Hedges, hedges and more hedges....

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

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.