dav

The squashes are on the march

The pumpkins are escaping their beds and the squashes are climbing walls and many have already ripened in the heat of July/early August. Normally, we would expect squashes to be ready for our September Open Day, but some will be ripe for sale at next week ...

sdr

Keep on smiling!

The sun continued to shine (will it ever stop?), as we looked back on the last year and celebrated all we had achieved, at the AGM, followed by the volunteers’ BBQ. Gary cooked the Prior’s Hall sausages and burgers to perfection, the salads we ...

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 ...

sdr

Now that’s a tongue!

Variously called a Devil’s Tongue, Voodoo Lily, Dragon Lily or more properly Dracunculus Vulgaris, this one is very much at home in the Italian Garden! It is an oddity of a plant because it is pollinated by flies not bees. Its shape has given rise t ...

dav

Vegetables galore

Each week, Steve seems to plant more vegetables and don’t they look great!! Today, it was runner beans, to add to the maize, leeks, onions, chard, lettuce etc etc. The recent rains have also helped the soft fruit to swell, the fruit trees to put on ...

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 ...

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Our blousy hanky

The Handkerchief Tree was looking magnificent today, with the hankies blowing in the breeze against a clear blue sky, with the Glade framed with the frothy white of cow parsley. Hopefully they will still be looking stunning for the Open Day on 20 May. A h ...

dav

Fresh growth

It is an exciting time of year at the Gardens – full of promise for the season ahead! Spring green is making way for summer colour, as we remove weeds and excess euphorbia and make way for fresh planting of additional helianthemums, kniphofia, geums ...