Boiler Repairs and Naked Ladies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.