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 and an emerging Japanese planting area.
It was a glorious day and we fanned out to plant and tidy throughout the Gardens. Then visitors from the Southend area arrived and marvelled at how lovely the Gardens were looking. They were treated as the first visitors of the year to see waterlilies flowering in the cleaned up pond in the Italian Garden and the first periploca flower; and there should be plenty more of both by our 23 June open day.
