Summer Pruning and water

Another hot week but I don't have to remind you lot, we have all been sweltering. I cannot complain though, I long for this weather during the dark Winter months, the warm mornings, hair drying in seconds, a gentle spray from the hose and you are sorted again. I really do love it. I just don't think I was made for it. I go bright red and slow down to the pace of a Tortoise.

Still we achieved a lot this week, mainly Summer Pruning Apple trees and Pear. We followed the 'Modified Lorette System' of pruning. Sounds pretty fancy doesn't it? All it means is you need to prune the wispy new growth/shoots back to allow light to reach the fruit and to put energy back into the tree/fruit. At Heale there are Apple Tunnels, so restricted growth on trees that have been trained to grow along wires. It was hot work this week and we had to use ladders to go through and up above the trees. A great birds eye view!

I had an early morning practice on a little espalier round out of view and then helped with the main Veg garden trees.

Michael and Michael worked hard together moving methodically along the tunnels, pruning everything in reach and then moving along again

Watering needs doing all the time at mo, mixture of sprinklers, cans, hoses, I do love it when it is so hot you don't mind getting wet. A dip of the toe in the river at lunch 'aint half bad either. What a luxury working by the river.

I also helped trim Yew this week, early formations of the plant into a ball shape. We weeded and re-netted plants along the river, those pesky rabbits and deer won't know what's hit them when they try and nibble the stems next time.

I am really starting to feel like I know bits of the garden now, it takes time. Even just watering makes you visit parts you wouldn't ordinarily visit. I am appreciating more of it now, in more depth rather than surface wow factor. Just coming for two days, you miss a lot in between! Looking forward to the next time.

Hot Sweet Peas

A sunny week and hot work especially in the veg garden, even at 8am the sun felt hot and the glare made it difficult to see the flowers. We worked on the Sweet peas this week. They have reached the top of their support canes and so to prolong flowering we take each plant off it's cane and lie it down along the ground until it reaches its full extent and tie it to another cane. The process goes on until all the plants are along the ground and attached to a cane further along. The plant then gets trained up the cane again, side shoots removed, tendrils snipped. The plant must wonder what on earth is going on - I am now going sideways but supposed to flower straight. Huh?

A great process to learn and watch, I do wonder how long these wonderful traditions will go on in the future. Will Gardeners still want the faff just for a Sweet pea for a day? I hope so, the flowers are gorgeous.

We also weeded around the Zinnia and Cosmos flowers, planted Sage and watered all of the pots and there are lots of pots! The weather has been scorching these last few days. Fantastic blue skies and wisps of cloud. It is so quiet at 8am that we heard a tiny bird (Mistle Thrush?) whacking a poor snail on a stone. Amazing what nature does.



We spent time weeding the Lavandula borders along the croquet lawn, a quiet and steady job, ticking along until it is done and we started to try and tackle the borders in the veg garden along the wall.

A Fig needed a trim and it looks very neat now and lots of Aster had grown into the Irises, so we cut back and dead headed and cleared. A big job, daunting to start with but again, slowly does it. Astrantia needed a chop, Solomon's Seal and the soft furry flowers of the Stachys byzantina. I do love these leaves, so different to the rest, furry and a silver greyish colour, they are very tactile.

Plant of the week? This stunning Rose pruned to the balustrade near the river, just perfect, will have to wait and ask Michael Maltby, HG, for its name!

The art of hedge trimming

Hedges have been the theme of this week and Heale, being and 8 acre garden, has a lot of them. They sure do take some work and on the hottest day of British summertime, we cut and cut and cut!

We trimmed Portugese Laurel into squares with balls on top, huge plants and at 6 ft tall even I couldn't get to the top with my hedge trimmer. So much of gardening requires creativity and even hedge trimming allows a freedom for the person doing the cutting. It is kind of like sculpting I guess, moving the blade over the plant kind of like moulding clay. Heavy work for me and smelly too but very satisfying. Over two days we also cut Viburnum, Buxus, Yew and Osmanthus amongst others. Everything is now back in it's place and you can pass up and down steps easily.

We continue to care for single cordon Sweet peas, twice weekly removing tendrils, side shoots, tying in and harvesting flower stems. I love doing this, now the plants are off it is great to see them continue to thrive. The scent is pretty good too. We do the same for the Tomatoes, care for them daily, removing side shoots, tying in and feeding. Heale Tomatoes are lucky Tomatoes!

My plant of the week has to Eremurus bungei, yellow spires standing proud above the Lavender, they look glorious. 

Or could it be Magnolia grandiflora 'Bull Bay', the flowers on it are huge, too big to capture in a pic. You really have to get up close to it and the scent is very delicate.

The glare of the sun could have been unbearable today but a gentle breeze and almost clear blue sky made for a perfect setting. The house looked great today and the sound of the river as you stroll past, bliss. Just have to ignore the terrible racket that shatters the peace, the hedge trimmer!

Learner driver

Last week at Heale I had a go on the ride on Mower and it was great! It really gives you a new perspective on the garden and makes you aware how big it is. Michael and I worked on a mower each and cut the larger areas together. Tricky bits such as border edges and trees take a bit of getting used to but fun to learn. It makes a right racket but with ear defenders on you just go into your own world a bit.

 I also got a lesson in correct planting of trees and shrubs and that will stick with me forever. Methodical and take your time. Once you have done it properly there is no point in rushing it. I had a guest Photographer on hand to record the memory. 'Volunteer Michael' as I know him and good pix they are too!
We planted a Styrax 'Purple Dress' and this plant doesn't like competition from grass roots so we made a large planting hole and fingers crossed it will thrive. We also planted a Magnolia seiboldii by the river which will be beautiful.

I also did a bit of hand mowing on the pond beds and Swimming pool area. Michael showed me some damage on the main croquet lawn, 'Fairy Rings' which are caused by a fungus. We also have Speedwell which seems difficult to eradicate. The flower would probably look quite nice at home but not on a formal croquet lawn!

The Japanese garden will always be my favourite but it is looking lovely right now, Hostas, Ferns, Zantedeschia and Sambucus elbus (a herbaceous elder, looks like cow parsely and will end up with orange berries). Lots to see and the weather was not so harsh, the rain came just as we finished the mowing, perfect timing.

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