Why are moles so good at hiding?

Last month saw the start of a new gardener to replace Richard, who had left to set up his own business. Chris started at the beginning of September and was thrown straight into the hedge cutting. And not just any old easy hedge, but the West Border crennellations...the ones that go up and down, and have a ditch to one side. It was a bit mean but Chris rose to the challenge admirably. It takes between 4 and 6 weeks to cut all the hedges at Spetchley and can be monotonous, so I have also been trying to ring the changes a little and mix up the jobs.

Last week Chris helped Debbie for a couple of days to sort out the new planting for the South Border where we had removed all the plants to try and eliminate ground elder and bindweed from the area. Well, we are now planting up and although a few small pernicious weeds are still showing, they are weak enough to be eradicated before the new planting becomes too large. A blog reader from Germany has suggested a specific control method which we are looking into. We will soon be taking the next section of border out, ready to repeat the process.

The damp, warm weather has also meant a lot of grass cutting, and the emergence of mole hills all over the gardens, in places I have never seen them before. This is particularly frustrating as I have limited sucess with mole traps. If anyone has a tried and tested method of mole control I would love to hear from you.

Isabelle Roberts, and her daughter Mary have been visiting for the last couple of weeks, as part of a month holiday in England from Alberta, Canada. They have been visiting all the friends that Isabelle made during her quarter century living in Gardeners Cottage at Spetchley. It has been lovely to have them stay and we are already planning next year’s visit. When Mary called her daughter at the weekend she was told that there was 8 inches of snow! We had had a lovely sunny day at the Avoncroft museum of buildings near Droitwich. ( A facinating place, you must go). Alberta winters can get down as low as -40º c, which I don’t fancy at all.

This month’s picture shows the ‘knees’ of the swamp cyprus, slightly altered by Clive Bagley, who ran the Tea Rooms about 4 years ago. Have a really close look....

October Tasks

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from leaves and debris, clean and store garden tools, ensure that greenhouse glass is clean, and that any shading has been replaced by insulation.
Lift dahlias after the first frosts blacken their leaves.
Order spring bulbs for next year.
Feed roses with sulphate of potash to ripen the wood and make the plants more disease resistant.
Check tender plants for infestations of insects, and treat before returning them to their winter quarters.
Put frost protection round any plants that will be staying out for the winter.
Store undamaged apples and pears in a cool, dark well ventilated room such as a garage or garden shed.
Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous shrubs, and gather clematis seed for sowing in a cold frame.
place netting over ponds to catch leaves.
Change the plantings in hanging baskets for winter interest.
lift and divide herbaceous perennials.

I think I may starve....

September is nearly upon us and next week we are having the first wedding that Miss Berkeley can remember in the little C of E church up the drive. The daughter of the farmer over the road is getting married, so Miss Berkeley, Nigel my husband, and I are taking special care to ensure that the grounds are pristine for the event. Nigel has been volunteering to keep the church yard in order for the last 5 years.

We had a fantastic day at the M5 Living History event last month where re-enactors from all over the country displayed life from various centuries. This year there were far more displays and re-enactors than in previous years. We spent quite a time wandering around all the encampments and talking to the people. I found the barber/physician particularly gruesome!

It was a hot dry day so I needed to move an irrigation line in the copse with the help of my husband. Whilst we were doing this a small group of WW2 soldiers came creeping up the ride, checking for the enemy... (They reminded me a bit of the end credits of Dad’s Army!)

There were trade stands for the first time, which sold a fascinating array of re-enactors paraphernalia. It was possible to buy muskets and all the associated equipment, medieval outfits and cloth, swords and bows and arrows, reproduction coins, glassware and even chain mail gloves!

Every half an hour or so there was a display battle with cannons, muskets and various people falling down ‘dead’ and being dragged off the battlefield...

I had a go at the archery using a longbow (think Robin Hood), and managed to graze the back leg of a model deer, completely miss it’s hindquarters and then send a third arrow under it’s belly. I think I would starve if I had to rely on my hunting skills.

There was a wonderful display in the squash court by some RAF re-enactors showing how Bomber Command worked, with a map table and the Wrens standing round pushing airplane indicators across it (see photo). It was all explained really well, and the mock air raid demonstration was great fun.

And finally some frustrating news: the company that has collected our yew clippings for the last 10 years or so is now unable to do so, as the company they sell the material to can now get yew clippings more cheaply from China.

September Tasks

Continue to trim hedges. Putting a sheet down first to catch the clippings will make clearing up a lot quicker.
Dead heading the herbaceous borders will prolong the display, but if you want to save seed, don’t forget to leave some flowerheads uncut!
Keep cutting lawns, gradually raising the cut in preparation for winter.
Check fruit trees and remove any fruit affected by brown rot to reduce infection spread.
Be particularly careful when picking tree fruit as wasps love windfalls and can become quite drunk, presenting quite a hazard.
Continue to pick runner beans etc. in the kitchen garden. It is not too late to sow quick crops of radish and lettuce.
If your greenhouse cucumbers are suffering from an attack of red spider mite, try putting a block of wet straw by the plants to increase humidity.

Happy visitors

This is an extra entry to my usual monthly missive. Debbie has sent me the picture she took that I mentioned in the previous blog.... so here is the picture I promised of the happy visitors; a lovely couple just sitting in the copse enjoying the sunshine.

What do you mean no electric?

The last month has been full of lots of sunny weather, and the gardens have been looking really lovely. (The picture shows the beautiful heads of an achillea) The watering however, is proving to be more and more of a nightmare. I have been constantly moving seep hoses around the borders in the copse where the hydrangea and rhododendrons are flagging. We can’t be the only people really wanting lots of rain.
Half way through last month I was working with Debbie on the South Border when we noticed 2 lovely people sitting in the copse, enjoying the gardens. They looked really happy together and Debbie went over to have a chat and ask if it would be ok for her to take a photo! They were suprised but delighted to oblige. When I get a copy I will post it....

After the excitement of the powercut mentioned last month, a couple of days after that I noticed that some of the sockets downstairs didn't work. It was thought that mice had possibly chewed the cable which would mean a major rewiring job. Thankfully it was just an unrelated problem in a faulty circuit breaker. We are now back up and running again.

The last month has been full of lots of sunny weather, and the gardens have been looking really lovely. (The picture shows the beautiful heads of an achillea) The watering however, is proving to be more and more of a nightmare. I have been constantly moving seep hoses around the borders in the copse where the hydrangea and rhododendrons are flagging. We can’t be the only people really wanting lots of rain.

Debbie has been working really hard on new planting plans for the South Border and Kitchen Garden central path where all the plants have been cleared out. We lifted and repotted all the plants from sections of the borders and have been trying to eradicate the bindweed, creeping thistle, ground elder etc etc but it is proving to be very difficult. Mr Berkeley has great ideas about making a traditional style perennial border on the South Border, but using a lot of new and interesting plants.

New volunteer Rob came in last week and I think I must have bored him to tears.... he was working in the same area all week... planting, weeding, pruning the espaliers, removing the peas and beans that had finished... he didn’t manage to get out of the kitchen garden all week! Anyone else like to volunteer?!?

August tasks

Make sure you arrange for someone to pop in keep an eye on the greenhouse and veg plot if you are off on holiday. They will also need to check any veg that needs picking, such as runner beans and squashes.
Keep working with the hoe when the weather is warm enough.
Watch for the fungal infection rust on hollyhocks, pelargoniums etc. Remove affected foliage and spray with a fungicide.
Keep picking those sweet peas and remove seed pods if they form.
Continue to dead-head spent flowers, especially those of summer bedding, hanging baskets and any remaining late flowering roses.
Start cutting hedges towards the end of the month
Listen to the weather forcast and water greenhouses and pots accordingly.
Start taking semi ripe cuttings of fuchsias, penstemon, pelargonium, salvia etc
Start collecting seed