Tips for April

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.

Keep hoeing when the weather is warm and breezy to remove small weeds.

Sow carrot, beetroot and other early crops at two week intervals, for a longer harvest.

Earth up early potatoes to protect the tubers from the light.

New Faces to Greet You at Spetchley

As I write this month's missive, looking out over the tearoom lawn, the chairs and tables are out and it's a lovely sunny afternoon. There is a fine show of crocus all down the Long Walk, the last of the snowdrops are still flowering, early cyclamen are out and the daffodils are starting to push their flower buds up amongst their leaves, promising a fantastic show in two or three weeks. Spring has arrived at last.

Now that the alterations and improvements to the tearooms are complete there is an L shaped serving counter and a new, separate food preparation area. The extended seating area is bright and spacious, and there is local produce on sale.

It has been a little chaotic in the gardens for the past few weeks as we have been running the gardens with half the usual number of staff.
What with sickness and staff turnover it was a tricky few weeks. We are, however getting back on track as we have now been joined by our new gardener, another Richard, who has previously worked for garden maintenence companies. This is his first time in an historic garden and he says that he is already learning new skills.

We also have three ladies who have just taken on the shared role of Gatekeeper. So it will be Claire, Joan or Sue who will meet and greet you when you visit. Apart from sellng entry tickets to the gardens, the Gatekeeper will also be selling season tickets, tickets to Spetchley Garden events when appropriate, and plants that are surplus to requirements from the gardens. (We have some lovely crocus for sale at the moment!)

Tips for Marcht

Prune roses, wisteria and campsis.

Begin to prepare the vegetable patch, clearing and digging over on fine dry days.

Plant the early varieties of potatoes that you prepared (chitted) last month.

Start to cut grass on a high cut, when the weather is dry and breezy.

Now is a good time to cut down (pollard) willows and cornus that are grown for their winter colour.

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.

Harvesting Hazel Sticks

There has been a lot of work on the new tea room and toilets in the last month. Floors have been excavated and relaid, new windows installed and extra work space added. We were very interested when we saw that the builders were soon to be laying the concrete floors, as we are looking for things others don't want. Luckily for us there was some concrete left over that we were able to acquire. We now have a small concrete floored bay in our yard, suitable for woodchip, compost or manure. We are hoping to extend the area in the future, to make several bays for storage.

We were off into the woods last month as it is now the ideal time to collect the hazel sticks that we use for supporting peas etc, before they start to grow leaves. It was a bit of an adventure for Debbie and myself. The entry to the wood was a little sticky so we decided not to drive in. We collected all the pea sticks we required for the gardens, tied them on to the back of the truck, and got ready to leave. Unfortunately, as we were turning the vehicle round, the wheels spun and it slid into the soft field! Oops. We had to ring the woodsman to rescue us.

All the remaining root vegetables were lifted and stored last month:carrots, parsnips etc, and the areas cleared. We then hired a rotovator and dug over the entire kitchen garden ready for the coming season. This has proved to be a lot easier than the old method of using an antiquated motorised, single bladed plough! The plough is very heavy, smokey and only works in one direction. The benefits of the modern rotovator are almost endless.

We have used up an old grass heap, on a new bed up the drive. The old grass heap must have been about 3 years old and had rotted down sufficiently to spread over the new bed. This bed, next to the Spetchley Church, has now been planted with some hollies, but there is space for several other shrubs that will also be going in in the next couple of weeks.

Tips for February

Keep glass clean in greenhouses, and regularly check that heaters are working.

Start to cut down and tidy herbaceous borders when the soil is not sticky. Epimediums and hellebores can have their old leaves removed so that the early flowers can be easily seen.

Keep off the lawns when frosty.

Order seed potatoes and start chitting them in a cool dry corner. (This means getting them to start sprouting, to give them a head start when they are planted).

The Garden Awake

Water was to be the theme again at the beginning of January. Mike and I went to check the conservatory boiler, and it was surrounded by a pool of water... the conservatory is warmed using heated water running through cast iron pipes. We had the terrible feeling that the system was breaking down.... until one of the gardeners, who shall remain nameless, remembered that he had left a tap on in the conservatory and the water had seeped through the wall. After turning the tap off the remaining water seeped away, and all were relieved!

A lot of work has been undertaken this month with the preparation of three new areas in the gardens: an extra bed in the copse, a cleared area and new bed at the top of the East Border, and a large bed up the drive that will be full of hollies and berberis. There should be plenty of interesting new plants and vistas to be admired over the coming season.

The gardens are beginning to wake from their winter slumber as the snowdrops are in bloom and early daffodils start to peep through the soil. There is a wintersweet, chimonanthus praecox, in the Stable Yard close to my front door. As I walk past in the early evening it gives out a most beautiful scent.

Unfortunately, we will be losing Richard, one of gardeners, in the middle of February as he is moving on to pastures new. We wish him all the best for the future.

Tips for Januaryt

Those seed and young plant catalogues have started to drop through the letterbox. An hour spent with a plant catalogue, a cup of tea, notebook and pencil is time well spent.

Check over all the garden tools, machinery and equipment, and send lawnmowers etc away for service, blade sharpening etc.

Use warmer days to walk round the garden, looking at the shape and structure of the plants, and planning any projects for next year.