March Tasks

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.
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.
Finish pruning roses, wisteria and campsis.
Start to cut grass on a high cut, when the lawn is dry enough and the weather is sunny. and don't forget to browse those seed and plant catalogues for your summer bedding and baskets before its too late.

Sickness and Snow....

This again has been a rather trying month. The snowy weather (see pic) really hasn’t helped and we are getting behind with the preparatory work for opening. Our main truck decided to have gearbox trouble and is still away being mended, Gardener Steve was off for 2 weeks with a bad attack of swine flu, Gardener Richard went down with a stomach bug and Assistant Head Gardener Debbie had a very painful knee that was interfering with the jobs she was able to do. Thankfully all 3 seem fully recovered now. ( We are still waiting for news on the Bonser truck).

However we can also be thankful that all the main leaf raking has been completed, only borders left to do now. And we will soon be returning all last year's lovely rotted leafmould back onto the newly weeded beds.

Richard has been busy cutting circles in the grass round newly planted trees, and backfilling with woodchip.Every time he thinks he has finished, Mr Berkeley says that as he is working to such a good standard there is this area or that area to complete as well. It will take until March for him to finish! This task not only mulches and protects the young tree, but removes the competition for nutrients from surrounding grass and weeds.

The conservatory boiler is now complete with its new flue and concrete pad. It looks very smart, and has been put to good use over the last few days. The little niggles have been sorted out and It works a treat, staying warm for over 18 hours, (which is better that when I first tried to work it and had to fill it up at 10pm, in the dark, to ensure that it was still warm in the morning.)

Last week saw the last family shoot of the season, and on Saturday ‘Keepers Shoot’ took place. This is when the gamekeeper can invite his own guests for a final shoot. As usual I helped the gamekeeper’s wife to prepare and host the lunch; chilli, baked potatoes and apple pie to follow. Catering for so many can be a challenging experience, but we have done it now for several years and it is always appreciated.

In the gardens we havve completed lots of formative pruning, and opened up new vistas. The spring flowers are just beginning to show, the early snowdrops are peeping through on the banks and in the borders. It’s the promise of things to come. I love snowdrops.

February Tasks

Prepare vegetable seed beds, and sow some vegetables under cover
Start chitting potatoes
Prune winter-flowering shrubs that have finished flowering
Prune Wisteria
Prune hardy evergreen hedges and renovate overgrown deciduous hedges
Prune conservatory climbers
Cut grass on a high cut when the day is dry and slightly windy.
Check and repair pergolas and arches if needed.
Rub down and treat wooden garden furniture when dry.
Remove algae from paths if they start to become slippery.
divide and replant early spring bulbs that have finished flowering
Check fruit and veg stores for rot or rodent damage. Don’t forget the stored cannas and dahlias.
Trim the old leaves from hellebores and epimedium to reveal the new flowers
Sow sweet peas on a cool windowsill or coldframe
Regularly check greenhouse heaters and fleece.

Boiler Mayhem

Firstly, may I wish you all a Happy New Year.

The first day of December arrived with a sudden and definite change in the weather. There was a very sharp and pronounced cold snap which made everything look crisp and snowy. The misty mornings were really picturesque. (see pic).
The cold snap was preceded by desperation as we were still waiting for the new conservatory boiler to be installed. A lot of phone calls, texts and rushing about ensured that just before Christmas we had the brand new, purpose built heating boiler up and running. Last winter the old boiler had become so badly corroded that every time it was fired up, the circulating water would flow through the holes and put out the fire! Thus, in all its 45 year old corroded glory it was removed by the blacksmith in Pershore to be copied.

A temporary flue was installed to see us through the coldest weather during the holidays. The blacksmith promised to return after the holidays and install the proper chimney, and repair a couple of very minor leaks in the new joints, fired up the boiler and it seemed to work really well. All the conservatory pipes warmed up beautifully and for a while (less than 12 hours) the system worked perfectly. Perfectly that is, until the original pipe going through the wall between the boiler house and the conservatory was found to be seriously leaking, (at a speed of about 3 bucketfulls of water an hour) about 3 feet from the new boiler. Back to the temporary system of a large gas canister and heater. I am feeling so frustrated. So near and yet so far.

At home we found some small logs, destined for the woodburner, that were hollow. We saved a few and filled them full of melted lard mixed with seeds and nuts. When we hung them on the trellis in our garden we had an amazing range of birds coming down to feed. Which reminds me, I must refill them as they get emptied in a couple of days. We also removed a dead tree that had a hollow trunk so we cut it into sections and will put them round the leaf heaps as hedgehog hideaways.

Apart from the excitement and frustration about the boiler it has been a very ordinary month. Raking leaves has continued throughout the month, and looks to continue well into February. I find December to February very miserable months although, looking out of my window today, the sun is shining brightly making the garden look very inviting.... The early signs of spring are just beginning to show and I am really looking forward to the snowdrops.

January Tasks

Regularly check greenhouse heaters are working, and insulate the greenhouse where possible.
Keep an eye out for wind damage on tall plants, check tree ties and stakes.
Drain down or insulate waterpipes. Even full watering cans left out can become damaged through ice expansion
Ensure tools are clean, oiled, serviced and ready for next season.
Make the most of ‘indoor days’ to plan for next season, with seed catalogues and a layout of the garden.
Don’t forget the veg patch in your planning: try to include veg that you haven’t tried to grow before.
Dig over the veg patch on sunny dry days, and add manure if not growing root crops.
Prune back grape vines before the end of the month
And don’t forget to feed the birds, ensuring they also have access to unfrozen water.

From Planning to Planting

It has been a wet and windy November. For the first time in quite a while I have lain awake in the small hours of the night, listening to the wind and wondering how many trees have fallen in the gardens. Actually, we have been very lucky, with no damage apart from the odd, small branch.

This has been an exciting month in the development of the garden, with new plantings both developed and planned. Debbie is full of creative ideas and we are always really pleased when we get the go ahead from Mr Berkeley to develop one of her plans.

The first has been the removal and replanting of the bamboo area at the bottom of the East Border, right next to the Fountain beds. The big, old hollow bamboo that had been a favourite for children (and my old Head Gardener) to hide in for many years, had died. It was removed, thankfully for us with a JCB, and the area replanted with 3 well behaved black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra), and over 60 black grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens), interspersed with 30 large flowered purple crocus. We are also intending to plant tall, purple flowered alliums. When fully mature it will be a dramatic point to two of the main borders. See picture, which incidentally also includes my two dogs: Daisy and Holly!

The second area that has been marked for redevelopment is the far end of the moat leading to the garden pool. This has always been a difficult area to keep tidy so the intention is to plant it up with two varieties of gunnera, which is a very large leafed architectural plant that likes damp soil. To help with the view of the area a section of yew branches have been removed from the South Border, overlooking the moat. This exposed a drop of about 8 feet into the moat from the wall at the back of the South Border which needed to be fenced off. The Forester rescued some very old, wooden fencing from the deer park and re built it at the top of the wall. Debbie had originally envisaged an elegant, wrought iron fence, like a ’Juliet balcony’, but costs have dictated that the wooden structure was created instead. I must say that I did have misgivings about the fence as it was being constructed, but the finished article is very much in keeping with the style of the gardens.

One of the problems we are having with the warmer than usual weather is that the dahlias have not been frosted. It is usual to wait for the first frosts before lifting dahlias, but if this doesn’t happen in the next couple of weeks we will be lifting them unfrosted as they are more at risk of rotting in the ground.

The sad news is that there will be no Illuminated Trail this year. Although many have asked about this year’s Trail, the vaguaries of the weather, and low attendance last year have both meant that it was decided not to stage the Trail this year.

December Tasks

Keep an eye on the weather and keep greenhouse heaters on when the temperature dips.
Clear leaves from paths, and where they lie thickly on grass. Store them in piles for leafmould.
Check and clear gutters and drains to prevent maintenance problems later on.
Treat slippery paths with a suitable cleaner, or sprinkle with sand and scrub in with a stiff brush
Check overwintering veg, tubers and bulbs for vermin damage and set traps if necessary.
Complete the pruning of ornamental and fruiting vines before the end of the month.
Start planning next year’s crop rotation in the vegetable patch. Ordering seed early ensures a good choice and the opportunity to try something new.
Good periods of dry weather can be used to dig over and manure areas of the vegetable patch.