Underneath the arches...

I think that this has been one of the toughest few weeks we have had in a long time as we are down to half the usual number of staff. Debbie has been very ill with a nasty virus that affected her breathing and Steve seems to have had a serious allergic reaction to something that we have yet to identify. This has meant that the usual schedule of work has been rather heavily modified to ensure that the main areas of the garden are tidy, ready for opening in three weeks. Chris and I have been working all the available hours, and this is when we are really appreciative of the volunteers who make such a difference. One of our regular volunteers even offered an extra afternoon to help out when she heard that we are short staffed.

Seed sowing has started, with the early peas and beans, and some ornamental plants for the kitchen garden. We will soon have all the greenhouses full again. We have also started the parsley as I intend to replace all the clumps this year. I also had a very encouraging chat with the new tea room managers, who would like to use as much of the surplus kitchen garden produce as possible in soups and salads. The tea rooms are being revamped, and a whole range of tasty food will be available again when the gardens are open.

The work has started on repairing an archway and rebuilding a fountain. The fountain just needs some sort of waterproof lining and it will be finished. The basic archway has been completed (see pic), but the brickwork surrounding it has yet to be finished, and all the coping stones in that section are also due to be replaced. When Miss Berkeley saw what the builders where doing she decided that the completed wall would be the ideal spot to show off her sculpture of a pair of partridge. The sculpture is lovely but it is a bit of a task moving it from the top of one wall to the top of another as it is quite heavy, being attached to a concrete base. Do see if you can spot it when you visit. There is also another set of partridge elsewhere in the gardens. Perhaps you might like to keep a lookout for those too.

Best wishes from a very tired Kate

March Tasks

Pot up dahlias and cannas in the greenhouse to give them a head start.
Cut down ( pollard) willows and cornus that are grown for their winter colour.
Begin to prepare the vegetable patch, clearing and digging over on fine dry days.
Cut down autumn fruiting raspberries
Dig up and divide congested clumps of snowdrops etc as the flowers fade.
Start to cut grass on a high cut, when the lawn is dry enough and the weather is sunny.
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.
Don't forget to browse those seed and plant catalogues for your summer bedding and baskets before its too late.

With grateful thanks

We now have 7 volunteers helping in the gardens, variously offering from half a day a month right up to 3 days a week. We owe grateful thanks to our volunteers, who make a very big difference to the amount of work we can get through. The reasons for volunteering are as varied as the volunteers themselves. Some come due to a love of historic gardens, or a love of the outdoors. Some come for the company, or to fill in time between commitments. Others come to extend their knowledge; both in retirement and as preparation to take on further horticultural studies at university. The work is varied and interesting, and can be anything from the ladylike dead heading of roses, to the heavier tasks of mucking the roses or spreading leafmold on the borders. We try to offer jobs that are both rewarding and interesting, depending on the interests of each volunteer.

We are getting ready to undertake some essential maintenance in the gardens, replacing a fountain surround, and rebuilding an archway. The quotes are in and the work will be starting in about a week. This means that wall climbers over the arch have been given a severe haircut and the fountain in the Millennium Garden has been drained. Steve emptied the fountain, managing to get totally covered in green slime, and discovering just over £2 in small change. However he didn’t discover the pound coin I had thrown in several months earlier. I will have to look through the compost heap now to recover it...

Chris, the estate woodman, has now installed a new cleft fence (see pic) behind the Apollo statue on the South Border. It is a work of art, looks like it has been in place for many years, and will allow a safe viewing point from which to see the gunnera planted in the moat. We are hoping that the gunnera will establish very quickly and become as large and impressive as the ones often seen in Cornwall.

Best wishes

Kate

February Tasks

Tidy and cut down borders when conditions allow. Helleboure displays are greatly improved if old leaves are removed to make way for the flowers.
Check greenhouse heaters and fleece in the garden regularly. The wind can easily dislodge loose fleece.
Check garden ponds when conditions are icy and gently melt holes in the ice with boiling water. Keep pond liners from cracking by floating a tennis ball on the water. It will absorb some of the pressure from the ice.
Prepare vegetable seed beds, and sow early broad beans and peas
Prune Wisteria
Cut grass on a high cut when the day is dry and slightly windy.
Check and repair garden furniture, pergolas and arches if needed.
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.

Herbie the Pheasant...

Its the end of another year, and again the topic of most conversations has been the weather. At the end of November it started to get cold, the boiler was fired up for the conservatory and all the surrounding areas were snowed in; but the Midlands was spared. Then it arrived, and everything ground to a halt. The cold snap was with us for nearly a month and almost the entire year’s heating fuel for the conservatory has been used up. A water pipe froze and cracked in the kitchen garden, a pipe burst in the potting shed, and the waste water outlet to our bath froze so that the bath wouldn’t empty for several days, but apart from that we have been let off lightly.

There was so much snow fall that Mr Berkeley was worried incase the weight would bring branches down, so one of the jobs involved walking round the gardens knocking snow off the trees and shrubs with a stout stick. This sounds fun but became rather frustrating as the snow didn’t stop falling and all that was knocked off was swiftly replaced.

The hoar frost on the foliage around the gardens made a spectacular sight: a great opportunity to get out and about with a camera. Icicles started to grow from the guttering on the melon houses and just before the thaw they had reached the ground (see picture). We also had a few worrying moments when the melon house heaters repeatedly tripped and wouldn’t stay on, however this seems to have corrected itsself now.

I have a ‘pet’ pheasant that Steve named Herbie, who rushes up when I am working. He is quite distinctive as he has paler coloured back feathers than is usual. I have been carrying a pocket full of grain, dropping a few bits whenever he is about. Pheasant are quick learners where food is concerned. We have also been feeding the birds in our cottage garden, using an old poultry feeder that has protected the feed from the falling snow, as well as filling peanut feeders that hang from the trees.

This year for the first time the Spetchley staff were invited to Berkeley Castle, along with their spouses, to join staff and volunteers for a Christmas meal in the Great Hall. It was a splendid occasion, rounded off by the appearance of two Santas, ( looking remarkably similar to the two Berkeley brothers), who proceded to hand out small gifts to the guests. We had organised our own Christmas party for our garden volunteers at Spetchley but unfortunately it had to be cancelled due to the snow. I hope to rearrange the date and have an outing in the summer instead.

Best wishes

Kate

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.
Book machinery in for a service early in the new year.
Make the most of ‘indoor days’ to plan for next season, with seed catalogues and a layout of the garden.
Use warmer days to walk round the garden, looking at the shape and structure of the plants, and planning any projects for next year.
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
Cover rhubarb crowns with straw and a forcer to grow early stems.(This cannot be done every year as it weakens the plant).
And don’t forget to feed the birds, ensuring they also have access to unfrozen water.

Snowy Worcester or Sunny Jamaica?

We are very lucky where we are in worcester, almost in the middle of the country as snow seems to be hitting all the coasts. But last night we did have a -7c. Tonight we are forecast a -9 c and the thermometer outside the messroom door registered -11.5c earlier in the week. Very chilly, but not as bad as Scotland thankfully. I must admit that one of my favourite times is when I go to tend the conservatory boiler at the weekend when the garden is crisp and white; there is no sound and looking down I can see all the tracks of animals I never get to see during the normal working day.

Many people ask what a gardener does when it is snowing. If the weather is really bad we will do maintenance work inside on chairs and benches, or weed the greenhouses, but generally there is always something to do outside. Gritting the drive and checking gutters etc, collecting leaves from sheltered corners, having a bonfire, pruning the more robust shrubs, checking tree ties, checking veg in store etc.... the list is almost endless.

Debbie has been in Jamaica on holiday for a week, and is not due back for another week. Lucky girl! She is missing all the cold weather. Her brother is getting married out there and they are making a trip of it.

I did mention at the beginning of last month’s diary that new puppy Millie had escaped through the garden gate and we thought we’d fixed it with corrugated plastic. We were wrong! One afternoon Millie had the desire to get out and follow my husband, and just bashed through the plastic! There is now strong wire netting covering the gate.