumn
- Pruning lavender. Regular visitors will know that one of the glories of the 17th Century garden is our box parterre garden filled with Lavender. These beds are home to thousands of ground nesting bees. This year we wanted to get the pruning of the lavender finished early so that we didn’t disturb the bees as they emerged and we just about managed it. If you visit the gardens over the next couple of weeks, on sunny days you will undoubtably see the bees going about their business in the 17th Century and Unusual Fruit gardens. If you walk on the grass watch your step! You can also buy pouches of our lavender in the Museum shop.
- Weeding. Now that the scaffolding is being removed from the 17th Century garden we are preparing the north facing bed for planting this dormant season. We are digging out weed roots from the beds where possible, but only hand weeding the areas where we know we have bulbs (these areas were mulched with well rotted wood chip to give us a fighting chance). Last winter we planted lots of Narcissus poeticus (Pheasants eye daffodil) in this bed and we don’t want to disturb them if possible. These are a late flowering scented variety that we can look forward to in April or May next year.
- Hedge cutting. We have started the huge job of tidying our yew hedges. They are all being given a front back and sides (and tops!) where we can easily reach them. The hedge which backs the herbaceous border and forms the interior of the cottage garden will be done later once the displays there are over and there is more space to move.