japanese monks august 2019

Japanese style gardening

Is Steph channelling the Japanese gardeners that Monty Don met, who were removing grass from moss gardens blade by blade? The monks and the rest of the Gardens are looking fit for visitors on Sunday for our first ever celebration  of our Japanese Garden h ...

sdr

Stunning!

Open Day visitors on Sunday will love the walled garden and the Italian garden – they are looking stunning! The restoration of the stone steps is nearly finished too. Maggie, our archivist, has also done great work in digging out new stories and pic ...

dav

Sitting pretty

Visitors on Sunday will be able to see Colchester Institute students’ Japanese themed pieces in the Glade, including these monks, who are nestled in next to the rill. The weather is set fair so why not join us? The Voodoo lilies are flowering specta ...

shield bug May 2019

Bugs, animals and flowers

The Gardens are blooming and looking fabulous; perfect for  Sunday’s Open Day, when we celebrate the nature in our Gardens. This shield bug was enjoying the sunshine on a rose leaf; the bumble bees were out in force, particularly enjoying the rosema ...

bty

Euphorbia rules ok!

The Italian garden has gone green – the euphorbia and solomon seal have grown huge now it has rained! Set against the green are splashes of colour from helianthemum, irises, alliums, roses and osteospermum; and the lupins are coming. Sue got her wad ...

bty

Looking beautiful

Come and see for yourself – the weather is set fair! For this Sunday’s Open Day the snowdrops are perfect; we have lots of snowdrops in the green ready and our beautiful snowdrop mugs and vases for sale; and of course Carolyn has stocked up on ...

dav

Cuttings galore

It’s the time of year for taking cuttings and we’ve stopped counting the number that Roy has managed – lavenders for refreshing or replacing the lavender borders, rosemary for the dividers between the herb garden sections and penstemon f ...

dav

The last picking of mulberries

And some reached the bowl too! We have had a really good crop this year, perhaps due to the hot weather, so there will be jam and jelly on the tombola stall this September. The early heavy rains after the drought brought down a stem of the trunk, probably ...

dav

Bugs in the Gardens

We are counting our bugs…come and help us on our Open Day, Sunday 24 June, when we will have help on hand to identify them. This one, on fungi on a tree in the Glade, stumped us … it appears to be eating the fungi. Local expert, Jono Forgham, reckon ...

dav

Ready for the agile and not so agile

The agility ring is in place for visiting dogs for this Sunday’s Fun day for Dogs; the weather is all set fair so there are no muddy paths; the Rock Choir are no doubt as well-rehearsed as ever; and Carolyn is ready with the bacon, cakes and other c ...