bty

More snowdrops revealed!

The new fence at the top of the walled kitchen garden looks so much better than the scrappy red and white “keep out” tape! And the clearance work at the top end of the garden has also revealed how many snowdrops there are in among the rubble o ...

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Winter in the gardens

With the thermometer barely reaching three degrees above freezing an incredible 18 volunteers came to the Gardens this Thursday.  There could almost have been a competition for  the greatest  number of layers of clothing everyone was wearing to keep the c ...

sdr

Closed season jobs continue

David has been creating this fabulous chessboard. Meanwhile the transformation of the walled kitchen garden continues. Sam is continuing his herculean task of clearing bracken from the top end, carefully lifting and replanting snowdrops and daffodils as h ...

dav

Getting into shape for the new year

We volunteers were all a bit rusty, but looking forward to some fresh air after all those mince pies…so we had a gentle day, enjoying the camaraderie and tranquility of the Gardens. And we got some work done too!  Roger gave the two bay trees in the ...

burst

Strictly pruning

Pruning beautifully in synch, even without music! A wide range of tasks were completed this week – here are a few of them. The compost bins in the walled kitchen garden were emptied into the new raised beds. Roger trimmed the lavender hedge along th ...

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The black arts of compost

Compost is universally prized in the Gardens, but how to make it is more controversial! Today was the day for turning one bin over into the next, to mix it, and hopefully accelerate it; whilst making space for more in the emptied bin. We are also agreeing ...

dav

Sophie’s rose

With thanks to Sophie, who volunteered at the Gardens before moving away, we have planted two Sophy’s roses in the Italian Garden! The new roses we planted last year have settled in well and thrived despite the drought. We hope Sophie’s roses ...

sdr

Now breathe …..

breathe in the fresh, warm air of a beautiful November’s day at the Gardens…and then get down to work! Bulbs and new border perennials planted, leaves raked, the end of the walled garden cleared (again) for more raised beds and still with time ...

dav

Wet, wet, wet

Our volunteers aren’t put off by the rain though and Carolyn, Christine, Claire, David, Roger and Terry got some useful jobs done… shifting things to make room for winter work in the polytunnel, some tidying in the Italian Garden and building of bir ...