Borders and more borders

Crikey I have learnt a lot again this week, Michael the HG is a great teacher and is very good to make sure I do different things in the garden. I have been up to all sorts, even if it may seem boring to others I am learning at every turn.

I spent some time in the kitchen garden which has sections divided by Box hedging and archways running along the length of the central path, raised containers and pathways. There is a central pond with Box balls and apple tree tunnels and mixed borders. Wisteria hangs above you along some of the grass paths and a gravel bed against a wall, includes Clematis Montana, Euphorbia, Crown Imperial. It is a hot spot to work in but obviously all the veg are super happy. I chopped down Spinach and Chard this week which was going to seed, cared for newly planted Courgettes and Cucumbers and planted Ipomea 'Heavenly Blue' to climb up the archways opposite to some Gourds on the other side. I planted in mirror format, so once through the central path, the plants swapped sides. I planted out Helianthus 'Prada Red' and more Sweet Peas (Harlequin and Venetian), which we will train to Willow wigwams, the Willow coming from the garden itself.

Lots to do at this time of year but many plants have come out of the greenhouse, into the cold frame and made their final journey out into the garden already.

I also spent some time with Michael in the mixed borders in a private area of the garden near the Peto ponds. Deep borders full with herbaceous plants and this allowed me the opportunity to work with Michael and identify every plant. A huge help! We also used Hazel sticks to support larger plants, a beautiful way to stake and the plant grows through the structure hiding it completely.

I also got to back comb a big Stipa grass which had some dead foliage underneath but the plant got me back by giving me an itchy rash all along my forearms. The Alliums are coming now and are great to work with as you get a wiff of onion on the way through if you move the soil at their feet. Heale has lots of Iris and so I was involved with dead heading where needed.

So much to do in such a garden as Heale coming into the Summer but I am loving every minute of being there. How could you not love Lambs, Pigs, Peacock, Swans overhead and beautiful plants for as far as the eye can see. Even when I have my head in a border, hair sticking to rose thorns, I get the chance to sneak a peek at the rest of the garden, it is a joy.

Sunshine and showers

This week at Heale I had two days of polar opposites, rain and then sunshine, like on another planet. Getting muddy wet gloves is not much fun but the flipside of planting out in the sunshine, is worth waiting for, a Gardener's life.

I weeded the parterres this week, Buxus and Lavandula edging with lawned pathways mean weeds. It is a time consuming job on your knees. The realisation soon hits that this type of garden design means you are going to have to do the job all over again in a few weeks to boot! The pathways need edging too of course but when the job is done it does look good.

When it rained heavily I spent time with Michael 2 (I must find another way of distinguishing between Michaels) in the prop, cutting Tulip bulb foliage down, washing the bulbs and drying ready for storage.

Michael HG also gave me a masterclass in Secateur maintenance, thank goodness, as mine were in dire need. WD40, oil and a sharpen later and Bob's your Uncle, off you go again. They are so much better and now at least I know how to look after them once a week/month or whenever I remember to care for them. Felco are the best as you can strip them back and clean them in pieces.

I also spent time this week in the kitchen garden amongst the veg, planting out Borage, Calendula, Nasturtium and Mint, in the herb/cut flower area.

The Single Cordon Sweetpeas have suffered the Slugs amongst other damage and so I set about removing 40 plants and replacing them. Tying in, snipping the tendrils and they are good as new. Hopefully they will make it to a ripe old age and give us show stopping long stemmed flowers later in the Summer.

The Wisterias in the garden are coming into their own, beautiful racemes hanging from pillars and walls all over the place, spoilt for choice. Alliums are bursting open now and Poppies are dotted about. The number of greens to look at are wonderful, layer upon layer. There are a vast number of Iris, very tall, adorning various borders.

Much to my surprise one morning I got involved in Sheep herding into a nearby field and feeding Kunekune pigs in the meadow amongst new born Lambs. Country life eh? It's bonkers.

Latin, Latin, Latin

Lots of new plant names this week and much to remember. I find taking a photo helps and recording the name over again and then researching it on the internet. It somehow finally goes into the old brain box.

We worked in some of the borders this week, the gravel border outside the kitchen garden and the Iris borders along the river. The gravel border has lots of bulbs in it so needs light care. I was introduced to a crazy mouse plant, Arisarum proboscideum, which has tiny flowers underneath lots of green foliage. Totally weird as you cannot really see them unless you hunt for them and yet they are beautiful. Alongside grows Ajuga with tallish blue flower spikes, a creeper and quite pretty. Also, creeping Viola riviana 'Purpurea' amongst other plants. Slowly does it and you get to the end of the border. Working in a large garden really helps with understanding scale. Tidying a border at Heale is quite an undertaking compared to gardening at home and experiencing that really helps you to understand timings and gives you the ability to prioritise.

Edging the grass of the borders makes a huge instant impact and is less time consuming. I find this quite satisfying really!

Lots of trees at Heale are busy changing as Spring gets underway. Michael showed me a Plymouth Pear also known as Pyrus cordata which has come into a pretty white blossom in the meadow area and the Sorbus aria 'Lutescens' (Whitebeam) looks fantastic glaring in the distant corner of the garden amongst many greens.

The rain came this week and we hid in the 'Prop' house sowing veg for the kitchen garden, Pak Choi, Onions, Salad amongst others. Great to practice seed sowing and remind yourself of the process, mixing compost and using presser boards and sieves. At Heale I have used glass on top of the modules for the first time to keep in moisture.

When the weather was kinder to us we carried on in the Iris borders along the river, cutting back Hellebore flowers, leaving behind the beautiful new foliage, ready to go again. The flowers were so beautiful and grand in scale I couldn't chuck them all, so brought a few home!

This week I also got to prune an Akebia quinata cream form which grows along a balustrade near the house, a vigorous vine with lightly scented delicate flowers. Everything about it is delicate really, even the leaves. I learnt to prune to one node from the old wood and even though it initially looked like a tangled mass of spaghetti, the plant ended up tamed and ready to get going again. A lovely job, slow and steady. Wet leaves mean wet sleeves too.

A great week, Heale is a magical place with no contact with the outside world (no phone reception anyway). I feel like I enter another dimension there and have to remember that life speeds up again as soon as I get back home. Much to learn but Michael is a great teacher.