We can’t change the weather, but we are trying to adapt to it! An early winter job was to put in extra water butts and, needless to say, they are now full, as is the waterlily pond in the Italian garden, so we will be able to manage better in a drought. This new surface for the vehicle entry is to deal with too much rain! Last year, we had huge wet craters there and woodchips did not resolve the problem.
We thought it would be too wet for gardening today, but in fact it was OK. So a team pruned the apples, pears, quince, medlar and fig, while another pruned the roses. The verbena was cut down – it self seeds readily and we have loved having a bed of it in the walled kitchen garden, but this year we may be a bit ruthless, to keep it in check and allow space for other flowers!
The snowdrops are coming through right across the Gardens. A good cold spell in the coming week won’t harm them and hopefully they will be at their best for our snowdrop days in February. Tickets are now on sale!
