japanese pagoda jan 2020 cropped

Standing tall

The Japanese garden now has its pagoda standing tall and the Salix Gracilistyla Mount Aso (Japanese pink pussy willow), magnolias and rhododendrons all have buds. It’s very exciting to see this garden developing and in 2020 the design will be streng ...

pagoda cropped

kosame turns to ooame

It rains a lot in Japan and so they have at least 50 words for different types of rain. This might have been kosame – before it turned to ooame later! Anyway, it was probably appropriate for erecting a pagoda!! Our volunteers are so dedicated and we ...

bty

Moving on the spiders!

It’s nearly Halloween, but we can’t have spiders spoiling our refreshments offer at the last Open Day of the season this Sunday! The Gardens are looking gorgeous, refreshed by the rains and not yet hit by frost! In the Italian Garden thereR ...

bty

As good as new

Margaret is doing a fantastic job, painstakingly cleaning up and filling the holes in our mosaic-top tables. The mosaics have a range of lovely designs and were created over 15 years ago by Anne Schwegmann-Fielding working with students from Helena Romane ...

bty

Woodland clearance starts

We now have responsibility for the woodland next to the walled garden – it is very overgrown and uneven underfoot and we expect to find there trash from the second world war as well as more recent stuff as we start to clear it. A good start on anoth ...

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 ...

sdr

Not a weedy thistle!

This “scotch thistle” (onopordum acanthium) was probably not planted deliberately but is quite a sight! They are said to top 2.5 metres if well fed….but this one has managed quite well without tlc!  Elsewhere we have been waging war on c ...

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 ...

bridge building

Bridge building at the Gardens

Roger, Rod and David made great progress on the new bridge over the rill in the Gardens this week; and Claire went off to buy the paint for the finishing touches. Unfortunately it is not quite ready in time for the Open Day this Sunday. But elsewhere the ...