Winter Wonderland

Odd patches of bright colour are all that's left in the gardens, from early bulbs and evergreens such as mahonia (see pic).

The leaves have gone through a rainbow of hues, and almost all have now fallen. This of course means that leaf collecting must now begin as we have start clearing leaves from paths, and areas where the trees have completely shed their leaves. We are also collecting leaves where they lie in thick layers, from lawns and borders as they can damage grass and other low growing plants. Using a lawnmower will chop the leaves into smaller pieces, and add grass clippings which speeds up decomposition when storing leaves for leafmold. It is important however, to burn leaves from plants that have suffered from leafspot etc as the spores will overwinter on the leaves and then reinfect anything they get near enough to touch.

In my July diary, I mentioned that the heat of the summer had caused a serious problem for the carp in the garden lake, after which a firm was called in to relocate some of the stock. They finally arrived last month, and used an electronic probe to stun the fish for a few seconds so that they were easier to net. Although the amount of silt in the lake caused a problem with the electronic pulse, they managed to collect a tank containing over 100lb of fish, mostly common carp, and all in very good condition, the heaviest single fish weighing in at 16lb. The fishermen were pleased with the number and condition of the carp, and intend to return when the weather is colder because apparently, the fish move about less in colder conditions, making them easier to find, and net.

After last month's discussions about the new Kitchen Garden, all the garden staff, including Dennis, the Kitchen Gardener, have been busy drawing up plans and putting forward suggestions. We hope that December will see the beginning of some of the basic groundwork, as we break the final design down into managable chunks.

And last, but not least, it is that time again. We are preparing to see you again at our second, even more spectacular Illuminated Trail. Have you seen the single tree on the hill by junction 7 of the M5, after sunset? Very pretty.