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 ...

dav

Hot, hot, hot

On the hottest July day on record, our plucky volunteers still got stuck in …watering of course, but also grass-cutting, weeding, deadheading and carting a load of manure to the Gardens. It’s got to be done!! The butterflies were enjoying the ...

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

What a crowd!

It must have been our highest volunteer numbers yet – 27 plus a group of 10 from GSK. So we managed to get masses of jobs done as well as the obligatory watering, given how dry it has been. We were cutting down the now dead cow parsley; cutting off ...

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 ...

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The periploca up close

Our periploca graeca, also known as a silk vine, is precious to us because we believe it once ranged over one of Peto’s two treillage pergolas across the croquet lawn. So we were thrilled when one of our talented volunteers did a lovely painting of ...

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Iris adding to the stumpery

The stumpery is maturing nicely, with the ferns filling out and iris adding colour. So the walk down the glade to the tenboudai with views onto the fishing lakes is even more of a treat, with the rill running after rain, a lovely new Japanese style bridge ...

dav

Rainbow border is in the making

The dahlias that brought such colour to the walled kitchen garden have over-wintered fine and Sam and Richard are adding more, to extend the border – so it should be spectacular this year! After the light rains we have had, the main jobs of the day ...

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 ...