High Summer is here?

Rain, rain and more rain. Looking back to last year this was the month when we had the problems with very low water levels in the lake and the fire brigade were called in to help aerate the water to save the carp. This year we are almost at maximum winter levels for the lake! This is good for the fish, but has been very difficult to work round, as grass cutting and hoeing have been almost impossible.

The gardens are begining to recover from the heavy rain and are looking lush and green. Although the roses were rather battered, other plants are just about to open. The agapanthus border is beginning to flower, whilst the Millennium Garden has clouds of verbena bonariensis (see pic.) and the earlier dahlias are out. The main borders are looking bright, and in the copse the cornus, especially varieties Norman Hadden and Porlock, are at their best.

In the Kitchen Garden all was going well. We thought that we had beaten the rabbits by keeping the gates shut at closing time, and that a lack of brassicas would bore the pidgeons. Peas planted earlier in the year had done well and had been largely ignored. A first good picking indicated a bumper crop to come. However, mice finally discovered the peas and ate all the remaining peas from the ground up.

When we came to get the crop, all that remained was empty, chewed pods littering the ground. Anyone have any ideas?

We have a new volunteer, Lee, who comes in one day a week to help out.
She has been learning a lot of new plants, and improving her horticultural knowledge whilst doing the jobs such as dead heading roses, that we never seem to get time to do.

Royal Flight and Moving House

What a month! It has been very busy with, amongst other things, a Royal helicopter landing at the front of the house. The Duchess of Gloucester was opening a hospice in Worcester and a hospital in Pershore, so her helicopter was landed in our front field, on the same day as the marquee was erected for the first wedding reception of the season. We were warned not to cut the grass on the same day as a helicopter landing, otherwise there would be grass everywhere!

The following week I moved home from the Granary to Gardener's Cottage, where Elgar sometimes stayed during his visits to the Berkeley family. The cottage is in the garden and overlooks the peacock pen. I have yet to decide whether I still like the peacocks as I now get woken at about 5am every morning!

Then the BBC arrived to film a couple of pieces for a series called Castles in the Country. It took all day to film two slots, each of 4 minutes! It has been a really busy 3 weeks.

Keeping the wildlife out of the Kitchen Garden is proving to be a bit of a challenge. Mice have eaten the seeds, pigeons have nibbled off the brassicas and to top it all I noticed that rabbits have been grazing off the onions and parsley! Hazel sticks laid over the rows reduce the pigeon damage, and my old Head Gardener suggested moth balls to keep mice at bay, which seem to have worked really well; however every now and then the odd smell of elderly wardrobes mingles with the scent of philadelphus on the breeze.

After all the rain the garden borders are really looking good, the herbaceous paeonies are almost over but the tree paeonies are just beginning. The bright pink gladiolus byzantinus (see pic.) have made a really showy display and the tulip tree in the copse is flowering again.

Phillip, our stand in help, has now finished and is hoping to make a career in radio, whilst Richard has recovered from his knee operation and will be back at work at the beginning of June.

Tasks for June

Start dead heading flowers.

Removed reverted branches of variegated shrubs.

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

Shade and ventilate greenhouses, and keep paths dampened on warm days.

Remove spring bulb foliage when it can be lifted easily.

Remove alge and blanket weed from ponds etc before it becomes a problem Water hanging baskets daily.

The Season Kicks Off

The Spring seems to have started a couple of weeks earlier this year.

Magnolias, Rhododendrons and flowering cherries all look fantastic.

The trilliums have been very good this year (see pic) and some plants that were left over from a group we replanted swiftly sold on the plant stall.

The kitchen garden project is going well with many veg sown and planted out. The basic plan of the garden have been laid out but there is still alot of work to be done. We still have the fruit cage to build, and a group of cold frames to construct in an area to the north of the garden. It is worth a visit to see the progress as this is going to be a long term project.

The BBC rang last month about doing a short piece on the gardens as part of a series they are intending to film at Berkeley Castle. They were particularly interested in our kitchen garden project and are hoping to visit for filming at the end of May. Their presenter is the current Blue Peter gardener ( I am a bit out of touch with current children's tv, so had no idea who he is), who likes to get involved with the work at the places he films. We have several ideas for tasks....

Chris, the forester has been installing tree guards to protect some new tree avenues in the fields between the gardens and the deer park.
Old avenues that were lost to dutch elm disease are being reinstated, but instead of using elm they have chosen oak this time.

The most exciting thing to happen last month, apart from a group of travellers camping in the next field to the gardens, was a towering inferno in the deer park! Dead wood was being cleared away and burnt on a controlled bonfire, and all went well until the wind changed and sparks set fire to a standing dead tree in the vicinity. We are told it looked like a vast olympic torch! Two fire engines arrived at the scene, and managed to safely douse the fire but it was quite an experience for those involved.

The plant fair at the beginning of April went very well, with all the help we received from the RHS. There was a large marquee on the main lawn, and about twice the usual number of stands. We were swamped by over 2000 visitors enjoying the sunny weather, tours of the gardens, talks and all the stalls.

Best Wishes
Kate Portman

Tasks for May

Weeding is now an all consuming job, keep on top of it with regular hoeing. Dead head daffodils where possible but never tie the leaves, or cut them down before they have turned brown.

Prune spring flowering clematis after flowering.

Stake tall or floppy herbaceous plants, especially dahlias whose stems are brittle.

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.

Set up that water collection system, eg a water butt connected to the guttering, for easier watering over the summer.

Tasks for April

Winter protection can now be removed from more tender plants.

Dahlia and cannas can be safely planted out if the new shoots are not required for cuttings.

Check variegated shrubs and prune out any reverted shoots.

In the vegetable garden sow beetroot, radish, spinach, carrots, peas and beans.

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.

Daffodils, and a new Kitchen Garden

The end of March has been bright and sunny. Daffodils are making a really bright show, early cyclamen and primroses look colourful and the daphne smell really sweet. March has been such a cheerful time of year.

We have had plenty of good weather for reseeding the patches of grass where several conifers had been removed in the Millennium Garden. We had also lost a large, old cherry tree by the Fountain Beds in the gales, which gave us the opportunity to replant part of the yew hedge, and reseed the bare patch of earth where the grass had been shaded out.

The gales also damaged the conservatory and several panes of glass slid off the frame, smashing on the ground. The powers that be are now trying to gather quotes for repair, and posible restoration.

The kitchen garden is finally making great progress: The paths have been installed, the fruit cage has been marked out (see pic), fruit bushes and most of the box plants are now planted and some of the vegetables have already been sown. We have a new volunteer helping out now; Richard L. is a TV researcher, but likes to spend some of his spare time in the gardens. His help has been invaluble with the construction of the new garden.

Richard D. is now away from work for about two months as he recovers after his knee operation. His temporary replacement, Phil is enjoying the work on a big estate after several years working in gardening in London.

He is getting plenty of variety as preparation work for the RHS sponsored Plant Fair on 15th April has begun.