Saturday, 14 February 2015

Final push for opening

Today the gardens open (I am not there!) but this week we had to prepare for it and make sure all was looking the best it can in the rain on a murky day! Some visitors popped by anyway and braved a Snowdrop walk in the rain - hardy Gardener types.

We spent time re-edging the Yew Statues (as I call them) on the croquet lawn. Standing majestic, they had been cut back last year and left a big edge of turf that needed tidying up. A lot of turf to remove and it gets very heavy. Some machinery problems and in the end we got there. Carefully cutting a neat line, cutting the turf into pieces and removing each 'slab' so as we could compost it. We had Chickens following us around, clever chaps, pecking up all the goodies from the soil.

Near the Yew is a lot of Sarcoccoca confusa, in bloom, which smells sooooo good right now.

Whilst removing turf near the boat terrace we had to remove some Iris tuberosa bulbs, so we potted these up. Like a small Dahlia tuber or they actually reminded me of the numerous Chinese Artcichoke tubers we collected from the veg garden.





We also had a delivery of seed potatoes from Edwin Tucker, Main crop, Earlies and Second Earlies. I haven't tried Pink Fir Apple before, they are long knobbly things that look like quite life like. We placed them all upright in egg holders towards the light to get them to chit and come to life.

We had to get the tea room pathway ready for visitors, so spent some time shoveling and raking gravel too.

Later on we got time to sow some more seed. A mix and variety of Misticanza Salad this time in a new all purpose compost (trialling, says it does everything possible, sowing, potting on, shrubs, will let you know) and some Basil. We covered the salad seeds with Vermiculite and housed them in the cool greenhouse.



The rambling Roses we pruned are coming into new life! That makes me happy indeed.




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