Gardener's Diary at Spetchley Park and Gardens

Its time to say goodbye...

2011-11-01T10:25:00.001Z

Thank you so much for following my blog over the last 7 years. However, this will be my last entry as my job as Head Gardener at Spetchley Park has come to an end. I have loved keeping you up to date with the facinating, annoying, funny and challenging incidents that have happened at Spetchley and hope that the entries have inspired you to take time out to visit the gardens when they open next season.

I will miss living in the gardens, seeing the early morning mist across the lake, going out in the winter snow to look for animal tracks, spotting the first snowdrops of spring, watching the fantastic collection of paeonies and roses as they open across the summer, and enjoying the late season colour of the acers, liquidamber and liriodendron (tulip tree) as they change into their autumn colour.

Many thanks for all your support over the 13 years that I have worked at Spetchley and I look forward to maybe meeting up with you again as I start out on new adventures.

Kate Portman

5 Calling Birds...

2011-10-04T19:43:00.003+01:00

It is sunny and warm and Chris the estate forester had a barbeque at the weekend, hardly a seasonal October. The weather is set to change but it has been lovely and sunny whilst it lasted. It has enabled us to give the grass its last cut of the season. If the grass is nice and short it makes raking leaves so much easier. And there are so many leaves...

It has been such a dry, sunny season the Horse Pool is also really low, but we have some new wildlife that has taken up residence there. (see pic) There are 5 really pretty call ducks who don't seem to mind the slowly reducing water levels. 8 very young call ducks suddenly appeared about 2 months ago and we have no idea where they came from. There are rumours that they were left here in the night by someone who had too many. 5 have survived, and however they arrived here they are very friendly, noisy and rather nosey!

A new section of the south border has been planted up after being left clear for a season. We are hoping that we have eradicated the bindweed and ground elder but those types of weeds have a habit of sneaking back when noone is looking. There have been some lovely plants chosen to go back in the border and I am looking forward to next year when they have really settled in. We are hoping to lift the last section of the west end of the South border this season and repeat the process.

October Tasks

2011-10-04T19:42:00.000+01:00

Prepare the garden for winter: keep drains and ponds etc free from leaves and debris, clean and store garden tools, ensure that greenhouse glass is clean, and that any shading has been replaced by insulation.
Feed roses with sulphate of potash to ripen the wood and make the plants more disease resistant.
Check tender plants for infestations of insects, and treat before returning them to their winter quarters.
Put frost protection round any plants that will be staying out for the winter.
Store undamaged apples and pears in a cool, dark well ventilated room such as a garage or garden shed.
Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous shrubs, and gather clematis seed for sowing in a cold frame.
place netting over ponds to catch leaves.
Change the plantings in hanging baskets for winter interest.
lift and divide herbaceous perennials

Hedges, hedges and more hedges....

2011-09-02T21:00:00.002+01:00

The gardens are looking lovely this time of year. The picture is of one flower from the bank of cyclamen at the front of the house. I love cyclamen.

Hedge cutting has started again with gusto. The company that didn’t want our yew clippings last year has managed to find a buyer again, so we are saving the clippings and selling them on. Hedge cutting is a long and heavy task but one that is very satisfying. When I used to cut the hedges, several years ago now, I found it hard work but would enjoy looking back at the trimmed hedges at the end of the day. Then there are the box hedges to cut. Now they really are hard work, with all that bending down.

Thankfully this month has been kinder to the fish in the lake than last month. We have had rain and cooler weather. Although this hasn’t had any effect on the water levels it has increased the amount of oxygen available to the fish.

In the middle of the month the peahen finally gave up on her eggs and stopped sitting. This may have been just as well; she had been sitting on at least 9 eggs. I’m not sure what we would have done if they had all hatched...

The Armoured Picnic event was held in the middle of August, when reenactors of various eras get together for one big event in the fields at the front of Spetchley house. It is a fun event and the weather was very kind this year. Unfortunately, the following weekend we had a Caravan Club rally which, although very well attended, didn’t enjoy the same kindness from the weather. Thankfully the organisers had erected a very large ‘big top’ type tent so the caravaners were still able to enjoy themselves in the dry.

Best wishes

Kate

September Tasks

2011-09-02T20:59:00.000+01:00

Keep cutting lawns, gradually raising the cut in preparation for winter.
Be particularly careful when picking tree fruit as wasps love windfalls and can become quite drunk, presenting quite a hazard.
Dead heading the herbaceous borders will prolong the display, but if you want to save seed, don’t forget to leave some flowerheads uncut.
Continue to pick runner beans etc. in the kitchen garden. It is not too late to sow quick crops of radish and lettuce.
It is not too late to cut back unruly wisteria, trimming off the wispy bits to 5 leaves, and tying in any branches to fill gaps.
Start taking cutting of tender plants such as salvias and penstemon, as insurance against the winter frosts.
Continue to trim hedges. Putting a sheet down first to catch the clippings will make clearing up a lot quicker.

Fish and Chicks...

2011-08-04T10:43:00.002+01:00

This is a late missive. I know it would usually be posted on the first of the month but I have an excuse: I have been ill with a summer cold and was laid up in bed for 4 days. It was not a pleasant experience, but gave me an much needed opportunity to rest. We have had such a dry spell that when I returned to work the drought was very pronounced. The hoses and leaky pipe are out around the gardens. I have been speaking to Miss Berkeley who told me that in Yorkshire it has rained every day since the beginning of July. I have no idea whether this random fact is true but we do seem to have had less rain than the country as a whole.

It has also been so hot here that we were starting to worry about the carp in the lake, and the lake water appears really thick and green. This seems to a be a repeat of the drought of about 4 or 5 years ago when the lake became so airless that the largest carp started to suffocate and we called on the fire brigade to help aerate the water again. We have hired a couple of circulating pumps and run them when the atmosphere is particularly still.

We were out on the lake a few days ago paddling around in our Canadian canoe, sadly removing carp that hadn’t made it.
( Actually I didn’t: my husband kindly offered to take on the risk of falling into the green silty water and handling slimy, smelly fish. Needless to say, I fetched the camera but he didn’t oblige by falling in.) The land agent has arranged for the remaining fish to be netted and removed to a safer location.

The peahen is still sitting on what I think are 8 eggs. She rejected 2 eggs about 2 weeks ago. I was expecting the patter of tiny toes a few days ago now and am wondering whether the happy day will arrive or whether the eggs are infertile. Mum peahen is certainly very persistent however and very rarely moves off her nest. I’m not sure what I will do with 8 more peacocks to add to the 4 we already have. Any takers?...

August Tasks

2011-08-04T10:40:00.002+01:00

Make sure you arrange for someone to pop in keep an eye on the greenhouse and veg plot if you are off on holiday. They will also need to check any veg that needs picking, such as runner beans and squashes.
Keep working with the hoe when the weather is warm enough.
Keep picking those sweet peas and remove seed pods if they form.
Continue to dead-head spent flowers, especially those of summer bedding, hanging baskets, and any remaining late flowering roses.
Start cutting hedges towards the end of the month. We start out yew hedges just before the August Bank Holiday
Continue collecting the seed from those annuals etc that you’d like to save.
Check tree ties and stakes for rubbing or constriction.
Now is a good time to start taking semi ripe cuttings of fuchsias, penstemon, pelargonium, salvia etc
Continue keeping an eye on fish ponds, and run aeration pumps during hot weather

I just had to laugh...

2011-07-01T20:42:00.005+01:00

Another interesting month with a couple of entertaining events.

At the beginning of the month we had a request from a young man who wanted to film a Dr Who spoof in the gardens. He needed a location for some outdoor shots and had persuded his mum and a friend to be two of his actors. I’m afraid they didn’t take it as seriously as young Jordan would have liked and I think the filming took rather longer than intended due to the fits of giggles that pealed forth. Still, Jordan was very professional throughout. He then told me he was going to take all the footage home, edit it, and add sound and special effects where necessary to make the final film. He wants to work in films when he is older, and I have no doubt he will.

A couple of weeks later we were asked to clean out the fountain in the middle of the Fountain Gardens. Photos were needed so that a quote can be obtained for repair and maintenance. In the 13 years I have been at Spetchley this hasn’t been done so I was rather interested to see what was at the bottom of the fountain.

I had spent the previous day pumping out the water, rescuing the 10 or so carp and putting them in a large dustbin for safekeeping, and removing some of the sludge. We enlisted the help of the forester, ‘Big Chris’ who said he would make a start clearing the remaining foot or so of sludge. I said I was going to finish the pea planting I was doing with our volunteer ‘Little Chris’, and would then help Big Chris. 3 or 4 minutes later a very irate Big Chris came slopping back through the Kitchen Garden, absolutely covered in sludge. He had stepped over the edge of the fountain onto the steps, the steps had moved, he had missed his footing and fallen in. I’m afraid he didn’t get any sympathy, just a lot of laughter from the gardeners and from Dave, the maintenance man. Poor chap. Anyway, after a hot bath and a large bandage on his elbow he felt justified in starting to help again. We finally got the fountain emptied, (see photo of Little Chris and Steve), finding a childs shoe, a pair of sunglasses, two piles of rocks and stones and about 80p in loose change in the process. The base of the fountain is laid out very neatly in what looks like blue engineering bricks, which was a bit of a suprise to me. There is also a sump that I knew nothing of until I nearly swamped my wellies when I stood in it as the sludge was being removed.
The requisite photos were taken and the fountain filled again 2 days later. The fish were fine and are now enjoying their newly cleaned home.

July Tasks

2011-07-01T20:41:00.001+01:00

Water regularly: a heavy soak is better than frequent sprinkles.
Prune wisteria tendrils back to 5 buds.
Hot weather is a great opportunity for getting out that hoe.
Feed roses etc with a general fertiliser such as phostrogen, and continue to deadhead spent flowers.
Top up pools as water evaporates. Keep pumps in good condition.
Trim back geraniums and aubretia in the borders after flowering
Continue harvesting peas, lettuce, early tomatoes etc in the kitchen garden.
Start collecting seed in paper envelopes when the weather is dry.
It will soon be time to take softwood cuttings of plants such as hebes, fuchsia, salvia and penstemon.
Start cutting the grass where daffodils have been left to die down.
Tidy the dead tops of daffodils from borders when weeding.

Of Mice and Volunteers

2011-06-01T21:54:00.003+01:00

I had become quite obsessed by rain during May, or rather the lack of it. That was until today, the last day of May, when some of the lack of the last couple of months was dumped on the gardens in one day. It is now a sunny evening after the downpour. I know we need the rain but it could have fallen during the night, or on a day when we were shut, but oh no, it had to rain on a Bank Holiday.

The Kitchen Garden is becoming a bit of a challenge as the seeds I’ve planted in the greenhouses continually get attacked by the mice. Mice are particularly fond of any type of squash: pumpkin, melon, courgette... they keep eating them. Even the sunflowers have been decimated. I have finally decided to start some of the remaining seeds off on my own kitchen windowsill. And the carrots; is it possible that ants are running off with the seed? All I see on the carrot patch are ants and no carrots. Ah well.

At the beginning of the month we had a volunteer from Slovenia for a couple of weeks.(see pic) Irena is a student of Horticulture in Slovenia and needed to do some work experience as part of her course. She has family friends in Worcester who arranged for her to help out for a couple of weeks in the gardens, and she was such fun. Towards the end of the month we also had a young lad Chris, who is keen to learn more about horticulture and offered us a week’s work experience. We tried to arrange for a range of different tasks so that Irena and Chris could both experience as many aspects of the gardens as possible.

In the gardens we seem to have been over run with ground elder in just about every border we have. Its a bit of a challenge at the moment. We are expecting a group from the Royal Horticultural Society at the beginning of June, and are trying very hard to at least get the main borders tidy.

June Tasks

2011-06-01T21:54:00.001+01:00

Water hanging baskets every day
Shade and ventilate greenhouses, and keep paths dampened on warm days.
Feed plants in borders, and start dead heading flowers.
Thin out hardy annuals and veg sown in the garden.
Remove suckers (growth from the roots) from roses, lilac and other suckering shrubs.
Remove spring bulb foliage when it will pull away easily.
Remove alge and blanket weed from ponds etc before it becomes a problem
Make sure that tall border plants are adequately supported: pea sticks or canes and string are usually sufficient.
It should now be safe to plant out remaining bedding, including those cannas and dahlias.

Where is the rain?

2011-05-01T19:34:00.006+01:00

April has been a tough month, with the lack of rain meaning that watering has become a bit of an obsession with me. Even throughout the Easter Bank Holidays, and Royal Wedding and Mayday celebrations I have been in the gardens watering. I have also started to become obsessive about checking the weather forecast in the vain hope of some rain. The lake and horse pool are so low I am rather worried.

Like many people I expect, I allowed the local TV signal to change to digital without changing my TV or getting a digibox. Of course we lost all our channels so resorted to listening to the Royal Wedding on the radio in the entry hut with Janet, the gate girl on duty on Friday. It was actually very moving. We strung a line of red, white and blue flags across the hut and felt very patriotic. I think a grand total of 19 visited the gardens on Friday; we really are a nation proud of our heritage, pagentry and the Royal Family.

Miss Berkeley had enormous pleasure decorating the main entry gates (see pic) for the Royal Wedding. She also decorated the tea room gardens and the white bridge over the road with the help of Joan from one of the flats. She was a little concerned about what Mr Berkeley would say but it was all vey much appreciated by the visitors.

Next week we are pleased to have the help of a student gardener from Slovenia. She is with us for 2 weeks to learn all aspects of gardening in a large country estate. I hope that she is able to take some old traditional skills back with her when she returns home.

The kitchen garden display is beginning to take shape, although the lack of rain has caused a bit of havoc with the root crops, and we haven’t yet planted out all that I would have liked to. The paeonies and lilies however seem to be thriving. The low rainfall has meant that fungal infections that often destroy the flowers in wetter seasons have been kept at bay. We are expecting a fantastic display.

See you soon

Kate

May Tasks

2011-05-01T19:34:00.005+01:00

Try to keep ontop of the hoeing and weeding
Feed roses and shrubs with a general fertiliser; rhododendrons and camelias would benefit from an ericaceous feed.
Plant up hanging baskets, but keep them protected in the greenhouse or frost free conservatory and don’t forget to include some slow release fertiliser.
Cut the grass whenever conditions allow.
Plants that are growing in pots would benefit from a feed
If you removed your pond pump last autumn, now is the time to check it over and replace it for the summer.
Trim back shrubs that have flowered over the late winter, eg jasminum nudiflorum, removing the flowered shoots to keep the shrub within its boundaries.
Clean patio slabs and stonework to remove alge etc.
Trim back spreading alpines such as aubrietia and arabis after flowering.
It looks like we may be in for a dry summer so a water butt or other water collection system connected to the guttering is a good idea.

Herbie...

2011-04-01T13:10:00.000+01:00

So much has happened since last month’s blog, its tricky to know where to start. Firstly, the gardens have come alive with all the spring blossom and the daffodils are beginning to look amazing. March has been beautifully sunny, and it has almost been too hot to work in some areas of the gardens.

The blossom seems to be going over so fast but then the purple tinted leaves of the malus take over and give a fresh hue to the wooded areas. I was waiting for one of our earliest magnolia to come into flower with the hope of taking some really good pictures this year. Unfortunately, as often happens, just as the flowers were beginning to open, a sharp frost clipped the petals. However, the other magnolias that were in tight bud at the time are fine and are now beginning to open.

We opened on wed 23rd March and are now in full flow. The Tea Rooms are now under new management and are really worth a visit. The new proprietors are trying to make sure that they only use local produce, and that includes veg and fruit from the Kitchen Gardens.... which makes for very low ‘food miles’. They are offering hot and cold meals, afternoon tea on proper china, and they even have an alcohol licence...

Across the winter I have had a couple of pheasant following me round the gardens. We named them Herbie (see pic) and Harry Lightening. So don’t be suprised if you suddenly find a pheasant coming out of the woods and rushing towards you... they won’t attack, they are only after a little bit of grain.

The work on the fountain in the Millennium Garden is finished and I had the task last week of refilling it. When tested however it was noticed that the fountain flowed unevenly over the two top levels. This meant that someone had to come in with a stone grinder and gently shave a little off the rims to make them level for the water to flow down evenly. This also meant that my newly filled, and beautifully clean fountain became white and cloudy with all the stone dust, necessitating another draining, cleaning and refilling . A gardeners work is never done.

April Tasks

2011-04-01T07:24:00.002+01:00

Construct runner bean wigwams or other supports and sow bean seeds, beetroot, radish, spinach, carrots, winter brassicas and peas.
plant those early potatoes as soon as the weather allows
Start to sow annual bedding and climbers. We sow ours into 1/2 seed trays and put them in a mist unit but your pots or trays would do equally well tucked into a closed, clear plastic bag until they germinate.
Trim back shrubs that have flowered over the late winter, eg jasminum nudiflorum, removing the flowered shoots to keep the shrub within its boundaries.
prune back hardy fuchsias to 2 or 3 buds from their base.
keep hoeing when the weather is warm and breezy to remove small weeds.
If you removed your pond pump last autumn, now is the time to check it over and replace it for the summer.
Begin to remove winter protection as the weather warms up.
Feed roses and shrubs with a general fertiliser such as Growmore or a specialised rose feed.
Feed camellias and rhododendron if looking a bit yellow. They require a special sequestered iron food.
Plants that are growing in pots would also benefit from a suitable feed.

Underneath the arches...

2011-03-01T19:01:00.005Z

I think that this has been one of the toughest few weeks we have had in a long time as we are down to half the usual number of staff. Debbie has been very ill with a nasty virus that affected her breathing and Steve seems to have had a serious allergic reaction to something that we have yet to identify. This has meant that the usual schedule of work has been rather heavily modified to ensure that the main areas of the garden are tidy, ready for opening in three weeks. Chris and I have been working all the available hours, and this is when we are really appreciative of the volunteers who make such a difference. One of our regular volunteers even offered an extra afternoon to help out when she heard that we are short staffed.

Seed sowing has started, with the early peas and beans, and some ornamental plants for the kitchen garden. We will soon have all the greenhouses full again. We have also started the parsley as I intend to replace all the clumps this year. I also had a very encouraging chat with the new tea room managers, who would like to use as much of the surplus kitchen garden produce as possible in soups and salads. The tea rooms are being revamped, and a whole range of tasty food will be available again when the gardens are open.

The work has started on repairing an archway and rebuilding a fountain. The fountain just needs some sort of waterproof lining and it will be finished. The basic archway has been completed (see pic), but the brickwork surrounding it has yet to be finished, and all the coping stones in that section are also due to be replaced. When Miss Berkeley saw what the builders where doing she decided that the completed wall would be the ideal spot to show off her sculpture of a pair of partridge. The sculpture is lovely but it is a bit of a task moving it from the top of one wall to the top of another as it is quite heavy, being attached to a concrete base. Do see if you can spot it when you visit. There is also another set of partridge elsewhere in the gardens. Perhaps you might like to keep a lookout for those too.

Best wishes from a very tired Kate

March Tasks

2011-03-01T19:00:00.000Z

Pot up dahlias and cannas in the greenhouse to give them a head start.
Cut down ( pollard) willows and cornus that are grown for their winter colour.
Begin to prepare the vegetable patch, clearing and digging over on fine dry days.
Cut down autumn fruiting raspberries
Dig up and divide congested clumps of snowdrops etc as the flowers fade.
Start to cut grass on a high cut, when the lawn is dry enough and the weather is sunny.
Mulch beds before the weather becomes drier, with rotted grass clippings, leafmold, bark chips or one of the decorative mulches available from the garden centre. They will retain moisture over the summer, suppress weeds and keep the borders looking fresh.
Don't forget to browse those seed and plant catalogues for your summer bedding and baskets before its too late.

With grateful thanks

2011-02-02T20:45:00.002Z

We now have 7 volunteers helping in the gardens, variously offering from half a day a month right up to 3 days a week. We owe grateful thanks to our volunteers, who make a very big difference to the amount of work we can get through. The reasons for volunteering are as varied as the volunteers themselves. Some come due to a love of historic gardens, or a love of the outdoors. Some come for the company, or to fill in time between commitments. Others come to extend their knowledge; both in retirement and as preparation to take on further horticultural studies at university. The work is varied and interesting, and can be anything from the ladylike dead heading of roses, to the heavier tasks of mucking the roses or spreading leafmold on the borders. We try to offer jobs that are both rewarding and interesting, depending on the interests of each volunteer.

We are getting ready to undertake some essential maintenance in the gardens, replacing a fountain surround, and rebuilding an archway. The quotes are in and the work will be starting in about a week. This means that wall climbers over the arch have been given a severe haircut and the fountain in the Millennium Garden has been drained. Steve emptied the fountain, managing to get totally covered in green slime, and discovering just over £2 in small change. However he didn’t discover the pound coin I had thrown in several months earlier. I will have to look through the compost heap now to recover it...

Chris, the estate woodman, has now installed a new cleft fence (see pic) behind the Apollo statue on the South Border. It is a work of art, looks like it has been in place for many years, and will allow a safe viewing point from which to see the gunnera planted in the moat. We are hoping that the gunnera will establish very quickly and become as large and impressive as the ones often seen in Cornwall.

Best wishes

Kate

February Tasks

2011-02-02T20:44:00.000Z

Tidy and cut down borders when conditions allow. Helleboure displays are greatly improved if old leaves are removed to make way for the flowers.
Check greenhouse heaters and fleece in the garden regularly. The wind can easily dislodge loose fleece.
Check garden ponds when conditions are icy and gently melt holes in the ice with boiling water. Keep pond liners from cracking by floating a tennis ball on the water. It will absorb some of the pressure from the ice.
Prepare vegetable seed beds, and sow early broad beans and peas
Prune Wisteria
Cut grass on a high cut when the day is dry and slightly windy.
Check and repair garden furniture, pergolas and arches if needed.
Remove algae from paths if they start to become slippery.
divide and replant early spring bulbs that have finished flowering
Check fruit and veg stores for rot or rodent damage. Don’t forget the stored cannas and dahlias.

Herbie the Pheasant...

2011-01-02T19:46:00.006Z

Its the end of another year, and again the topic of most conversations has been the weather. At the end of November it started to get cold, the boiler was fired up for the conservatory and all the surrounding areas were snowed in; but the Midlands was spared. Then it arrived, and everything ground to a halt. The cold snap was with us for nearly a month and almost the entire year’s heating fuel for the conservatory has been used up. A water pipe froze and cracked in the kitchen garden, a pipe burst in the potting shed, and the waste water outlet to our bath froze so that the bath wouldn’t empty for several days, but apart from that we have been let off lightly.

There was so much snow fall that Mr Berkeley was worried incase the weight would bring branches down, so one of the jobs involved walking round the gardens knocking snow off the trees and shrubs with a stout stick. This sounds fun but became rather frustrating as the snow didn’t stop falling and all that was knocked off was swiftly replaced.

The hoar frost on the foliage around the gardens made a spectacular sight: a great opportunity to get out and about with a camera. Icicles started to grow from the guttering on the melon houses and just before the thaw they had reached the ground (see picture). We also had a few worrying moments when the melon house heaters repeatedly tripped and wouldn’t stay on, however this seems to have corrected itsself now.

I have a ‘pet’ pheasant that Steve named Herbie, who rushes up when I am working. He is quite distinctive as he has paler coloured back feathers than is usual. I have been carrying a pocket full of grain, dropping a few bits whenever he is about. Pheasant are quick learners where food is concerned. We have also been feeding the birds in our cottage garden, using an old poultry feeder that has protected the feed from the falling snow, as well as filling peanut feeders that hang from the trees.

This year for the first time the Spetchley staff were invited to Berkeley Castle, along with their spouses, to join staff and volunteers for a Christmas meal in the Great Hall. It was a splendid occasion, rounded off by the appearance of two Santas, ( looking remarkably similar to the two Berkeley brothers), who proceded to hand out small gifts to the guests. We had organised our own Christmas party for our garden volunteers at Spetchley but unfortunately it had to be cancelled due to the snow. I hope to rearrange the date and have an outing in the summer instead.

Best wishes

Kate

January Tasks

2011-01-02T19:45:00.000Z

Regularly check greenhouse heaters are working, and insulate the greenhouse where possible.
Keep an eye out for wind damage on tall plants, check tree ties and stakes.
Drain down or insulate waterpipes. Even full watering cans left out can become damaged through ice expansion.
Book machinery in for a service early in the new year.
Make the most of ‘indoor days’ to plan for next season, with seed catalogues and a layout of the garden.
Use warmer days to walk round the garden, looking at the shape and structure of the plants, and planning any projects for next year.
Dig over the veg patch on sunny dry days, and add manure if not growing root crops.
Prune back grape vines before the end of the month
Cover rhubarb crowns with straw and a forcer to grow early stems.(This cannot be done every year as it weakens the plant).
And don’t forget to feed the birds, ensuring they also have access to unfrozen water.

Snowy Worcester or Sunny Jamaica?

2010-12-01T20:43:00.003Z

We are very lucky where we are in worcester, almost in the middle of the country as snow seems to be hitting all the coasts. But last night we did have a -7c. Tonight we are forecast a -9 c and the thermometer outside the messroom door registered -11.5c earlier in the week. Very chilly, but not as bad as Scotland thankfully. I must admit that one of my favourite times is when I go to tend the conservatory boiler at the weekend when the garden is crisp and white; there is no sound and looking down I can see all the tracks of animals I never get to see during the normal working day.

Many people ask what a gardener does when it is snowing. If the weather is really bad we will do maintenance work inside on chairs and benches, or weed the greenhouses, but generally there is always something to do outside. Gritting the drive and checking gutters etc, collecting leaves from sheltered corners, having a bonfire, pruning the more robust shrubs, checking tree ties, checking veg in store etc.... the list is almost endless.

Debbie has been in Jamaica on holiday for a week, and is not due back for another week. Lucky girl! She is missing all the cold weather. Her brother is getting married out there and they are making a trip of it.

I did mention at the beginning of last month’s diary that new puppy Millie had escaped through the garden gate and we thought we’d fixed it with corrugated plastic. We were wrong! One afternoon Millie had the desire to get out and follow my husband, and just bashed through the plastic! There is now strong wire netting covering the gate.

December Tasks

2010-12-01T20:42:00.000Z

Check overwintering veg, tubers and bulbs for vermin damage and set traps if necessary.
Good periods of dry weather can be used to dig over and manure areas of the vegetable patch
Float a ball in the fish pond to reduce the pressure of ice on the structure, and to prevent total freezing.
Ensure the potting shed is clean and tidy, and all pots and trays are washed, ready for next season.
Now is a good time to prune back roses that are likely to be loosened by the wind.
Tie in whippy shoots of climbing roses before they are damaged
Rake up fallen leaves and store them in a pile or black bag to rot down into leafmould.
All dahlias and cannas should have been lifted by now, after the frost has blackened the top foliage.

Trouble comes in threes....

2010-11-01T20:26:00.001Z

Not the easiest of months.... we acquired a puppy from my brother in law who had purchased it about 2 months earlier. 5 month old Millie proved to be a lot livelier than they had imagined so we took her in to add to our two collies. Millie is a lab/staffie/whippet mix, and is a very strong, happy little pup who likes to chew anything from the phone charger to slippers, the corner of the settee to an entire packet of dog biscuits. She broke our garden gate, climbed the pallet put there temporarily, and when we installed a lovely wrought iron gate she squeezed straight through the gaps! We now have the bottom of the gate covered in corrugated plastic. Not pretty, but finally effective.

For anyone who is interested, you can see one of our other dogs on youtube: put in ‘tree climbing dog’ and watch the BBC Midlands Today report.

In the gardens the leaf colours have changed and some of the acers are really beautiful. (see pic). Autumn has truly arrived. However, it is a little disheartening to clear an area of leaves only to return the next day to do it all again. I know that we will get to the end of it but this time of year can be frustrating as jobs don’t seem to stay ‘done’.

One of the more satisfying jobs has been the clearing of the next section of the South Border. All the plants have been removed and those for keeping have been potted up. We will repeat the process we undertook last year, with the first section we cleared, and hope to radically reduce, or even eliminate the bindweed etc. by the end of next year.

That short, sharp frost that occurred in the middle of the month gave us an opportunity to test out the new conservatory boiler. It certainly worked a treat and is holding heat and water as it should, finally! It was a serious cause for concern last year. We have also lifted, fleeced or frost protected the tender and susceptible plants around the gardens so hopefully we won’t see a repeat of last year when the really cold weather killed off several plants.

Of course the sharp frost meant that we were able to lift the dahlias earlier than we have done for the last few years. They are now all neatly stored away in a frost free shed. The cannas however are a different story: we lost nearly all the canna purpurea, a couple of variegated varieties and a few of the canna Robert Kemp whilst they were in storage last year, so we have stored them in a warmer room in the main house this year, hoping to avoid a repeat.

Best wishes

Kate

Topical tips for November

2010-11-01T20:15:00.000Z

Check through stored apples and veg, discarding any that are damaged.
Use any spare space in heated greenhouses for quick crops of lettuce etc.
Keep an eye on the greenhouse and ventilate on warmer days.
Ensure that all tender plants have been taken into the warm, or protected by fleece or straw as we are just starting to get those nippy nights.
check guttering/drains and keep them clear.
lift and divide borders, so that perennials are regenerated for a better display. Then top dress the borders with well rotted farmyard manure, or garden compost.
Lift and store the last remaining dahlias, cannas, and gladioli bulbs.
Plant wallflowers and other winter displays, on warmer dry days
Keep an eye on ponds and ensure fish have a breathing hole by placing a pan of boiling water on the ice. Some people float a tennis ball to absorb the pressure of the ice and prevent damage to the pond.
Lift the last remaining dahlias, cannas, and gladioli bulbs.
On dry breezy days continue to cut lawns with mower blades set high, but try to avoid walking on grass when the weather is frosty.

Why are moles so good at hiding?

2010-10-03T15:38:00.001+01:00

Last month saw the start of a new gardener to replace Richard, who had left to set up his own business. Chris started at the beginning of September and was thrown straight into the hedge cutting. And not just any old easy hedge, but the West Border crennellations...the ones that go up and down, and have a ditch to one side. It was a bit mean but Chris rose to the challenge admirably. It takes between 4 and 6 weeks to cut all the hedges at Spetchley and can be monotonous, so I have also been trying to ring the changes a little and mix up the jobs.

Last week Chris helped Debbie for a couple of days to sort out the new planting for the South Border where we had removed all the plants to try and eliminate ground elder and bindweed from the area. Well, we are now planting up and although a few small pernicious weeds are still showing, they are weak enough to be eradicated before the new planting becomes too large. A blog reader from Germany has suggested a specific control method which we are looking into. We will soon be taking the next section of border out, ready to repeat the process.

The damp, warm weather has also meant a lot of grass cutting, and the emergence of mole hills all over the gardens, in places I have never seen them before. This is particularly frustrating as I have limited sucess with mole traps. If anyone has a tried and tested method of mole control I would love to hear from you.

Isabelle Roberts, and her daughter Mary have been visiting for the last couple of weeks, as part of a month holiday in England from Alberta, Canada. They have been visiting all the friends that Isabelle made during her quarter century living in Gardeners Cottage at Spetchley. It has been lovely to have them stay and we are already planning next year’s visit. When Mary called her daughter at the weekend she was told that there was 8 inches of snow! We had had a lovely sunny day at the Avoncroft museum of buildings near Droitwich. ( A facinating place, you must go). Alberta winters can get down as low as -40º c, which I don’t fancy at all.

This month’s picture shows the ‘knees’ of the swamp cyprus, slightly altered by Clive Bagley, who ran the Tea Rooms about 4 years ago. Have a really close look....

October Tasks

2010-10-03T15:37:00.000+01:00

Prepare the garden for winter: keep drains and ponds etc free from leaves and debris, clean and store garden tools, ensure that greenhouse glass is clean, and that any shading has been replaced by insulation.
Lift dahlias after the first frosts blacken their leaves.
Order spring bulbs for next year.
Feed roses with sulphate of potash to ripen the wood and make the plants more disease resistant.
Check tender plants for infestations of insects, and treat before returning them to their winter quarters.
Put frost protection round any plants that will be staying out for the winter.
Store undamaged apples and pears in a cool, dark well ventilated room such as a garage or garden shed.
Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous shrubs, and gather clematis seed for sowing in a cold frame.
place netting over ponds to catch leaves.
Change the plantings in hanging baskets for winter interest.
lift and divide herbaceous perennials.

I think I may starve....

2010-08-30T21:53:00.001+01:00

September is nearly upon us and next week we are having the first wedding that Miss Berkeley can remember in the little C of E church up the drive. The daughter of the farmer over the road is getting married, so Miss Berkeley, Nigel my husband, and I are taking special care to ensure that the grounds are pristine for the event. Nigel has been volunteering to keep the church yard in order for the last 5 years.

We had a fantastic day at the M5 Living History event last month where re-enactors from all over the country displayed life from various centuries. This year there were far more displays and re-enactors than in previous years. We spent quite a time wandering around all the encampments and talking to the people. I found the barber/physician particularly gruesome!

It was a hot dry day so I needed to move an irrigation line in the copse with the help of my husband. Whilst we were doing this a small group of WW2 soldiers came creeping up the ride, checking for the enemy... (They reminded me a bit of the end credits of Dad’s Army!)

There were trade stands for the first time, which sold a fascinating array of re-enactors paraphernalia. It was possible to buy muskets and all the associated equipment, medieval outfits and cloth, swords and bows and arrows, reproduction coins, glassware and even chain mail gloves!

Every half an hour or so there was a display battle with cannons, muskets and various people falling down ‘dead’ and being dragged off the battlefield...

I had a go at the archery using a longbow (think Robin Hood), and managed to graze the back leg of a model deer, completely miss it’s hindquarters and then send a third arrow under it’s belly. I think I would starve if I had to rely on my hunting skills.

There was a wonderful display in the squash court by some RAF re-enactors showing how Bomber Command worked, with a map table and the Wrens standing round pushing airplane indicators across it (see photo). It was all explained really well, and the mock air raid demonstration was great fun.

And finally some frustrating news: the company that has collected our yew clippings for the last 10 years or so is now unable to do so, as the company they sell the material to can now get yew clippings more cheaply from China.

September Tasks

2010-08-30T21:51:00.001+01:00

Continue to trim hedges. Putting a sheet down first to catch the clippings will make clearing up a lot quicker.
Dead heading the herbaceous borders will prolong the display, but if you want to save seed, don’t forget to leave some flowerheads uncut!
Keep cutting lawns, gradually raising the cut in preparation for winter.
Check fruit trees and remove any fruit affected by brown rot to reduce infection spread.
Be particularly careful when picking tree fruit as wasps love windfalls and can become quite drunk, presenting quite a hazard.
Continue to pick runner beans etc. in the kitchen garden. It is not too late to sow quick crops of radish and lettuce.
If your greenhouse cucumbers are suffering from an attack of red spider mite, try putting a block of wet straw by the plants to increase humidity.

Happy visitors

2010-08-03T16:34:00.003+01:00

This is an extra entry to my usual monthly missive. Debbie has sent me the picture she took that I mentioned in the previous blog.... so here is the picture I promised of the happy visitors; a lovely couple just sitting in the copse enjoying the sunshine.

What do you mean no electric?

2010-08-01T16:43:00.002+01:00

The last month has been full of lots of sunny weather, and the gardens have been looking really lovely. (The picture shows the beautiful heads of an achillea) The watering however, is proving to be more and more of a nightmare. I have been constantly moving seep hoses around the borders in the copse where the hydrangea and rhododendrons are flagging. We can’t be the only people really wanting lots of rain.
Half way through last month I was working with Debbie on the South Border when we noticed 2 lovely people sitting in the copse, enjoying the gardens. They looked really happy together and Debbie went over to have a chat and ask if it would be ok for her to take a photo! They were suprised but delighted to oblige. When I get a copy I will post it....

After the excitement of the powercut mentioned last month, a couple of days after that I noticed that some of the sockets downstairs didn't work. It was thought that mice had possibly chewed the cable which would mean a major rewiring job. Thankfully it was just an unrelated problem in a faulty circuit breaker. We are now back up and running again.

The last month has been full of lots of sunny weather, and the gardens have been looking really lovely. (The picture shows the beautiful heads of an achillea) The watering however, is proving to be more and more of a nightmare. I have been constantly moving seep hoses around the borders in the copse where the hydrangea and rhododendrons are flagging. We can’t be the only people really wanting lots of rain.

Debbie has been working really hard on new planting plans for the South Border and Kitchen Garden central path where all the plants have been cleared out. We lifted and repotted all the plants from sections of the borders and have been trying to eradicate the bindweed, creeping thistle, ground elder etc etc but it is proving to be very difficult. Mr Berkeley has great ideas about making a traditional style perennial border on the South Border, but using a lot of new and interesting plants.

New volunteer Rob came in last week and I think I must have bored him to tears.... he was working in the same area all week... planting, weeding, pruning the espaliers, removing the peas and beans that had finished... he didn’t manage to get out of the kitchen garden all week! Anyone else like to volunteer?!?

August tasks

2010-08-01T16:42:00.000+01:00

Make sure you arrange for someone to pop in keep an eye on the greenhouse and veg plot if you are off on holiday. They will also need to check any veg that needs picking, such as runner beans and squashes.
Keep working with the hoe when the weather is warm enough.
Watch for the fungal infection rust on hollyhocks, pelargoniums etc. Remove affected foliage and spray with a fungicide.
Keep picking those sweet peas and remove seed pods if they form.
Continue to dead-head spent flowers, especially those of summer bedding, hanging baskets and any remaining late flowering roses.
Start cutting hedges towards the end of the month
Listen to the weather forcast and water greenhouses and pots accordingly.
Start taking semi ripe cuttings of fuchsias, penstemon, pelargonium, salvia etc
Start collecting seed

Power cuts.... cows... roses... busy, busy, busy...

2010-07-05T18:35:00.002+01:00

The sunshine has been really lovely over the last few weeks but is now beginning to outstay its welcome. Everything is really dry, the borders are starting to suffer and the irrigation system is on the the Kitchen Garden most evenings.

We are still interviewing for the replacement gardener to take Richard’s place in the team. We had a good response, and at least 2 ideal candidates so the decision will be difficult.

The martagon lilies at their best (see pic) and are really looking well, helped in part by the dry weather; it is the rain splashes that spread the lily disease infection.

We had a very important visitor last week when the ex president of the Rose Society came to the gardens to have a look at our roses. Debbie had chatted to a speaker at the local garden club and expressed an interest in someone coming to identify some of our large rose collection. Little did we realise we would be welcoming someone so important. The visit took up all the morning and only covered one of the borders. The lady was really enthusiastic and said she would write a piece on the gardens. She was staggered that we have so few visitors, as the gardens are such a beautiful place to visit.

On Saturday morning, a frantic phone call at 7am from Miss Berkeley, ended with myself, my husband, Debbie’s husband and John the gamekeeper all coming to help remove cows from the gardens again. It seems that some unhelpful person has been leaving gates open and cows do like to take any opportunity for a wander....

And finally... I had a power cut sometime on Saturday night; calls to neighbours indicated that it was just Gardeners Cottage. The electricity company came out promptly and were really efficient in finding the problem: when the electricity had been installed in the cottage it had been taken from the substation through the car park, under the cart shed, under our potting shed and down to the cottage all in a straight line. The section of cable right underneath the wall between our potting shed and the cart shed had broken. This meant it took until 10pm Sunday night to restore the power by putting an extra loop in to go round the buildings. Today they were back, digging a trench to install the cable properly. I am using this as an excuse as to why this month’s diary is a few days late... no laptop...

July Tasks

2010-07-05T18:33:00.000+01:00

Trim back geraniums and aubretia in the borders after flowering
Cut grass where daffodils have been left to die down.
Tidy the dead tops of daffodils from borders when weeding.
continue harvesting peas, lettuce, early tomatoes etc in the kitchen garden.
Prune wisteria tendrils back to 5 buds.
Start collecting seed in paper envelopes when the weather is dry.
It will soon be time to take softwood cuttings of plants such as hebes, fuchsia, salvia and penstemon.
Thoroughly water vunerable plants, then mulch to keep moisture at the roots.
Feed roses etc with a general fertiliser such as phostrogen, and continue to deadhead spent flowers.
Top up pools as water evaporates. Keep pumps in good condition.
Work with the hot weather and hoe regularly.

Comings and Goings

2010-05-31T21:43:00.002+01:00

It has been another interesting month. Not anything like as dramatic as last month but still facinating.

The biggest news has been that gardener Richard has decided to start up gardening self employed. He is now working for himself doing the gardens of the local Worcester populus. We wish him all the best in his new venture. We also expect him to pop in from time to time, to let us know how he is getting along.

The other news is that coincidentally, we have had several people come forward as volunteers, offering a half day a week. This has made a huge diference as we will now be rather short staffed for a few weeks until we employ Richard’s replacement.

In the gardens the plants are beginning to catch up with the season after being about 4 weeks behind. The wisteria have been stunning and the iris border is very colourful. The Fountain Beds have a stunning show of aquilegia and tulipa sprengeri and the borders are looking lovely. (The picture this month is of a seedling astrantia major). However, we are having a terrible problem with ground elder, bind weed and especially cleavers. Husband, who works at Worcester University, told me that these specific weeds are rampant there too. It must be the weather, but it is driving me to distraction.

June Tasks

2010-05-31T21:39:00.001+01:00

It should now be safe to plant out remaining bedding, including those cannas and dahlias.
Water hanging baskets every day
Shade and ventilate greenhouses
Feed plants in borders, and start dead heading flowers.
Thin out hardy annuals and veg sown in the garden.
Ensure net cages over soft fruit, peas and any other vulnerable veg are secure, without access holes for mice or pigeons.
Removed reverted branches of variegated shrubs.
Remove suckers (growth from the roots) from roses, lilac and other suckering shrubs.
Remove spring bulb foliage when it can be lifted easily.
Remove alge and blanket weed from ponds etc before it becomes a problem.

Debbie and The Furtive Man....

2010-05-06T13:22:00.002+01:00

This must be the latest I have written the monthly diary for quite a while. I went to Devon to attend a baptism for the Bank Holiday and have yet to catch up with all the work.

We had an incident in the middle of last week: I had just finished lunch and was about to return to the yard when I received a strange phonecall from Debbie. She sounded very quiet, but was furious and indignant, whispering that she had just spotted someone stealing plants from ‘her’ Fountain Beds. I couldn’t believe her; I didn’t think people really did that sort of thing. Debbie was insistent and said she’d seen a man with a satchel, looking suspicious. Then she said she’d seen him walking back to his car with paeony leaves sticking out of the satchel. Then she rang to tell me to go and look in the footwell of his car, which I promptly did. Sure enough there were a couple of bare rooted plants in plastic bags. I was still not sure, they could have been there before he arrived at Spetchley.

Debbie continued to ring me with updates, the man repeatedly returned to particular places in the garden, and was constantly watching the other visitors around him. Finally he realised that we were watching him and started to make his way back to his car.

I phoned the gamekeeper for moral support, and when he arrived Debbie confronted the man. After a little waffling he was very embarrassed and admitted everything. His satchel contained a digging tool and plastic bags; he had come equipped! We recovered the plants and cuttings and felt very pleased with ourselves.

Taking plants, cuttings or seeds is theft.

A few days later I received a hand written apology,a promise never to return and an amount of money for buying more plants.

On a more upbeat note, the paeonies are showing their buds, the daffs are almost over but the rhododendrons are just beginning. There is always something new to see at Spetchley.

We have just planted up a new bed in Smokey Hollow called imaginatively ‘Bed 9 copse’, under the wispering pines. It is now full of rhododendrons, lilies and hydrangeas. Rhododendrons particularly like it as they like the needle fall from the pines which turns the soil acidic. The picture is Rhododendron Percy Wiseman.

Best wishes

Kate

May Tasks

2010-05-06T13:21:00.000+01:00

Plant extra rows of veg for continuous cropping in the Kitchen Garden.
Remove the faded flower heads from daffodils but do not cut down or tie the leaves.
Water greenhouse plants and install shade netting if necessary.
Bedding plants be planted out towards the end of the month, after the last frosts have passed. Ensure they are gently acclimatised to the change in temperature outside the greenhouse or cold frame.
Prune winter flowering heathers before the end of May
Earth up early and maincrop potatoes
prune spring flowering clematis after flowering
Keep hoeing and weeding
Pinch out the growing tips of bush fuchsias
Continuously picking rhubarb and removing any flowering stems will ensure a longer crop.
Protect vulnerable plants such as young seedlings, or hostas from slugs. We use crushed egg shells as a barrier.
Trim back spreading alpines such as aubrietia and arabis after flowering.

Why Me?

2010-03-31T21:23:00.002+01:00

Why is it that my life seems to revolve around animals and birds? I had a couple of really challenging experiences on the same day last month which turned me all of a dither! Firstly, I went round to the back of the lake to check mole traps and re set them. I have been singularly unsuccessful at this venture. Now I know why... the moles are watching. I had dug out a large, deep sod of turf to reveal both ends of a tunnel. As I stood looking into the hole, one of the tunnel ends started to fill with soil. The soil fell out into the hole closely followed by a long, snuffly pink nose. I was rather taken aback and could only watch in wonder as the mole turned round and stuck its tail out, then pushed the remaining soil out before scarpering back down its newly cleaned tunnel. I then felt really mean and had to admit defeat.

I decided to try elsewhere and went into the peacock pen where there was more mole activity. After realising this was a battle I was not going to win, I turned back to the cage door... only to see the white peahen taking advantage of a loose latch and making a bid for freedom, closely watched by her 2 remaining chicks. Panicking, I managed to manoeuvre between the chicks and the door whilst the white mum walked round the outside of the cage. I then rang Debbie, who must have thought I was having a turn, but did arrive very swiftly, and slowly walked round the cage encouraging the mum back to the door where, thankfully, the call of her chicks was just too strong for her to ignore. She had been a free bird for all of 6 minutes!

Now, less of my adventures and more of the gardens. It has been a difficult month: lovely weather to start the month and terrible weather to end. We managed to mulch most of the main borders and the gardens looked really lovely for opening, although it had been so cold that all the daffodils and crocus have been very late. This is the first year that I can remember us having such a spectacular show of crocus when the gardens have been open. (see pic). Although the rain has been a bit of a nuisance we have done our best to make sure that the gardens are at their best for the Easter Bank Holiday weekend....

Best Wishes

Kate

April Tasks

2010-03-31T21:21:00.001+01:00

plant those early potatoes as soon as the weather allows
Check and cllean garden pool pumps
Cut grass regularly when the ground is not wet
Feed camellias and rhododendron if looking a bit yellow. They require a special sequestered iron food.
Feed herbaceous borders with a good quality granular feed, e.g. Growmore.
Sow broad and French beans, carrots and winter brassicas.
Prune hydrangea and cut down hardy fuchsia

Pests, Pests, Everywhere....

2010-03-01T19:23:00.001Z

We have had an interesting, if irritating month for pests. There were rabbit tracks in the snow, all over the kitchen garden. Even in the vinery there was evidence of rabbit digging. I set a humane trap on the outside of one of the gates and made a channel under the gate for access. Annoyingly, it has yet to trap the little beast, but did trap a squirrel over the weekend.

Then, as I was in the kitchen garden, explaining a task to Richard, he suddenly pointed to what he thought was a fox running across Miss Berkeley’s patch. I looked up to see the back end of a white tail flashing against the shrubs: a roe deer. I am still puzzled as to how it got into the kitchen garden, which is walled and gated.

Richard went one way and I went another, opening all the gates and hoping that the deer would find one and leave. However, it suddenly rushed behind me before I got to one of the gates, crashed into it, then turned round and went down the border. Richard tried to chase it back but it suddenly disappeared. We can only assume it went through the hedge into the Millennium Garden. We left all the gates open all day, hoping that it would find its own way out. We haven’t seen it since so we can only assume it left.

Then there are the moles.... everywhere. I was setting a trap bahind the lake this morning and a mole started to lift a hill right next to me! I tried to catch it but it was too fast. If you drive by the gardens, have a look on the other side of the road at the lawn of the village hall. It is full of molehills. This is just a small indication of all the hills that are appearing at the back of the lake, up the drive, in my garden, by the peacock pen.....

Speaking of peacocks, 3 of the peacocks left to go to a new home at the beginning of the month. Two of the female chicks and the older female all went together to a farm where there are already other peacocks. We were very pleased to see them go to such a good home as there was just too little space for 7 fully grown birds in the pen.

The weather has been frustrating. Beautiful,(see pic.) but becoming rather tiresome. We are unable to do so many of the normal early spring tasks due to the snow. It feels as if spring is about a month late. I have yet to start the leeks and parsnips in the kitchen garden, and I am getting a little concerned.

We were remarkably lucky to escape the worst of the snow though. The only damage we sustained was a couple of cedar branches that came down next to the rose lawn due to weight of snow.

Don’t forget that the Gardens open for the new season on 21st March. See you all soon....

March Tasks

2010-03-01T19:21:00.001Z

Pot up dahlias and cannas in the greenhouse to give them a head start.
Dig up and divide congested clumps of snowdrops etc as the flowers fade.
Prepare the vegetable patch, clearing and digging over or rotovating on fine dry days.
Plant the early varieties of potatoes that you prepared (chitted) last month.
Cut down ( pollard) willows and cornus that are grown for their winter colour.
Cut down autumn fruiting raspberries.
Finish pruning roses, wisteria and campsis.
Start to cut grass on a high cut, when the lawn is dry enough and the weather is sunny. and don't forget to browse those seed and plant catalogues for your summer bedding and baskets before its too late.

Sickness and Snow....

2010-01-31T17:48:00.002Z

This again has been a rather trying month. The snowy weather (see pic) really hasn’t helped and we are getting behind with the preparatory work for opening. Our main truck decided to have gearbox trouble and is still away being mended, Gardener Steve was off for 2 weeks with a bad attack of swine flu, Gardener Richard went down with a stomach bug and Assistant Head Gardener Debbie had a very painful knee that was interfering with the jobs she was able to do. Thankfully all 3 seem fully recovered now. ( We are still waiting for news on the Bonser truck).

However we can also be thankful that all the main leaf raking has been completed, only borders left to do now. And we will soon be returning all last year's lovely rotted leafmould back onto the newly weeded beds.

Richard has been busy cutting circles in the grass round newly planted trees, and backfilling with woodchip.Every time he thinks he has finished, Mr Berkeley says that as he is working to such a good standard there is this area or that area to complete as well. It will take until March for him to finish! This task not only mulches and protects the young tree, but removes the competition for nutrients from surrounding grass and weeds.

The conservatory boiler is now complete with its new flue and concrete pad. It looks very smart, and has been put to good use over the last few days. The little niggles have been sorted out and It works a treat, staying warm for over 18 hours, (which is better that when I first tried to work it and had to fill it up at 10pm, in the dark, to ensure that it was still warm in the morning.)

Last week saw the last family shoot of the season, and on Saturday ‘Keepers Shoot’ took place. This is when the gamekeeper can invite his own guests for a final shoot. As usual I helped the gamekeeper’s wife to prepare and host the lunch; chilli, baked potatoes and apple pie to follow. Catering for so many can be a challenging experience, but we have done it now for several years and it is always appreciated.

In the gardens we havve completed lots of formative pruning, and opened up new vistas. The spring flowers are just beginning to show, the early snowdrops are peeping through on the banks and in the borders. It’s the promise of things to come. I love snowdrops.

February Tasks

2010-01-31T17:46:00.001Z

Prepare vegetable seed beds, and sow some vegetables under cover
Start chitting potatoes
Prune winter-flowering shrubs that have finished flowering
Prune Wisteria
Prune hardy evergreen hedges and renovate overgrown deciduous hedges
Prune conservatory climbers
Cut grass on a high cut when the day is dry and slightly windy.
Check and repair pergolas and arches if needed.
Rub down and treat wooden garden furniture when dry.
Remove algae from paths if they start to become slippery.
divide and replant early spring bulbs that have finished flowering
Check fruit and veg stores for rot or rodent damage. Don’t forget the stored cannas and dahlias.
Trim the old leaves from hellebores and epimedium to reveal the new flowers
Sow sweet peas on a cool windowsill or coldframe
Regularly check greenhouse heaters and fleece.

Boiler Mayhem

2010-01-01T14:26:00.004Z

Firstly, may I wish you all a Happy New Year.

The first day of December arrived with a sudden and definite change in the weather. There was a very sharp and pronounced cold snap which made everything look crisp and snowy. The misty mornings were really picturesque. (see pic).
The cold snap was preceded by desperation as we were still waiting for the new conservatory boiler to be installed. A lot of phone calls, texts and rushing about ensured that just before Christmas we had the brand new, purpose built heating boiler up and running. Last winter the old boiler had become so badly corroded that every time it was fired up, the circulating water would flow through the holes and put out the fire! Thus, in all its 45 year old corroded glory it was removed by the blacksmith in Pershore to be copied.

A temporary flue was installed to see us through the coldest weather during the holidays. The blacksmith promised to return after the holidays and install the proper chimney, and repair a couple of very minor leaks in the new joints, fired up the boiler and it seemed to work really well. All the conservatory pipes warmed up beautifully and for a while (less than 12 hours) the system worked perfectly. Perfectly that is, until the original pipe going through the wall between the boiler house and the conservatory was found to be seriously leaking, (at a speed of about 3 bucketfulls of water an hour) about 3 feet from the new boiler. Back to the temporary system of a large gas canister and heater. I am feeling so frustrated. So near and yet so far.

At home we found some small logs, destined for the woodburner, that were hollow. We saved a few and filled them full of melted lard mixed with seeds and nuts. When we hung them on the trellis in our garden we had an amazing range of birds coming down to feed. Which reminds me, I must refill them as they get emptied in a couple of days. We also removed a dead tree that had a hollow trunk so we cut it into sections and will put them round the leaf heaps as hedgehog hideaways.

Apart from the excitement and frustration about the boiler it has been a very ordinary month. Raking leaves has continued throughout the month, and looks to continue well into February. I find December to February very miserable months although, looking out of my window today, the sun is shining brightly making the garden look very inviting.... The early signs of spring are just beginning to show and I am really looking forward to the snowdrops.

January Tasks

2010-01-01T14:25:00.000Z

Regularly check greenhouse heaters are working, and insulate the greenhouse where possible.
Keep an eye out for wind damage on tall plants, check tree ties and stakes.
Drain down or insulate waterpipes. Even full watering cans left out can become damaged through ice expansion
Ensure tools are clean, oiled, serviced and ready for next season.
Make the most of ‘indoor days’ to plan for next season, with seed catalogues and a layout of the garden.
Don’t forget the veg patch in your planning: try to include veg that you haven’t tried to grow before.
Dig over the veg patch on sunny dry days, and add manure if not growing root crops.
Prune back grape vines before the end of the month
And don’t forget to feed the birds, ensuring they also have access to unfrozen water.

From Planning to Planting

2009-11-29T16:17:00.002Z

It has been a wet and windy November. For the first time in quite a while I have lain awake in the small hours of the night, listening to the wind and wondering how many trees have fallen in the gardens. Actually, we have been very lucky, with no damage apart from the odd, small branch.

This has been an exciting month in the development of the garden, with new plantings both developed and planned. Debbie is full of creative ideas and we are always really pleased when we get the go ahead from Mr Berkeley to develop one of her plans.

The first has been the removal and replanting of the bamboo area at the bottom of the East Border, right next to the Fountain beds. The big, old hollow bamboo that had been a favourite for children (and my old Head Gardener) to hide in for many years, had died. It was removed, thankfully for us with a JCB, and the area replanted with 3 well behaved black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra), and over 60 black grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens), interspersed with 30 large flowered purple crocus. We are also intending to plant tall, purple flowered alliums. When fully mature it will be a dramatic point to two of the main borders. See picture, which incidentally also includes my two dogs: Daisy and Holly!

The second area that has been marked for redevelopment is the far end of the moat leading to the garden pool. This has always been a difficult area to keep tidy so the intention is to plant it up with two varieties of gunnera, which is a very large leafed architectural plant that likes damp soil. To help with the view of the area a section of yew branches have been removed from the South Border, overlooking the moat. This exposed a drop of about 8 feet into the moat from the wall at the back of the South Border which needed to be fenced off. The Forester rescued some very old, wooden fencing from the deer park and re built it at the top of the wall. Debbie had originally envisaged an elegant, wrought iron fence, like a ’Juliet balcony’, but costs have dictated that the wooden structure was created instead. I must say that I did have misgivings about the fence as it was being constructed, but the finished article is very much in keeping with the style of the gardens.

One of the problems we are having with the warmer than usual weather is that the dahlias have not been frosted. It is usual to wait for the first frosts before lifting dahlias, but if this doesn’t happen in the next couple of weeks we will be lifting them unfrosted as they are more at risk of rotting in the ground.

The sad news is that there will be no Illuminated Trail this year. Although many have asked about this year’s Trail, the vaguaries of the weather, and low attendance last year have both meant that it was decided not to stage the Trail this year.

December Tasks

2009-11-29T16:14:00.001Z

Keep an eye on the weather and keep greenhouse heaters on when the temperature dips.
Clear leaves from paths, and where they lie thickly on grass. Store them in piles for leafmould.
Check and clear gutters and drains to prevent maintenance problems later on.
Treat slippery paths with a suitable cleaner, or sprinkle with sand and scrub in with a stiff brush
Check overwintering veg, tubers and bulbs for vermin damage and set traps if necessary.
Complete the pruning of ornamental and fruiting vines before the end of the month.
Start planning next year’s crop rotation in the vegetable patch. Ordering seed early ensures a good choice and the opportunity to try something new.
Good periods of dry weather can be used to dig over and manure areas of the vegetable patch.

Travels, struggles and great achievements

2009-10-31T21:24:00.004Z

The October weather has really blessed us in the gardens this month. The autumn colour is improving, although the acers suffered from the drought, which caused their leaves to go brown and dry before they had a chance to change colour. Other trees, such as the nyssa, have produced beautiful bonfire tones, whilst the bees are enjoying early mahonia flowers (see pic.) The mild weather has also allowed us to complete many more jobs; border work, grass cutting, pruning etc are so much easier when the weather is favourable.

For the first part of October I spent over a week cutting the box hedging. It is a very back breaking task, so I have tended to cut hedges for half a day, and then change jobs to give my back a rest.

We have also been lifting and dividing borders, both in the Kitchen Garden and on the South Border. We have had such a problem with bind weed, ground elder and mercury that we are hoping to leave the areas cleared for a whole season and beat the weeds. It will look a bit strange for a while but I hope you will understand. This task has also ensured that we have plenty of spare plants, potted up and ready for sale next season.

It was a relief when I was then off on holiday for a week at the end of October, travelling across France with the aim of seeing the French home of Mr Berkeley’s Great Aunt, Miss Willmott. Her second home, near the border with Switzerland and Geneva, is now the town hall for the area of Tresserve, east of Lyon. We met the deputy mayor, and the two ladies who had visited Spetchley about 3 months ago to do research for a book about Tresserve and Miss Willmott. We then had a fabulous time travelling back across the country, even managing to get into Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny on the cheap as the frosts had caught the dahlias. And all the while Debbie was holding the fort back at Spetchley.

The autumn leaf collecting is also looming large, with small inroads being made here and there, although all the leaves have yet to fall. We have been greatly encouraged by the addition of a hardstanding path installed through the middle of our leaf collection area. The area has been a leaf heap for longer than I care to think about and consequently, the ground is very soft. This caused considerable difficulty last year, so I am understandably excited about the new path!!

The gardens are now closed for the winter. We open again on 21st March 2010

Best wishes

Kate

November Tasks

2009-10-31T21:23:00.001Z

Check through stored veg and discard any that have started to rot.
Use any spare space in heated greenhouses for quick crops of lettuce etc.
Ensure that all tender plants have been taken into the warm, or protected by fleece or straw as we are just starting to get those nippy nights.
check guttering/drains and keep them clear.
lift and divide borders, so that perennials are regenerated for a better display. Then top dress the borders with well rotted farmyard manure, or garden compost. The local recycling centre may be able to provide compost at low cost.
Lift the last remaining dahlias, cannas, and gladioli bulbs.
Plant wallflowers and other winter displays, on warmer dry days
Keep an eye on ponds and ensure fish have a breathing hole by placing a pan of boiling water on the ice. Some people float a tennis ball to absorb the pressure of the ice and prevent damage to the pond.

Surprises and challenges

2009-09-30T21:10:00.004+01:00

I have finally met someone who reads my blog. I was weeding in the gardens one day last month when a gentleman asked who it was who writes the blog. I owned up, as I haven’t met anyone who reads it before. The gentleman said that he had been following my writings for a few months, and was going to encourage others to read it too.
Hello Sir!

It is now almost the end of the season and the gardens are only open at weekends. We have been very busy for the last couple of days, removing dead trees, trimming overhanging branches and reordering some of the more untidy areas. A lot of work has been taking place on the South Border, near the portico. A large shrub has been pruned and tidied, a sickly pear has been removed and a conifer that had greatly outgrown its space has also gone. This last operation was very tricky, as the roots of the conifer were close to both the small ha ha wall, and a mains water pipe; but the JCB driver is very talented!

JCBs are very handy in a garden as large as ours. The digger driver turns our leaf heaps every year, and also removes large trees, bamboo or shrubs where necessary. This week he has also dug over the locations of 2 new beds that Mr Berkeley marked out in the copse. He saves us a lot of time!

Debbie had quite a suprise one early morning when she went to water the conservatory. To set the scene: the weather has been very warm for September and we haven’t yet put the windows back in the front of the conservatory. Debbie went in to water, and was moving about the pots, checking and watering when suddenly from only a few feet away a small muntjac jumped up from its hiding place between the pots, leapt through one of the open window spaces over the low wall, and dashed away across the new rose lawn! Debbie was suitably suprised.

Then one Saturday Debbie and I had the challenge of dealing with over 130 Hardy Plant Society members decending on the gardens, and being taken round on 6 guided tours. The group included Roy Lancaster, a well known and very knowledgable plantsman, who was so involved with the plants he saw that he very quickly dropped off one of my tours, taking about 8 people with him!

The borders are looking bright with asters at their flowering best and colchicum are lookng good (see pic, Colchicum Waterlily). However there is a little worry about how good the autumn colour is going to be. It appears that some leaves are drying out and going crisp before they turn a bright colour. We hope for the best.

Best Wishes

Kate

October Tasks

2009-09-30T21:09:00.000+01:00

Order new spring bulbs for next year.
Start sowings of hardy annuals and sweet peas under glass.
Feed roses with sulphate of potash to ripen the wood and make the plants more disease resistant.
place netting over ponds to catch leaves.
Change the plantings in hanging baskets for winter interest.
Check tender plants for infestations of insects, and treat before returning them to their winter quarters.
Put frost protection round any plants that will be staying out for the winter.
Store undamaged apples and pears in a cool, dark well ventilated room such as a garage or garden shed.

Always take the greatest of care.

2009-08-31T20:25:00.003+01:00

After the wet summer that proved very beneficial for the hydrangea, the gardens are beginning to show their autumn glory, albeit a little early. Asters and phlox are looking great in the main borders whilst sunflowers and dahlias are brightening up the kitchen garden.

Talking of dahlias, I set myself a bit of a challenge this month, trying to sort out and name all the dahlias that had become muddled over the past three or four years. I planted all the varieties in large blocks to make it easier to identify the odd rogue. It was an interesting and absorbing task, involving a lot of internet research as I had lists of names but no really good descriptions. All the dahlia are now labelled and almost all have been identified; including 3 varieties that I thought had been lost. I am very pleased.

The peahen and her 4 chicks are doing fine, and growing swiftly (see pic). They have the cutest hairstyles...
We will soon have the difficult problem of what is to become of them. The pen is too small for 7 adult peacocks so we will have to find them a new home. I will keep you posted on their progress.

2 weeks ago we started to cut the yew hedges. This tale is a timely reminder for those of you who use power equipment in the garden. One of the gardeners - Richard - lost concentration when reaching across the top of one of the hedges to pick up a bamboo cane and three of his fingers were nicked by the cutter blades. After some swift first aid by Debbie he was taken to our local hospital to be checked over, and steri-strips were used to close the wounds. He returned to work after a couple of days and is now recovering well. The warning is that no-one, no matter how experienced is immune from accidents. Richard was very lucky: only the tips of his fingers was nicked. It could have been a lot worse.

For those of you who have visited the gardens recently you will have seen the plant sales area gradually increasing. The nurseryman who produces the plants aquires much of his propagation material from the gardens. This means that many of the plants for sale started life as cuttings from Spetchley Gardens.

Topical tips for September

2009-08-31T20:23:00.000+01:00

It is not too late to cut back unruly wisteria, trimming off the wispy bits to 5 leaves, and tying in any branches to fill gaps.
Start taking cutting of tender plants such as salvias and penstemon, as insurance against the winter frosts.
Continue to trim hedges. Putting a sheet down first to catch the clippings will make clearing up a lot quicker.
Continue to pick runner beans etc. in the kitchen garden. It is not too late to sow quick crops of radish and lettuce.
Dead heading the herbaceous borders will prolong the display, but if you want to save seed, don’t forget to leave some flowerheads uncut!
Keep cutting lawns, gradually raising the cut in preparation for winter.
Check fruit trees and remove any fruit affected by brown rot to reduce infection spread.
Be particularly careful when picking tree fruit as wasps love windfalls and can become quite drunk, presenting quite a hazard.

Cute Little Peachicks

2009-07-31T19:37:00.002+01:00

I had the loveliest suprise last month. But first, a little preamble to set the scene. I had been invited to go to the opening of the new rose garden at Ragley Hall, a special English garden party, and a potential lovely day off. (And indeed it was!)

The weather was rather inclement but my husband and I were hopeful that it would be ok. As I was about to get ready to go I received a worried phone call from gardener Richard, who is also the Spetchley peacock keeper. He had gone into the pen to do his usual feed and check, and saw that the white peahen was being followed around by 4 small balls of fluff! I was thrilled, but worried as storms were forecast and I had to be elsewhere. A quick call to the gamekeeper gave us all the information we needed. The weather turned out to be not too bad, and when the gamekeeper came to check he was of the opinion that they are about 4 or 5 days old, and had not been spotted earlier, despite all our checking. The picture shows cute 5 day old peachicks.

Then at the end of the month we had a visit from 3 ladies connected to Tresserve, an estate in France that had been owned by Mr Berkeley’s Great Aunt Miss Willmott. The ladies visited Spetchley to see the archives, and to gain information for a book they are researching on the history of Tresserve. The book is due to be published in November. It was facinating to chat with the ladies and hear stories of when Miss Willmott was in France.

And finally, back to the gardens. All the rain has caused a serious potato blight problem so we have had to quickly lift and store as many potatoes as possible before they spoil. A busy, wet month, and very frustrating as rain has prevented all the weeding needed.

August Tasks

2009-07-31T19:35:00.001+01:00

August tasks
Make sure you arrange for someone to pop in and water the greenhouse and veg plot if you are off on holiday. They will also need to keep an eye on any veg that needs picking, such as runner beans.
Check tree ties and stakes for rubbing or constriction.
keep working with the hoe when the weather is warm enough.
Start taking semi ripe cuttings of fuchsias, penstemon, pelargonium, salvia etc
Watch for the fungal infection rust on hollyhocks, pelargoniums etc. Remove affected foliage and spray with a fungicide.
Keep picking those sweet peas and remove seed pods if they form.
Continue to dead-head spent flowers, especially those of summer bedding, hanging baskets and any remaining late flowering roses.
Start cutting hedges towards the end of the month
Listen to the weather forcast and water greenhouses and pots accordingly.
Start collecting seed.

The Canadian returns...

2009-07-01T20:50:00.004+01:00

One of the best things that happened here at Spetchley this month was the 2 week visit by Isabelle Roberts. Those of you who have been visiting for at least 5 years will remember Canadian Isabelle who, with her husband Bill, welcomed the visitors at the gate every day. This was before the green van, before we had plant sales tables, infact it was just Isabelle, an old wooden table and an even older green Renault 5 that was pushed into position in March and pushed back into the garage in October.

Isabelle had lived at Gardeners Cottage in Spetchley for over 20 years, and returned to Canada 2 years ago. She was really keen to come back and visit all her old friends so she stayed with us in the cottage again (see Pic) and was the perfect guest. Infact we didn’t see much of her during the day as she went out visiting across the county! We shall miss her, as she insisted on always doing the washing up, and we look forward to her next holiday with us.

The gardens have been struggling, first with the heat, then with the rain, then with the 80oc or more temperatures again. We are having to keep an eye on the carp in the lake as we don’t want a repeat of two or three years ago when the heat took the oxygen from the water and more than 20 large carp died. We had to call in the fire brigade to aerate the water.

The irrigation system has been installed in the kitchen garden and makes a world of difference when watering. There are standpipes on each bed that can be linked to sprinklers so there are no trailing hoses. There is also a leaky hose type system in the main 4 ornamental beds.

I had a call last week from Mike George, a gardening show presenter on BBC Hereford and Worcester who wanted to walk and chat around and about the gardens. This was duly arranged. At the end of the interview he said that he was amazed at scale of the gardens, and how lovely they are. He said that although he had visited two or three times previously there were still areas of the gardens that he had never seen before. Very gratifying.

see you soon
Kate

July Tasks

2009-07-01T20:49:00.000+01:00

Start cutting the grass where daffodils have been left to die down.
Tidy the dead tops of daffodils from borders when weeding
Feed roses etc with a general fertiliser such as phostrogen, and continue to deadhead spent flowers.
Trim back geraniums and aubretia in the borders after flowering
Prune wisteria tendrils back to 5 buds.
Top up fishponds etc as water evaporates. Keep pumps in good condition.
Start collecting seed when the weather is dry.
It will soon be time to take softwood cuttings of plants such as hebes, fuchsia, salvia and penstemon.
Hot weather is a great opportunity for getting out that hoe.

Bees and Cows

2009-06-01T09:20:00.003+01:00

May must have been the most eventful month I have ever experienced here at Spetchley. We’ve had a herd of cows in the garden, 4 swarms of bees, a loose cockatiel, a robin nesting in the potting shed and a large tree branch blown down. And Debbie has been away for a week and missed all the excitement, all just before the Bank Holiday weekend.

After breaking into the gardens for the second time in 5 months, the cows, and their calves decided to wander up the New Lawn, across the main lawn and into the car park field. The stockman, Ron was away on holiday so Steve, Richard and myself managed to round them up and encourage them back through the gap in the fence. Then Chris, the Forester, spent the next couple of days fixing the fence, whilst I pruned damaged trees, filled in hoof marks and did general repairs. After which the cows decided to go travelling again. Thankfully, this time they didn’t manage to get into the gardens.

Towards the end of May the bees in the hollow wall in the kitchen garden became very busy. We noticed a swarm on the Thursday, so called Miss Berkeley’s gardener Maurice to take them away. He had lost 6 colonies over the winter. On the Friday he arrived all suited up, with a straw basket, and proceeded to brush the swarm off the wall and into the basket, which he then covered with a cloth. On Saturday morning I went to check the bees and there was a second swarm. (See Pic) Another call to Maurice ensured that they were also taken to a good home. The third swarm found a home back in the wall, and the fourth moved to a tree near the lake where it was collected by another local bee keeper.

A lovely little cockatiel took up residence for about a week in our yard. Miss Berkeley took to feeding it birdseed, which it really enjoyed. However, cockatiels can’t cope with cold or wet, and as the weather was nasty at the time John the Gamekeeper set up a Larsen trap, and caught the bird. It has now gone to a good home with other cockatiels.

The gardens are looking lovely, with paeonies out, the promise of beautiful borders, the late flowering tulipa sprengeri in stunning red drifts, and the veg garden coming on a treat.

Best wishes until next month

Kate

June Tasks

2009-06-01T09:19:00.000+01:00

It should now be safe to plant out remaining bedding, including those cannas and dahlias.
Ensure net cages over soft fruit, peas and any other vulnerable veg are secure, without access holes for mice or pigeons.
Remove suckers (growth from the roots) from roses, lilac and other suckering shrubs.
Remove spring bulb foliage when it will pull away easily.
Remove alge and blanket weed from ponds etc before it becomes a problem
Start dead heading flowers.
Make sure that tall border plants are adequately supported: pea sticks or canes and string are usually sufficient.

Snakes and Ducklings

2009-05-04T19:44:00.003+01:00

The last couple of weeks have been really busy as the Plant Fair and May Bank Holiday have been on consecutive weekends. Both are important events at Spetchley and we have been running around trying to get the gardens as tidy as possible.
The Plant Fair went well again, although I was unable to attend, having previously booked a weekend retreat with my church. I was told that people were very keen to buy vegetable plants to grow on, and cut rhubarb went so well that we are unable to keep up with demand.

My husband has just gone to Hong Kong for 3 weeks to do some voluntary work, so we are missing his help in the garden. He has been doing all the main cylinder mowing and saving us a lot of time. For three weeks we will have to do it ourselves. We really miss him!! He also took our camera with him so this month’s picture is an trusted old favourite of ducks and geese on the lake, both with their offspring.

That reminds me of a tale Richard told me last week of finding a ducking on the drive and having to throw it into the Horse Pool to return it to its mother. Unfortunately, although he managed to save one of the ducklings there were two more in the water that had sadly not survived the torrential rain of the previous evening.

Talking of wildlife, I did a tour at the beginning of last month and the highlight of the trip for the group of visitors was spotting a couple of large grass snakes swimming around the Heron Pool in the Kitchen Garden! I must admit it was amazing to see.

The gardens have been lovely, some of the paeonies are looking fantastic. As soon as I get the camera back I will be out taking photos of them for the blog....

Best wishes

Kate

May Tasks

2009-05-04T19:43:00.000+01:00

Prune winter flowering heathers before the end of May
Earth up early and maincrop potatoes as necessary
Plant out pot grown runner beans. We are mixing ours with sweet peas.
prune spring flowering clematis after flowering
Keep hoeing and weeding
Pinch out the growing tips of bush fuchsias
Check shading and ventilation of greenhouses
Continuously picking rhubarb and removing any flowering stems will ensure a longer crop.
Protect vulnerable plants such as young seedlings, or hostas from slugs. We use crushed egg shells as a barrier where necessary
Bedding plants can be planted out towards the end of the month, after the last frosts have passed. Ensure they are gently acclimatised to the change in temperature outside the greenhouse or cold frame.
Trim back spreading alpines such as aubrietia and arabis after flowering.

Beautiful Spring.

2009-04-05T07:48:00.002+01:00

The gardens have been looking amazing for the last few weeks as the sunshine has encouraged the cherry blossom. Daffodils and magnolia are reaching their best, the helleboures are still putting on a show and even the common primroses look pretty. A lot of people have been asking about the small blue flowers that seem to be growing everywhere, in borders and in the grass down the New Lawn. They are scillas, (or some have said they are x chinoscillas, that is a cross between a chinodoxa and a scilla). Whatever they are they are very pretty.(see pic).

It has been a very sunny, productive month for us at Spetchley:

The vinery is complete and looking splendid. Husband and I put new supporting wires in for the vines, with wire turnbuckles to improve the tension, and then tied all the vines back up. The vines have been under bubble wrap all winter as the glass was removed from the vinery during the restoration. I think that the cold weather was a bit of a shock for the poor plant as it has only just started into growth

The new rose garden is finally finished; we finished planting the roses, although we were about 10 short and are waiting to take delivery of the final few. Box hedging has been planted round each rose bed, and the company who installed all the paving etc came back last week to sow the grass seed in the middle. We are looking forward seeing the garden in a few months, when the grass has grown and the roses are flowering.

Last week I finally managed to outwit the rabbit in the kitchen garden, and made it a rabbit free zone again. Unfortunately, just yesterday one of the gates was left open overnight by mistake and now we have another furry guest. There are so many places to hide in the kitchen garden that it makes finding the rabbits really difficult. I carry on trying.

On a more exciting note, we have been installing an irrigation system in the kitchen garden, which will allow us to water sections of the kitchen garden without standing with a hose after the gardens have shut every night!

We have all been working hard to get ready for the Easter bank holiday weekend, and hope to see you soon.

Best Wishes

Kate

April Tasks

2009-04-05T07:44:00.002+01:00

begin to remove winter protection as the weather warms up.
Check variegated shrubs and prune out any reverted shoots.
Feed roses and shrubs with a general fertiliser; rhododendrons and camelias would benefit from an ericaceous feed.
Plant up hanging baskets, but keep them protected in the greenhouse or frost free conservatory and don’t forget to include some slow release fertiliser.
Cut the grass whenever conditions allow.
Plants that are growing in pots would benefit from a feed
If you removed your pond pump last autumn, now is the time to check it over and replace it for the summer.
Trim back shrubs that have flowered over the late winter, eg jasminum nudiflorum, removing the flowered shoots to keep the shrub within its boundaries.
prune back hardy fuchsias to 2 or 3 buds from their base.
Clean patio slabs and stonework to remove alge etc.
Earth up early potatoes to protect the tubers from the light.
Construct runner bean wigwams or other supports and sow bean seeds.

2009-03-06T07:20:00.000Z

Menacing Mice and Rascally Rabbits

2009-03-01T21:10:00.002Z

Now is that manic time of year when the greenhouse becomes full of seed trays, every border needs attention and there are not enough hours in the day: Spring is finally with us after all the snow and rain! The early Cyclamen coum look lovely amongst the snowdrops on the bank in my garden.(see pic.)
Work has been progressing really well on the projects in the gardens: the vinery glass is going in, all cut with a curved end to draw rainwater away from the woodwork. I expect that the vine will be a lot happier when it is snug inside the vinery again instead of being covered in bubblewrap and fleece as protection against the elements.
The rose lawn replanting has begun, and is almost complete, although the grass has yet to be laid in the centre as the weather has been so bad and the soil has been waterlogged.

The wet weather has caused us to be a bit more inventive with starting seed for the Kitchen Garden: the website ‘Freecycle’ yielded a great source of guttering... We were given a piece of down pipe that we cut length ways and created the perfect home to start early peas. This method also fools the mice! Unfortunately however, the mice ate all the sweet pea seedlings we had started in the greenhouses. Very annoying. And ... we are also still trying to outwit a rabbit that has taken up residence in the Kitchen Garden.

Richard is almost completely fit again after his knee operation last autumn, and is looking forward to cutting grass etc again. We have been training him up to lead guided tours so those of you who are shown the gardens by Richard next season will really enjoy a chatty, informative and entertaining tour.

Alex has now finished his temporary job in the gardens, but is still on the estate for a while. He is helping the Gamekeeper out for the next 3 weeks,but is then moving on to another job in Cheltenham. This was his 6th time working in the gardens, and we hope that he will be back again soon.

We open again on 21st March for the 2009 season. You can come and see how we are getting on with the vinery and Rose Lawn. see you then

Best Wishes

Kate

Topical tips for March

2009-03-01T21:09:00.001Z

Pot up dahlias and cannas in the greenhouse to give them a head start.
Dig up and divide congested clumps of snowdrops etc as the flowers fade.
Prune roses, wisteria and late flowering shrubs.
Prepare the vegetable patch, clearing and digging over or rotovating on fine dry days.
Plant the early varieties of potatoes that you prepared (chitted) last month.
Cut down ( pollard) willows and cornus that are grown for their winter colour.
Cut down autumn fruiting raspberries.
Start to cut grass on a high cut, when the lawn is dry enough and the weather is sunny..
Start to cut grass on a high cut, when the weather is dry and breezy.
Mulch beds before the weather becomes drier, with rotted grass clippings, leafmold, bark chips or one of the decorative mulches available from the garden centre. They will retain moisture over the summer, suppress weeds and keep the borders looking fresh.

2009-02-01T20:36:00.001Z

The rhubarb forcer...

2009-02-01T20:20:00.003Z

It is the end of the month again and time to reflect on all that has happened over the last 4 weeks. January, which is usually dull, wet and miserable, has actually been an exciting time for us. The coldframes are almost complete, the vinery is moving along steadily, and we have had very positive news regarding the conservatory boiler.

In my December diary I mentioned about the conservatory boiler leaking, and the local blacksmith, Steve Cooper, who is going to rebuild it. Steve arrived towards the end of January to remove the boiler and take it back to his workshop. He managed to remove it in one piece, a feat that amazed me considering the rusty state that it was in. When the chimney was taken down there was the clear pattern of an old archway in the wall behind. Steve thought it indicates that the boiler is younger than the conservatory, and that originally there was an open fire heating the air inside the hollow wall. All very interesting.

In the kitchen garden we have a new rhubarb forcer, (see Pic) which will produce sweet, early stems when placed over a crown of rhubarb. This can only be done once every 3 or 4 years as the plant needs to build up it's strength again.

Richard is back from his knee operation and has fitted straight back in. He still has to be careful for the next few months not to twist or jar his knee, but will soon be fully fit again. Alex, who was covering for him has been asked by Mr Berkeley to stay on for a few more weeks to help with preparations for opening. The wet weather, and the fact that our trusty truck has been in Sussex for several weeks being rebuilt has put us behind with some of the winter jobs. Still, rumour has it that the weather should improve and that our truck is due back next week. We shall see.

Topical tips for February

2009-02-01T20:16:00.004Z

Start chitting potatoes

Divide and replant early flowering bulbs that have finished flowering

Check fruit and veg storage for rot or rodent damage

Trim the old leaves from hellebores and epimediums to reveal the new flowers

Sow sweet peas on a cool windowsill or in a coldframe

Rub down and treat wooden garden furniture, in well ventilated areas

Regularly check that greenhouse heaters are working, and that fleece has not been blown about.

Balloons and Lights

2009-01-01T13:48:00.003Z

2009 is upon us, and may I say a Happy New Year to all.

Two specific events shaped my life at Spetchley in December: The first happened when Alex,, Steve and I were collecting leaves at the front of the house. Alex raked up a large pile of leaves and then discovered a partly ripped helium balloon, which appeared to have escaped from the Co-op. I was not particularly interested and would have thrown it away if it were not for Alex spotting something written on the side. The message requested that we call a phone number. Thus was my curiosity aroused. I did so and discovered that the balloon had been released from Dorset about 6 months previously, by a 13 year old boy called James. A minor coincidence is that Alex's first name is James but he prefers to use his middle name.

The second event was considerably trickier and, as many of you will realise, involves the Illuminated Trail. The first Friday evening of the lights was perfect (see Pic.) and lots of people came to enjoy the sights, complete the trail, meet Father Christmas and toast marshmallows over the fire pit. Then the rains started, and by Saturday morning it was clear that the route round the back of the lake was unwalkable. No matter how much straw and bark we put down it was unsafe. With all hands helping, a new route was devised on the gravel paths and across the white bridge. After hunting down and installing a lot of new directional signs the temporary altered walk was a great success, much to the relief of everyone.

Topical Tips for January

2009-01-01T13:42:00.002Z

Cover Rhubarb crowns with straw and a forcer to grow early stems. (This cannot be done every year as it weakens the plant.

dig over the veg patch on dry sunny days, and add manure only if not growing root crops.

Ensure that tools are clean, oiled and ready for the next season.

Book machinery in for a service early in the new year.

Keep clearing up fallen leaves from lawns, paths and borders. They will provide a useful, free mulch if stored in black sacks or large heaps for the next 18 months or so.

Those seed and young plant catalogues have started to drop through the letterbox. An hour spent with a plant catalogue, a cup of tea, a notebook and a pencil is time well spent.

Boiler Repairs and Naked Ladies

2008-12-01T12:04:00.002Z

It has been quite a wet month, and the lawns are very damp, but even so there is still some colour. Down on the New Lawn there is a callicarpa with tiny purple lilac berries, colchicum (common name 'naked ladies') have been showing off their pink and white flowers around the trees, and about the gardens there are several pyracantha covered in bright orange fruit. There is a pyracantha just inside the Kitchen Garden where our bees have a colony in the hollow wall. It looks magnificent and, on sunny days, the bees have been very busy going in and out.

The Conservatory boiler has been causing concern over the last season, due to a crack that leaked water onto the fire, putting it out. After months of searching for a suitable replacement, and no-one coming up with viable ideas, I contacted a local blacksmith. He was delighted to come and see the gardens as one of his ancestors had run the forge on the estate around the 1900's. He has now quoted to carefully document and dismantle the boiler, restore and rebuild it. (See 'before' pic). We are thrilled as there was no modern heating system we could find that was up to the job! I will keep you informed of the progress.

It is that time of year again. The Illuminated Trail will soon be upon us and the gardeners have started to check paths, prune back shrubs and generally ensure that everything is safe. There have been leaflets, posters, banners, newspaper articles and headlines all letting you know the details, and if all these have escaped your notice you can always check out the events page on our website http://www.spetchleygardens.co.uk/

And finally, the current intellectual challenge for the gardeners is to find out collective nouns... did you know that a group of weasels is called a sneak, or that a group of finches is called a charm?

Topical Tips for December

2008-12-01T11:58:00.001Z

Ensure the potting shed is clean and tidy, and all pots and trays are washed, ready for next season.

Keep off the grass when frosty or wet.

Tie in whippy shoots of climbing roses before they are damaged.

Keep an eye on the weather and keep greenhouse heaters on when the temperature dips.

Rake up fallen leaves and store them in a pile to rot down into leafmould.

Float a ball in the fish pond to reduce the pressure of ice on the structure, and to prevent total freezing.

Treat slippery paths with a suitable cleaner, or sprinkle with sand and scrub in with a stiff brush.

Check overwintering veg, tubers and bulbs for vermin damage and set traps if necessary.

Fungus, Frost and Cattle

2008-11-03T12:51:00.001Z

We have just had the first frosts of the season. Surrounding villages have been having severe frosts for several days but at Spetchley we seem to be sheltered from the worst. There is still lots of colour and interest however, from autumn leaves and berries like the berberis, cotoneaster and callicarpa, to lots of different fungi (see pic).

I met the grand daughter of Miss Willmott's butler last week, as she was visiting relatives close by. She lives in France now, and as we walked round the gardens together she told me of a property in France bought by Miss Willmott, and how her grandfather would be sent across from Warley to open up the house before Miss Willmott arrived for a visit. The property now belongs to the town and is used as offices for the mayor.

A very strange thing happened last weekend. Eddie, who lives in one of the flats told me of some tyre tracks he had seen at the front of the house. I went to investigate and saw ruts in two big sweeps across the main lawn going down to the lake. Why? We have no idea; and now we are going to have to spend quite some time repairing the mess. And that isn't the only mess we have to sort out...

I had just sat down to write this month's diary when I got a phone call from a very excited Debbie telling me that there were cows on the New Lawn, trying to get onto the newly developed Rose Lawn. I went rushing down, only to come face to face with a tan coloured cow in the copse! It turned and joined the others who had by this time left the garden for a different field.

Steve, Chris the woodsman, Ron the stockman and myself spent about half an hour trying to round up the cattle and herd them back to their own field. It transpired that they had been leaning over the fence at the back of the lake trying to get at tasty looking leaves when the fence gave way and in they all trotted. There is a bit of a mess by the eel trap as the ground was rather soft, but it could have been a lot worse.

As Steve says, it is great working here as you never know what is going to happen next!

And finally some sad news: we lost our oldest peacock last month as he died in his sleep. There are now 2 females and one male left.

Kate

Tasks for November

2008-11-03T12:49:00.000Z

Keep an eye on the greenhouse and ventilate on warmer days. Check heaters and frost protection.

Lift the last remaining dahlias, cannas, and gladioli bulbs.

Begin to collect fallen leaves, and store them in a bin bag or a container made from chicken wire, in a corner of the garden and will turn into leaf mould in about 18 months.

Keep off the grass where frosty or wet.

Lift and divide borders, so that perennials are regenerated for a better display.

Check guttering/drains and keep them clear.

Check through stored veg and discard any that have started to rot.

The Season Comes to an End - the Gardeners Work Continues

2008-10-06T15:25:00.004+01:00

It was a very windy day when I posted last months blog. After finishing the writing I went to check for damage, as occasionally happens when we have high winds in late summer. As I walked across the Rose Lawn there was a very loud crack and I discovered a large oak branch had landed on the old outside toilet block in the woods by the house. After roping the area off and reporting the incident I thought no more about it until the next day when again in the gardens I heard another crack. Another branch from the same tree had fallen on the toilet block. You never know what each day will bring, but it is rare for the same incident to happen twice!

We have had fluctuating staff levels recently: Richard has had a second operation on his knee and will be recovering at home for the next 8 weeks, and Debbie has been on a belated honeymoon in Canada for 3 weeks. Then Steve is taking a week off to learn about the job that the gamekeeper does. Thankfully, and just by chance Alex, our summer student contacted me on another matter a couple of weeks ago and happened to be free for the next few weeks, so he is covering until Richard returns.

Jobs in the garden seem to be going well. The hedge cutting has now been finished with yew and box hedges now all trimmed. The dry spell has allowed us to catch up with all the grass cutting and we are also able to hoe when it is sunny. I have been round the gardens making lists (I love lists) of all the dahlias, so that when the frost has blackened the foliage I will be able to locate and identify them for lifting and storage.

The renovation of the vinery is moving on, with new cedar repacing all the rotten sills. The rose lawn project is also beginning to take shape as arches are installed and paving is being laid, (see picture). Remember that we are open every weekend in October for you to see the progress, at the end of the month we close. Then we'll be getting ready for our Christmas Trail.

Best Wishes

Kate

Topical Tips for October

2008-10-06T15:12:00.001+01:00

Start sowings of hardy annuals and sweet peas under glass.

Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous shrubs, and gather clematis seed for sowing in a cold frame.

Feed roses with sulphate of potash to ripen the wood and make the plants more disease resistant place netting over ponds to catch leaves.

Change the plantings in hanging baskets for winter interest.

Prepare the garden for winter: keep drains and ponds etc free from leaves and debris, clean and store garden tools, ensure that greenhouse glass is clean, and that any shading has been replaced by insulation.

Check tender plants for infestations of insects, and treat before returning them to their winter quarters.

Put frost protection round any plants that will be staying out for the winter.

Lift and divide herbaceous perennials.

Store undamaged apples and pears in a cool, dark well ventilated room such as a garage or garden

Topical Tips for September

2008-09-05T15:18:00.001+01:00

If your greenhouse cucumbers are suffering from an attack of red spider mite, try putting a block of wet straw by the plants to increase humidity.

It is not too late to cut back unruly wisteria, trimming off the wispy bits to 5 leaves, and tying in any branches to fill gaps.

Dead heading the herbaceous borders will prolong the display, but if you want to save seed, don't forget to leave some flower heads uncut.

Start taking cutting of tender plants such as salvias and penstemon, as insurance against the winter frosts.

Continue to trim hedges.

Continue to pick runner beans etc. in the kitchen garden. It is not too late to sow quick crops of radish and lettuce.

Keep cutting lawns, gradually raising the cut in preparation for winter.

Summer is Over - New Projects Begin

2008-09-05T15:17:00.004+01:00

Looking back at last month's diary and the hedgehog rescue reminded me of another rescue just 3 weeks ago. Miss Berkeley came rushing up to our house one morning calling that there was a dog in the lake.

Hurrying to the Cork Lawn with a spare lead, we quickly spotted Rosy, an old golden retriever who lives over the road. She was stuck at the edge of the lake, unable to get up the bank. My husband reached over, but she moved away into the water. Eventually he managed to grab her collar and we dragged her out. She was upset and anxious as we took her home, but once Rosy recognised where she was she started to wag her tail, and became much happier. Apparently she had been frightened by the sound of a gun a couple of hours earlier.

Events at Spetchley are moving on a pace with both the start of the redevelopment of the rose lawn and the restoration of the vinery. The contractors have finished marking out all the new rose beds, and the vinery glass and old wood is being carefully removed from the vinery (see pic). Unfortunately it rained really heavily last night and the forecast is for more rain, so we will have to see how they get on.

At the end of last month I travelled down to Warley Place in Essex with my husband, for a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ellen Willmott who was, you will recall, Mr Berkeley's Great Aunt. It was a lovely day. We met the family of Miss Willmott's alpine gardener Jacob Maurer, and joined them for a private guided tour of Warley Place. There were artifacts, books, maps, magazine articles and the opportunity to swap stories. Chatting to those whose parents had known Miss Willmott was particularly fascinating as we heard personal stories of her life. It has also been confirmed that Gardener's World will be filming at Warley for a programme on famous female gardeners, to go out around Christmas, so keep an eye out for that.

On 13th September we are having our own Miss Willmott day. Entry is FREE and we hope to have information about Miss Willmott on display so make a note of the date and come along.

See you soon
Kate

Wildlife Rescue and Special Dahlia

2008-08-19T17:28:00.003+01:00

It is now August, and with that comes the start of a new project in the gardens: the redevelopment of the Rose Lawn. Mr Berkeley has felt for some time that the area was letting the gardens down so he commissioned new designs. The chosen design will be implemented during the middle of August. Any of you who are interested should get down to the gardens for those all important 'before' photos...

Debbie has had the most interesting month where wildlife is concerned. One day she came into the yard all excited after seeing a bright green parakeet fly overhead. I didn't see it but am keeping an eye out. The a few days later some anxious visitors asked her to help a hedgehog that was stuck in the heron pool. She went to investigate and saw a large adult hedgehog sitting on the plinth at the feet of one of the heron statues, in the middle of the pool. After trying to net the hedgehog with a fishing net, Debbie fetched a plank and made a bridge. Whilst she and the visitors were debating as to who would go along the plank to fetch the hedgehog, it quietly made its own way along, jumped off the end and scuttled down the path.

And what is looking good in the gardens at the moment? The border agapanthus are looking their best whilst the agapanthus in the tubs outside the conservatory are stunning. Sweet peas in the kitchen garden are still flourishing and the dahlias have just started to bloom.

Talking of dahlia we have an interesting story about one of our newest dahlia acquisitions. Stuart, an ex Spetchley Gardener offered us a new dahlia called Carly which had been named after his daughter, and bred by his wife's grandfather. I was very excited when it finally flowered, a lovely white with pale yellow centre. The picture shows Carlie, with great grandad Robert and the Carly dahlia.

Tasks for August

2008-08-19T17:27:00.000+01:00

Topical tips

Keep picking those sweet peas and remove seed pods if they form.

Continue to dead-head spent flowers, especially those of summer bedding, hanging baskets and any remaining late flowering roses.

Start cutting hedges towards the end of the month.

Continue to pick vegetables and salad crops, or arrange for a neighbour to help out if you are on holiday.

Listen to the weather forecast and water greenhouses and pots accordingly.

Keep working with the hoe when the weather is warm enough.

Start taking semi ripe cuttings of fuchsias, penstemon, pelargonium, salvia etc

Start collecting seed.

Group Visits of the Two Legged and Feathered Kind!

2008-07-07T11:49:00.003+01:00

This has been a very full month for groups visiting the gardens, with more than the usual number of guided tours having taken place. I have just finished doing a Sunday guided tour for a very friendly party of florists, after a group of bee keepers, several horticultural groups, gatherings of friends, and a Womens Institute.

The Kitchen Garden is still under attack from pigeons, as they've managed to chew through the pak choi that we planted only 3 days ago.

I was rather suprised as I had considered pak choi to be a salad crop, and the pigeons are not touching the lettuce. Speaking of lettuce, if you visit the tea rooms any time soon, and partake of a salad, you will be eating home grown lettuce. I am very encouraged that we can use the produce from the gardens, and as it has worked out, almost all the produce is used.

It has been a very successful year for sweet peas, especially the towers of flowers we have growing in the kitchen garden. The pink variety at the end of the paths is a variety called Miss Willmott, (see pic) which we were very pleased to grow due to the connection with the family. We have been picking the flowers constantly to ensure a long lasting display.

Last week we had a minor crisis when Debbie spotted a tired and bedraggled duckling stuck in the heron pool in the middle of the Kitchen Garden, unable to clamber out. The mum was calling anxiously from the path. we fetched a fishing net and, swiftly scooped it out of the water, dumping it inelegantly onto the path where is scuttled quickly away. We had less swift success removing a jackdaw from the Morning Room in the main house. It had dropped down the chimney, and was causing havoc. Gardener Steve and myself went into the Morning Room and spent some time chasing it round the room. Eventually it made a mistake and flew against a wall, then Steve was able to grab its legs as it sat stunned on the floor. He took it outside where it flew away.

Best wishes

Kate

Spetchley Park Gardens - July Tasks

2008-07-07T11:48:00.001+01:00

Feed roses etc with a general fertiliser such as gromore, and continue to deadhead spent flowers.

Trim back geraniums and aubretia in the borders after flowering Continue harvesting peas, lettuce, early tomatoes etc in the kitchen garden.

Prune wisteria tendrils back to 5 buds.

Start collecting seed in paper envelopes when the weather is dry.

It will soon be time to take softwood cuttings of plants such as hebes, fuchsia, salvia and penstemon.

Thoroughly water vunerable plants, then mulch to keep moisture at the roots.

Top up fishponds etc as water evaporates. Keep pumps in good condition.

Work with the hot weather and hoe regularly.

Peacock Arrivals and Gardener Departures

2008-06-02T11:51:00.001+01:00

After a very noisy few weeks as the peacocks have been showing off again and trying to impress it seems to have paid off. One of the peahens has started to lay; 4 eggs so far. This year we are hedging our bets and will remove half the clutch when she has finished laying.

The gamekeeper is willing to put the remaining eggs under a broody hen. That will be a bit of a surprise for her when they hatch!

All the rain and warm, muggy days have meant that the borders are flourishing. The Fountain Beds are full of Aquilegia (see pic.) and the Davidia involucrata (ghost tree, dove tree or handkerchief tree) has really lived up to its name. It looked as if it was covered in tissues dangling from the branches.

The new doors and window frames in front of the renovated conservatory will be removed and stored for the summer, at the beginning of June. This has not happened for several years and will really help to keep the plants fresh and healthy.

The kitchen garden is moving apace, with lots of new planting, and some extra seating so that visitors can stay a while and contemplate the vegetables....

After the sad demise of our ride on lawn mower we have been treated to a new smart looking John Deere machine. It has everything: adjustable seat, a counter to tell you how many hours you have been cutting, useful places to put things; and It even has a cup holder, though I can't see the practicality of zipping round shrubs with a cup of tea in one hand. I wonder how much tea would actually stay in the mug... ( I know, I know, it is for cans or plastic water bottles, but it did make me laugh.)

Our final piece of news for the month is that Mike, our Assistant Head Gardener has accepted a job to be in charge of a private garden and will be leaving us in the middle of June. He has worked at Spetchley since 2004 and will be missed. We all wish him well for the future.

Best wishes
Kate

Tasks for June

2008-06-02T11:50:00.000+01:00

It should now be safe to plant out remaining bedding, including those cannas and dahlias.

Water hanging baskets every day.

Feed plants in borders, and start dead heading flowers.

Thin out hardy annuals and veg sown in the garden.

Ensure net cages over soft fruit, peas and any other vulnerable veg are secure, without access holes for mice or pigeons.

Removed reverted branches of variegated shrubs.

Remove suckers (growth from the roots) from roses, lilac and other suckering shrubs.

Remove spring bulb foliage when it will pull away easily.

Remove algae and blanket weed from ponds etc before it becomes a problem

Tasks for May

2008-05-06T15:47:00.001+01:00

Prune winter flowering heathers before the end of May
Earth up early and maincrop potatoes, prune spring flowering clematis after flowering
Keep hoeing and weeding harden off summer bedding and plant out when all risk of frost is past.
Pinch out the growing tips of bush fuchsias
Check shading and ventilation of greenhouses

Springtime at Spetchley

2008-05-06T15:44:00.003+01:00

I have to apologise this month for the lateness of the entry as we are now almost a week into May. The daffodils are almost over, but daphnes fill the air with their scent, and the rhododendrons are looking amazing. The weather is now lovely, but I can't say the same for last month. Rain, hail, flooding, even snow ( see picture of snow on Prunus Pink Shell). Very pretty, but also very frustrating as it has put us really behind with hoeing, weeding and grass cutting.

The Specialist Plant Fair went very well, with plenty of stalls selling a variety of plants, accesssories, ornaments, books and plenty of food. Well over 1100 visitors came to see the fair, to enjoy the free garden tours and to listen to the guest speakers in the marquee. The forecast had been a little worrying but it was lovely and dry on the day until the fair was almost over. The rain at the end of the day caused some consternation in the car park after the stall holders had loaded their remaining products, and vehicles began to get bogged down. Husband was dispatched to fetch the jeep and managed, over the evening to pull out several vans!

It was also a fun month, with the visits of 2 groups of primary school children, learning about the way plants grow. We have another primary school group booked for the middle of May so we are getting plenty of practice. Mike, Debbie and myself led groups of 5, 6 and 7 year olds on tours of the gardens, explaining about trees, seeds, flowers, bark, bees, cow poo.... (Why is it that children are facinated by cow poo?) We set up a 'nature table' in the vinery full of seeds, bark, bulbs, vegetables in pots and different natural objects for the children to study.

Regards
Kate

Spring Musings

2008-03-03T09:51:00.001Z

I have just been looking back over the past few years to when I started writing the Spetchley diary. Back in 2005 we were delighted at the thought of a renovated rest room and the excitement of clearing out sheds to find enough material for a museum (still one of my great plans...). During March 2006 we saw the construction of the new toilets and tea rooms whilst March 2007 was so wet that all our plans for starting the Kitchen Garden project were thwarted.

This year all our thoughts are again concentrated on the Kitchen Garden, but thankfully the weather has been so much kinder. The bones of the garden have been completed and it is now time to start the great replant. Design plans are being drawn up and it is quite unnerving to realise just how many young plants will be constantly required. This is going to be a really high maintenance project, but will be worth all the effort.

Last month I went with my husband for a trip to Warley Place, Essex, the home of Ellen Willmott, Mr Berkeley's great aunt. There is little left of the grand estate but the drifts of early daffodils and snowdrops are breathtaking and show that winter is almost at an end.(see pic). The estate is now leased by the Essex Wildlife Trust now and is cared for by volunteers.

At Spetchley we are opening again on 21st March, Good Friday this year, less than 3 weeks away. As the weather has warmed up and become breezy we have started to cut the grass and weed the borders in preparation. Daphnes and mahonia are spilling their scent into the air, and the cherry blossom is beautifully reflected in the horse pool. Even with the occasional cold snap it is a very cheerful time of year.

Our volunteer, Leigh, has been offered a temporary job at a local nursery for the summer so we will really miss her and can't wait for her to be back.

We look forward to seeing you during the new season.

Tasks for March

2008-03-03T09:42:00.000Z

Spring is on the Way!

2008-02-11T08:53:00.000Z

It finally feels that spring is on its way. There are bright clumps of snowdrops everywhere and hellebores are beginning to flower. We have been trying to work on our own new garden at Gardener's Cottage but it has proved to be a bit difficult as clumps of snowdrops are beginning to flower everywhere we want to dig. We have been carefully picking through the borders gathering them up before we dig!

The wet weather at the beginning of the year was a challenge as we thought we would never be able to get out into the gardens. The copse and New Lawn became excessively wet underfoot, and the eel trap filled with eels as the lake level rose again. Richard released about 20 eels back into the lake. However, the bad weather did give us the chance to prune the grape vines and conservatory plants so it wasn't all bad.

This is the month for pruning and clearing, so we have been attacking the task with gusto. The cercis and robinia arches in the Millennium Garden have been pruned and tied in, and a large area of the copse was been attacked with a pruning saw.... A large scrub patch in our working yard has been removed to make way for a nursery bed, and the Palm House, which is not open to the public, is also being cleared and tidied.

In the Kitchen Garden work is continuing steadily. Two cold frames are being built, so that we can raise and display vegetables in a more protected environment, pathways have been improved and more box hedging has been planted. We are hoping to have a wide variety of veg and fruit on display for the next season.

February Tasks

2008-02-11T08:51:00.000Z

Start to cut down and mulch herbaceous borders when the soil is not sticky. Epimediums and hellebores can have their old leaves removed so that the early flowers can be seen.

Keep off the lawns when frosty.

Order seed potatoes and start chitting them in a cool dry corner.
(This means getting them to start sprouting, to give them a head start when they are planted).

Check greenhouse heaters and fleece in the garden regularly. The wind can easily dislodge loose fleece.

Start pruning late flowering shrubs.

Tasks for January

2008-01-07T14:17:00.000Z

Make the most of 'indoor days' to plan for next season, with seed and plant catalogues, and a layout of the garden.

Cover rhubarb crowns with straw and a forcer to grow early stems.(This cannot be done every year as it weakens the plant).

Dig over the veg patch on sunny dry days, and add manure if not growing root crops.

Prune back grape vines.

Ensure tools are clean, oiled and ready for next season.

Book machinery in for a service early in the new year.

The New and Old Year

2008-01-07T14:14:00.000Z

2007 has been a very rollercoaster year, with so many highlights and disasters. The rain is something that I will not forget, when the melon houses flooded, the lake burst its banks and the major concert of the year was cancelled after the organisers went into receivership.

However, there were also high moments, that have included the renovation of the conservatory, the development of the kitchen garden, a visit from the Sealed Knot, the interesting experience of being followed by a film crew for the series on Sky TV, and of course the Illuminated Trail which is another event that I have always really enjoyed.

Talking of the Trail, the weather was so crisp and starry for the later half of the ten days that the lake froze. This meant that at the end of the trail we were unable to remove the lights from the island. The ice was too thick to launch the boat, and too thin to walk across. So the lights stayed put until boxing day, when we were finally able to launch our canoe and recover the equipment!

During a visit to my daughter in London just before Christmas I took to opportunity to pop into the Museum of Garden History,
(www.museumgardenhistory.org) just next to Lambeth Palace. (It is shut on Mondays as I found to my cost last time I tried to visit!) It was fascinating and I was sorry only to have an hour before I was due to meet up with my daughter. As I browsed the exhibits I noticed a plant stand previously owned by Ellen Willmott (Mr Berkeley's great aunt).
After a long and very interesting chat with one of the historians I discovered that Miss Willmott had purchased blank Minton tiles that had pictures impressed into them. Miss Willmott then painted the tiles and sent them back to be fired, as was a popular hobby of the day.(See pic.) These tiles were then used to decorate the plant stand. Each tile has Miss Willmott's name on the back. I was also very interested to discover that 2008 is the 150th anniversary of Miss Willmott's birth, and that the museum are thinking of putting on a dedicated display in her honour.

Winter in the Gardens

2007-12-04T10:49:00.002Z

Well, I started November with the nastiest of colds, and have continued snuffling throughout the month. It is the season to be cold and poorly. The garden however has really benefited from the chilly weather, with a couple of sharp frosts causing the demise of many unwanted pests. (This month's picture is of a fern in the Fountain Beds, covered in frost.)

The garden is still looking bright although most of the leaves are off the trees now. There are little pockets of colour still showing with berries and seeds. One of my favourites is the Callicarpa Profusion, with its vibrant purple berries.

In my June and July diaries I mentioned the problem with rabbits we've had in the kitchen garden. After trying to be really vigilant about shutting gates etc. with little success, we've found the reason... an enormous excavation within Miss Berkeley's flower patch, that had gone unnoticed until she started lifting dahlias and cannas last week. It appears that rabbits have tried to take up residence, with a buffet breakfast by the front door every morning.

Last month also saw the retirement of Dennis, our Kitchen Gardener, who worked at Spetchley for almost 20 years, after retiring from a job in engineering. We will really miss him, but he has promised to continue to mend any broken tools we can drop by as he has always done in the past!

We are still having the fun of being filmed by Halo Films, who have just started to film the preparations for the Illuminated Trail. They are getting to the end of the 25 programmes now, but apparently DVD sets of the series will be available next year.

We have started a lot of the background preparation for the Trail, and the more time consuming pruning has already been done, including putting up protective barriers around the lake. The electricians have installed the lighting and the gardeners will be preparing the grotto for the arrival of Father Christmas.

See you all at the Illuminated Trail!

Kate

Tasks for December

2007-12-04T10:49:00.001Z

Wash and store seed trays and pots ready for next year.

Keep off the grass when frosty or wet.

Now is a good time to prune back roses that are likely to be affected by the wind.

Keep an eye on the weather and keep greenhouse heaters on when the temperature dips.

Lift and store dahlias and cannas once the foliage has been frosted.
(You can lift half from each clump and cover the remaining tubers with leafmould. This will give a longer flowering season next year).

Rake up fallen leaves and store them in a pile to rot down into leafmould.

End of the 2007 Season

2007-11-07T12:47:00.001Z

I am always amazed at how fast the seasons go, but this year seems to have passed especially quickly. I look out of my study window and see the trees changing to yellow and gold in the copse, and a little further towards the New Lawn the Cornus Norman Hadden has spectacular fruit. (See pic.)

2 more hedgehogs were released into the gardens at the beginning of the month. ' The Hedgehog Halfway House' in Worcester is very keen to release hedgehogs back into safe environments and the gardens are full of cosy places to hide. We have been talking to the Gamekeeper about releasing some more hedgehogs into the surrounding woodlands too.

For a couple of weeks at the beginning of October we had a firm of tree surgeons in the garden, removing dangerous branches, and felling rotten trees. There were two 200 year old trees on the main lawn, a beech and an oak, that had to be felled due to their deteriorating condition. Two of the yews in my garden are also to be felled as they are very close to the cottage and squirrels are using them as a route to get onto the roof to eat the lead flashing!

In the middle of the month we had the 'Armoured Picnic', where re-enactors from various groups camped in one of the fields over the weekend, and set up 'living history encampments'. We went with family members, and really enjoyed talking to the people involved. The encampments were set up at the same time as the trees were being made safe, so just prior to the event the gardeners had to go round the entire garden cordoning off branches and brush that had yet to be cleared away.

Mid October saw the beginning of a change in the weather as it began to turn frosty at night, so we then needed to ensure that all the vulnerable plants had either been taken into the greenhouses, or covered in horticultural fleece. Thankfully, the conservatory renovation has all been completed and the plants that usually live there have been returned to their warm winter quarters from their summer outing in the vinery!

Best Wishes
Kate

Tasks for November

2007-11-07T12:45:00.000Z

Pick any remaining apples and prepare them for winter storage in a cool, dry place, and inspect regularly.

Check guttering/drains and keep them clear.

On dry breezy days continue to cut lawns with mower blades set high.

Try to avoid walking on grass when the weather is frosty.

Begin to collect fallen leaves, and store them in a bin bag or a container made from chicken wire, in a corner of the garden and will turn into leafmold in 18 months.

Top dress borders with well rotted farmyard manure, or garden compost.

Your local recycling centre may be able to provide compost at low cost.

Topical Tips for October

2007-10-01T15:45:00.000+01:00

Put frost protection round any plants that will be staying out for the winter.

Prepare the garden for winter: keep drains and ponds etc free from leaves and debris, clean and store garden tools, ensure that greenhouse glass is clean, and that any shading has been replaced by insulation.

Start sowings of hardy annuals and sweet peas under glass.

Change the plantings in hanging baskets for winter interest.

Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous shrubs, and gather clematis seed for sowing in a cold frame.

Feed roses with sulphate of potash to ripen the wood and make the plants more disease resistant.

Lift dahlias after the first frosts blacken their leaves.

Place netting over ponds to catch leaves.

Maggot Come Home!

2007-10-01T15:39:00.000+01:00

Last month saw the return of the Halo film crew, following the gardeners about for almost an entire day, to see what we do... There must have been about 8 hours of film that the editor will now cut down to half an hour. It was an interesting experience to wear a microphone all morning. Our great debut goes out at the beginning of October on sky 280. After completion of the series there will be a set of DVDs available. That sorts out this year's Christmas presents!
And of course there is another programme on BBC2 in the Spring: "Castle in the Country", where Spetchley gets a mention too.

The hedgehog, that was noted in September's diary is now safely back home. One evening a about 3 weeks ago, two ladies from Worcester Hedgehog Rescue brought him back. They have fondly named him Maggot! He is quite distinctive as the tips of his spines are quite pale, and he has dark rings round his eyes. He is also rather camera shy, this is the best of about 5 pictures, all showing a curled up ball of spines. A home was set up in the copse and instructions were left about feeding. I was given a tin of puppy food and some very unappealing mealworms. The next day he had scuttled off to find his own way, and we didn't see him again until today when he managed to get into the tennis court. He was rescued again, and set up in a more suitable des res. Long may he enjoy the gardens.

The conservatory renovation is making great progress. All the new roof panels are installed and glazed, the top 3 vents are back on their chains again so that they can open, and all that is left is the front panels; just in time for the winter weather!

Hedge cutting has now been completed, including the back breaking task of the box hedges. We are now looking forward to the 'winter jobs list', as compiled by Mr Berkeley.

Alex moved on at the beginning of September, and our Japanese student Satsuki has returned home, but we have the welcome return of Steve, who worked at Spetchley about 3 years ago, and will be working again part time for a while.

And it is almost the end of the season. The gardens will soon only be open at weekends, but we can expect some good autumn colour, so don't forget to visit!