The Tree Climbing Dog

October has been a busy, yet interesting month: The trees have shown their colour both with leaves and with berries (see pic: callicarpa Profusion), and we have been open during October weekends so that people could enjoy it with us.

One very exciting thing that has occured is a decision to redesign the Kitchen Garden, to grow small quantities of a larger variety of vegetables, in a redesigned layout. If all goes to plan some of the work will be acheived over the winter and the improvements can be viewed when we open again next year.

We were repairing a section of staging in one of the greenhouses last week, and discovered something that caused a bit of interest. The old staging had been removed, and underneath was a long cast iron heating pipe which had a cast iron open-topped box constructed round part of it. We have yet to discover what it was for, but think that it may have been some sort of propagation box. We have left it intact, under some new staging.

This November we are digging up the eastern half of the South Border, dividing the perennials and giving a top dressing of well rotted manure. We are lucky to have a farm on the estate that provides all the manure we can use!

After all the excitement of being on TV with the Taxol article, a friend connected to the BBC came for a walk with us and our dogs, and saw one of them, Holly, climb up a tree. She thought it would make a good 'end of the news' story and again we had a cameraman in the gardens.
This one has certainly created a talking point as people have come to the gardens to see where the 'tree climbing dog' lives!

Topical Tips for October

Start sowings of hardy annuals and sweet peas under glass

Change the plantings in hanging baskets for winter interest

Lift and divide herbaceous perennials

Lift and store main crop potatoes.

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

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from leaves and debris, clean and store garden tools, ensure that greenhouse glass is clean, and that any shading has been replaced by insulation.

Spetchley Open in October

Well, here we are again, almost at the end of the season. We are open weekends in October this year so any visitors coming to the gardens will, for the first time, be able to see the trees clothed in their autumn colours.

At the moment the autumn cyclamen, and asters are looking their best, and we also have a garden full of 'naked ladies'! Before you rush off to complain ( or get too excitied...), I must point out that it is one of the common names for the autumn crocus, or colchicum!

Regular diary readers will know that we save all our yew hedge clippings for conversion into the cancer fighting drug Taxol, and have done so for the last 6 years. This is a very interesting process, and was recently filmed by the BBC for Midlands Today. Richard did all the main hedgecutting shots (See pic); the gardens were shown in all their glory, and the phone did not stop ringing. I was then asked to do a live radio interview the next evening, and photographed for the local newspaper the following day.

We were expecting a fish company to come and remove all our larger carp from the garden lake this month, but there was a temporary clampdown on the movement of fish so we are still waiting for that exciting event.

And finally, Alex has left us to move on to pastures new. We all wish him the very best.

Tips for September

Now the rains have arrived start giving lawns a light trim.

Remove the spent flower spikes of earlier flowering perennials.

Take cuttings of tender plants such as salvia, lavender, cuphea and verbena.

Start saving seeds of favourite plants. They keep well in paper envelopes in the fridge.

Finish trimming hedges.

Discussing the Weather

It has been an interesting and busy month. According to good old fashioned British tradition, we must of course discuss the weather!
It was so hot at the beginning of the month that we were watering trees, shrubs, perennial borders and ourselves almost constantly.
Cornus, rhododendron, cercis, phlox and asters are particularly drought intolerant. However with the help of the long hoses and leaky pipe we were able to manage until the rains finally arrived. And arrive in style they did! We were deluged with water that filled the gutters, overflowed the drains, swamped the new toilet block and ran off down the drive, into the horse pool. Since then it has been intermittent 'wetting rain' which is much preferred. All the grass has turned back to green from a dusty hay colour, which of course means that we were out today giving it all a light trim.

The re-enactment of the battle of Worcester by the Sealed Knot group was a great success, (see picture).

Several fields along the old main drive to the house were taken over for an encampment and battlefield.
Guns, cannons, smoke, fire, horses, men dressing up, women and children.... it was great fun to watch, with the light hearted yet very informative commentary issuing over the (not very authentic) tannoy system. We went with a friend from Poland who thought that British people are .... eccentrically British!

Unfortunately the eggs taken from the white peahen were infertile.
The new keeper put it down to the fact that there are two males and only one female. I'm not sure what that means.

Now our main task in September is to cut all the yew hedges. Richard and I started trimming the Fountain Beds just before the August Bank Holiday. We only have another 4 weeks of cutting to go!

There was some sad news in the middle of the month when we were told that Bill Roberts, the husband of Isabelle who used to take the money on the gate, passed away. We all send our prayers and condolences to Isabelle, who is currently with her family in Canada.

Tips for August

Dont forget the garden if you are off on holiday. Arrange for someone to check the hanging baskets, veg and greenhouse whilst you are away.

Water in the evening, with "grey" water from the washing up and even bath water if you can.

Install some leaky pipe ( provided you are not on a hosepipe ban). If you are lucky enough to live near one, an horticultural supplier is much cheaper than a Garden Centre or DIY store.

Start trimming hedges.

Battling with the Heat

Last month proved to be very successful for "our" student Alex, who has been helping us in the gardens for the last 4 summers. He received his degree results, acheiving a First in Heritage Management. We are all very pleased for him. We are also very grateful that he has spent a fourth summer with us as his help in keeping trees and shrubs irrigated has proved a lifesaver for some of the plants.

The heat has been very difficult to work in, and we have spent most of our time watering, weeding in shady areas and moving as the sun moves round. Plants, such as cercis, cercidiphyllum, rhododendrons and hydrangeas and a large proportion of the herbaceous borders have been wilting as the temperatures have risen. To combat this we purchased a length of 'leaky pipe'. Made from recycled tyres, the pipe leaks water along its length when attached to a hose on low pressure. We thread it through the borders, and run it at night to reduce evaporation and allow the water to get exactly where needed. We are also putting old wool carpet circles round our more vunerable trees. Covered with woodchip the carpet circles will retain water, suppress weeds and eventually rot away, by which time the trees will be well established.

However, one benefit of the heat is that the lawns don't need to be mown every week!

After the great success of the Best of the West End concert, with its hit songs and fantastic finale of fireworks, we have been wondering whether the Sealed Knot civil war re-enactment will be as enjoyable.
However, the amount of preparation that has been going on, with groups of people scurrying about, huddling together in corners and discussing the merits of bringing large quantities of horses in that way or this way, where the cart horses are to be stabled, where the big cannons are to be sited, where the local dentist, hospital and doctor are (!), etc. etc. seems to indicate an even bigger spectacle. It has all been very interesting so far, if a little alarming. Still, the re-enactment will be completely separate from the gardens, so there is little special preparation for us to do, apart from the usual maintenance.

On a more cheerful note, the gardens are still colourful, with plants flowering at the moment including the white flowered hoheria, blue and white agapanthus on the North Border, crinum powellii, (see pic), the red double flowered pomegranate, and oddly, some of our rhododendrons.
And finally, the asters will soon be putting on their late summer show.