Tips for September

Now the rains have arrived start giving lawns a light trim.

Remove the spent flower spikes of earlier flowering perennials.

Take cuttings of tender plants such as salvia, lavender, cuphea and verbena.

Start saving seeds of favourite plants. They keep well in paper envelopes in the fridge.

Finish trimming hedges.

Discussing the Weather

It has been an interesting and busy month. According to good old fashioned British tradition, we must of course discuss the weather!
It was so hot at the beginning of the month that we were watering trees, shrubs, perennial borders and ourselves almost constantly.
Cornus, rhododendron, cercis, phlox and asters are particularly drought intolerant. However with the help of the long hoses and leaky pipe we were able to manage until the rains finally arrived. And arrive in style they did! We were deluged with water that filled the gutters, overflowed the drains, swamped the new toilet block and ran off down the drive, into the horse pool. Since then it has been intermittent 'wetting rain' which is much preferred. All the grass has turned back to green from a dusty hay colour, which of course means that we were out today giving it all a light trim.

The re-enactment of the battle of Worcester by the Sealed Knot group was a great success, (see picture).

Several fields along the old main drive to the house were taken over for an encampment and battlefield.
Guns, cannons, smoke, fire, horses, men dressing up, women and children.... it was great fun to watch, with the light hearted yet very informative commentary issuing over the (not very authentic) tannoy system. We went with a friend from Poland who thought that British people are .... eccentrically British!

Unfortunately the eggs taken from the white peahen were infertile.
The new keeper put it down to the fact that there are two males and only one female. I'm not sure what that means.

Now our main task in September is to cut all the yew hedges. Richard and I started trimming the Fountain Beds just before the August Bank Holiday. We only have another 4 weeks of cutting to go!

There was some sad news in the middle of the month when we were told that Bill Roberts, the husband of Isabelle who used to take the money on the gate, passed away. We all send our prayers and condolences to Isabelle, who is currently with her family in Canada.

Tips for August

Dont forget the garden if you are off on holiday. Arrange for someone to check the hanging baskets, veg and greenhouse whilst you are away.

Water in the evening, with "grey" water from the washing up and even bath water if you can.

Install some leaky pipe ( provided you are not on a hosepipe ban). If you are lucky enough to live near one, an horticultural supplier is much cheaper than a Garden Centre or DIY store.

Start trimming hedges.

Battling with the Heat

Last month proved to be very successful for "our" student Alex, who has been helping us in the gardens for the last 4 summers. He received his degree results, acheiving a First in Heritage Management. We are all very pleased for him. We are also very grateful that he has spent a fourth summer with us as his help in keeping trees and shrubs irrigated has proved a lifesaver for some of the plants.

The heat has been very difficult to work in, and we have spent most of our time watering, weeding in shady areas and moving as the sun moves round. Plants, such as cercis, cercidiphyllum, rhododendrons and hydrangeas and a large proportion of the herbaceous borders have been wilting as the temperatures have risen. To combat this we purchased a length of 'leaky pipe'. Made from recycled tyres, the pipe leaks water along its length when attached to a hose on low pressure. We thread it through the borders, and run it at night to reduce evaporation and allow the water to get exactly where needed. We are also putting old wool carpet circles round our more vunerable trees. Covered with woodchip the carpet circles will retain water, suppress weeds and eventually rot away, by which time the trees will be well established.

However, one benefit of the heat is that the lawns don't need to be mown every week!

After the great success of the Best of the West End concert, with its hit songs and fantastic finale of fireworks, we have been wondering whether the Sealed Knot civil war re-enactment will be as enjoyable.
However, the amount of preparation that has been going on, with groups of people scurrying about, huddling together in corners and discussing the merits of bringing large quantities of horses in that way or this way, where the cart horses are to be stabled, where the big cannons are to be sited, where the local dentist, hospital and doctor are (!), etc. etc. seems to indicate an even bigger spectacle. It has all been very interesting so far, if a little alarming. Still, the re-enactment will be completely separate from the gardens, so there is little special preparation for us to do, apart from the usual maintenance.

On a more cheerful note, the gardens are still colourful, with plants flowering at the moment including the white flowered hoheria, blue and white agapanthus on the North Border, crinum powellii, (see pic), the red double flowered pomegranate, and oddly, some of our rhododendrons.
And finally, the asters will soon be putting on their late summer show.

Tips for July

Thoroughly water vunerable plants, then mulch round them to keep moisture at their roots.

Feed roses etc with a general fertiliser such as phostrogen, and continue to deadhead spent flowers.

Top up pools as water evaporates. Keep pumps in good condition.

Work with the hot weather and hoe regularly.

Continue watering and harvesting veg and fruit in the kitchen garden.

The Fish, The Birds and The Bees

At the end of last month I mentioned that we had yet to see any warm weather. Well, it is here with a vengeance, and has caused a serious problem with the garden lake as the carp began to suffer in the heat. Even the eels, which are normally very tough, were struggling to breathe. A large pump was hired to recirculate the water. After losing some of our larger carp we called in the local Fire Brigade with their more efficient hoses and pumps. They kindly aerated the lake for several hours and thankfully the carp are recovering.

The white peahen started laying last month. After last year's failure the new gamekeeper has removed 3 eggs to incubate. The peahen doesn't seem terribly interested in raising her own family.

Continuing on the theme of nature, we had a large swarm of bees suddenly appear and take up residence near the Fountain Beds, which was a bit of a suprise. Thankfully, this proved less of a problem than the carp as, whilst we were phoning various people to see if someone would take them away, the bees decided they didn't like the view and chose to move on.

We are expecting a good show of lilies down the Long Walk, including a mix of lilium monadelphum (See pic) and lilium martagon. We treated a possible outbreak of lily disease last spring and it looks as if we have caught it in time.

In the middle of June I was in Vienna helping my daughter bring back her student stuff after a year abroad. Whilst there I had a call to say that BBC Gardeners' World would be showing our paeony piece filmed last year, on June 23rd, and our local radio station would like to record an interview! I had to pass on the radio opportunity as at the time I was battling with grossly overweight luggage at Bratislava Airport. Still, apparently it was a good programme.

And finally, greetings to our international diary readers: Nancy and Tom in Maryland, USA, and Mary and Paul in Alberta, Canada. We are always delighted to hear from people who read this diary entry on a regular basis. Do let us know if you are one of those people by emailing hb@spetchleygardens.co.uk.

Tips for June

Feed plants in borders, and start dead heading flowers.

Thin out hardy annuals and veg sown in the garden.

Ensure net cages over soft fruit, peas and any other vulnerable veg are secure, without access holes for mice or pigeons.

Shade and ventilate greenhouses, and keep the pathways dampened on warm days, if we get any...