23rd July 2023

Welcome

We are still picking Sweet Peas in the Vegetable Garden and the rose on the Pergola is American Pillar Rose. The scented jasmine covering the arch to the Herb garden is in flower and together with the Mint and Lavender fill the air with a delightful perfume.

We are picking potatoes, salad crops, peas, beans beetroot and spinach.

The Iris Bed has been cut down and the rhizomes uncovered to soak up the sun.  The Delphiniums have been cut down but some have been left to seed. The blue plant on the bank behind is Cichorrum Pumilum or Chicory, a Mediterranean native, which is undergoing trials as a potential cancer treatment.

The buddlea on the bank by the Moat have all been grown from Cuttings.

The Daffodil area has been cut and the groups of pink Dierma or Angels Fishing Rods line the edge of the Moat and gracefully blow in the wind.

There is a path to walk between the Hosta and Hemerocallis in the Water Garden. The Day Lilies or Hemerocallis, as their name suggests, flower for one day before being replaced by another flower. They have provided flowers for the last 3 weeks.

Roses have finished their first flowering and we plant Clematis to provide interest before we get the second flush of flowers. The older roses such as Albertine, do not repeat but the roses on the Pergolas will all flower again.

Please tread carefully on the gravel at the bottom of the West Lawn-lots of emerging plants

The Wild Garden has had its one and only cut of the year and the Mulberry and Quince Trees are now visible. In olden days this area used to be where the laundry was hung out to dry and you can envisage long lines of sheets hidden from the eyes of the occupants of the Hall.

House Martins have chosen to build their nest in the porch of one of the holiday cottages. They have raised a healthy brood and we await with anticipation their departure and the cessation of the mess!!

Herons still visit and we have had Cormorants and seen Red Kites, masses of rabbits still in the garden but fortunately enough grass so they do minimal damage. We still have the Geese but sadly no sightings of our swans who lost their battle with the Greylag geese. Perhaps next year.

Stay healthy and good gardening

Lynda Tucker