Beautiful Spring.

The gardens have been looking amazing for the last few weeks as the sunshine has encouraged the cherry blossom. Daffodils and magnolia are reaching their best, the helleboures are still putting on a show and even the common primroses look pretty. A lot of people have been asking about the small blue flowers that seem to be growing everywhere, in borders and in the grass down the New Lawn. They are scillas, (or some have said they are x chinoscillas, that is a cross between a chinodoxa and a scilla). Whatever they are they are very pretty.(see pic).

It has been a very sunny, productive month for us at Spetchley:

The vinery is complete and looking splendid. Husband and I put new supporting wires in for the vines, with wire turnbuckles to improve the tension, and then tied all the vines back up. The vines have been under bubble wrap all winter as the glass was removed from the vinery during the restoration. I think that the cold weather was a bit of a shock for the poor plant as it has only just started into growth

The new rose garden is finally finished; we finished planting the roses, although we were about 10 short and are waiting to take delivery of the final few. Box hedging has been planted round each rose bed, and the company who installed all the paving etc came back last week to sow the grass seed in the middle. We are looking forward seeing the garden in a few months, when the grass has grown and the roses are flowering.

Last week I finally managed to outwit the rabbit in the kitchen garden, and made it a rabbit free zone again. Unfortunately, just yesterday one of the gates was left open overnight by mistake and now we have another furry guest. There are so many places to hide in the kitchen garden that it makes finding the rabbits really difficult. I carry on trying.

On a more exciting note, we have been installing an irrigation system in the kitchen garden, which will allow us to water sections of the kitchen garden without standing with a hose after the gardens have shut every night!

We have all been working hard to get ready for the Easter bank holiday weekend, and hope to see you soon.

Best Wishes

Kate

April Tasks

begin to remove winter protection as the weather warms up.
Check variegated shrubs and prune out any reverted shoots.
Feed roses and shrubs with a general fertiliser; rhododendrons and camelias would benefit from an ericaceous feed.
Plant up hanging baskets, but keep them protected in the greenhouse or frost free conservatory and don’t forget to include some slow release fertiliser.
Cut the grass whenever conditions allow.
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.
Trim back shrubs that have flowered over the late winter, eg jasminum nudiflorum, removing the flowered shoots to keep the shrub within its boundaries.
prune back hardy fuchsias to 2 or 3 buds from their base.
Clean patio slabs and stonework to remove alge etc.
Earth up early potatoes to protect the tubers from the light.
Construct runner bean wigwams or other supports and sow bean seeds.

Menacing Mice and Rascally Rabbits

Now is that manic time of year when the greenhouse becomes full of seed trays, every border needs attention and there are not enough hours in the day: Spring is finally with us after all the snow and rain! The early Cyclamen coum look lovely amongst the snowdrops on the bank in my garden.(see pic.)
Work has been progressing really well on the projects in the gardens: the vinery glass is going in, all cut with a curved end to draw rainwater away from the woodwork. I expect that the vine will be a lot happier when it is snug inside the vinery again instead of being covered in bubblewrap and fleece as protection against the elements.
The rose lawn replanting has begun, and is almost complete, although the grass has yet to be laid in the centre as the weather has been so bad and the soil has been waterlogged.

The wet weather has caused us to be a bit more inventive with starting seed for the Kitchen Garden: the website ‘Freecycle’ yielded a great source of guttering... We were given a piece of down pipe that we cut length ways and created the perfect home to start early peas. This method also fools the mice! Unfortunately however, the mice ate all the sweet pea seedlings we had started in the greenhouses. Very annoying. And ... we are also still trying to outwit a rabbit that has taken up residence in the Kitchen Garden.

Richard is almost completely fit again after his knee operation last autumn, and is looking forward to cutting grass etc again. We have been training him up to lead guided tours so those of you who are shown the gardens by Richard next season will really enjoy a chatty, informative and entertaining tour.

Alex has now finished his temporary job in the gardens, but is still on the estate for a while. He is helping the Gamekeeper out for the next 3 weeks,but is then moving on to another job in Cheltenham. This was his 6th time working in the gardens, and we hope that he will be back again soon.


We open again on 21st March for the 2009 season. You can come and see how we are getting on with the vinery and Rose Lawn. see you then

Best Wishes

Kate

Topical tips for March

Pot up dahlias and cannas in the greenhouse to give them a head start.
Dig up and divide congested clumps of snowdrops etc as the flowers fade.
Prune roses, wisteria and late flowering shrubs.
Prepare the vegetable patch, clearing and digging over or rotovating on fine dry days.
Plant the early varieties of potatoes that you prepared (chitted) last month.
Cut down ( pollard) willows and cornus that are grown for their winter colour.
Cut down autumn fruiting raspberries.
Start to cut grass on a high cut, when the lawn is dry enough and the weather is sunny..
Start to cut grass on a high cut, when the weather is dry and breezy.
Mulch beds before the weather becomes drier, with rotted grass clippings, leafmold, bark chips or one of the decorative mulches available from the garden centre. They will retain moisture over the summer, suppress weeds and keep the borders looking fresh.

The rhubarb forcer...

It is the end of the month again and time to reflect on all that has happened over the last 4 weeks.  January, which is usually dull, wet and miserable, has actually been an exciting time for us.  The coldframes are almost complete, the vinery is moving along steadily, and we have had very positive news regarding the conservatory boiler.

In my December diary I mentioned about the conservatory boiler leaking, and the local blacksmith, Steve Cooper, who is going to rebuild it.  Steve arrived towards the end of January to remove the boiler and take it back to his workshop.  He managed to remove it in one piece, a feat that amazed me considering the rusty state that it was in.  When the chimney was taken down there was the clear pattern of an old archway in the wall behind. Steve thought it indicates that the boiler is younger than the conservatory, and that originally there was an open fire heating the air inside the hollow wall.  All very interesting.

In the kitchen garden we have a new rhubarb forcer, (see Pic) which will produce sweet, early stems when placed over a crown of rhubarb.  This can only be done once every 3 or 4 years as the plant needs to build up it's strength again.

Richard is back from his knee operation and has fitted straight back in.  He still has to be careful for the next few months not to twist or jar his knee, but will soon be fully fit again.  Alex, who was covering for him has been asked by Mr Berkeley to stay on for a few more weeks to help with preparations for opening.  The wet weather, and the fact that our trusty truck has been in Sussex for several weeks being rebuilt has put us behind with some of the winter jobs.  Still, rumour has it that the weather should improve and that our truck is due back next week.  We shall see.