09 February 2006 - Cerney House Gardens Tulip Festival 2006
Much of the autumn was spent planting tulip bulbs for our Tulip Festival this year. We have redesigned prominent areas such as the knot garden reflecting our theme of 'In the Pink' that will run through this year's display. We will of course have other colours throughout the garden mainly because we fall in love with something of everything when we read the catalogues.
Judging by last year, the flowers will start to show third week of April and continue during the whole of May. Floral Fireworks, as before, have been an inspiration in the garden and we await the arrival of some new varieties to us and of course some old favourites. We have decided to open for Breast Cancer Research UK this year on May 6th and hope that many will wear their pink ribbon and support us.
Click here for photos from the Cerney House Gardens Tulip Festival 2005.
08 February 2006 - Criticism, Snowdrops, Animals .. & Manure!
I don't seem to have done very well with my monthly diary. I resolve to do better this year - making it monthly would be a good start!
Somebody wrote a hideous remark in our visitor's book last year - during our last week of opening they wrote that we were a sad and neglected garden. We were so incensed that our hard work and as others have said obvious love for the place have failed to impress that we nearly decided the effort was not worth sharing with others.
The garden was looking tired (as were the gardeners) but there were lovely areas and some gems to be found in late roses, asters, dahlias, cranesbill and even the odd, very odd primula. We are a family garden, not a municipal garden with set patterns and we have a wealth of plants collected over the years and some very interesting collections, including the national collection of Tradescantia. My mother and I love the garden and are constantly delighted by the treasures it produces and felt very early on that we should share it.
Generally our visitors are wonderful and make the whole thing worthwhile but obviously we are not able to please all of the people all of the time! However, the reality in an organic garden with only limited help means that some areas are hard to keep up all of the time. BUT not anymore - we are clearing and tidying in a slightly frenzied way. As I write I am aware of the pungent smell of bonfire that sadly comes from me and must embarrass Amy, our daughter when we pick her up from school. We are clearing the woodland, after years of neglect and terrible squirrel damage. We then plan to transplant the naturalise snowdrops and blue bells form our other wood which are steadily being swamped by wild garlic.
Thinking of the bulbs, our snowdrops are promising to be better than ever this year. We are managing to divide more and more each year and the white carpets are breathtaking. We also have a serious collection of the more unusual, which I think now stands at nearly 200 varieties. There are still several that I covet but part of the fun is in the chase and if I was better informed I think we have several species here that I am unable to identify. Please come and see them in two weeks time when I think they will be at their best.
Still, back to the clearing. We have pollarded the trees to the rear of our house, letting in light and saving our roof but also giving them a new chance of life after already one tree life. In clearing the debris from this exercise we revealed more snowdrops and a whole area of previously neglected bank. The large perimeter woodland is a bigger task spurred on by last year's 'great wall clearance', but we intend to create a woodland walk that can be enjoyed by those who find the cathedral experience of walking amongst great trees a soul reviving indulgence and anyway we can walk the dogs and check on the nearly due sheep at the same time.
Lambing is days away, which probably seals the weather fate but nevertheless seems an exciting time. We have decided to reduce our animal commitment and allow ourselves greater freedom to visit France and stay in our freezing but lovely tiny home. This means a huge reduction in sheep, leaving a core flock that will give us the meat we need for the year. A small number of Dexter cows for the same reason, although I have serious doubts that me or mine will be able to eat Lizzie, the misshapen heifer. And the last of the pigs were 'relocated' this week, giving the destroyed orchard some time to recover before we have a couple of weaners to be going on with.
We are pruning the orchard with a method that I would not claim is perfect but still produces a good crop of apples, although not pears. Dead, dying or decayed goes and under growth dispatched. Leaving laterals to be reduced and anything growing in the crossed position removed. I was once told that a perfectly pruned fruit tree could have a ball thrown between its branches, they did, however omit to mention the size of the ball which makes my pruning guesswork!
Lashings of manure are being added to the beds as we clear and our compost bins are being emptied of their rich and FREE contents for the sensitive areas. The hellebores are standing proud but not yet open, and will synchronise perfectly with the snowdrops. How clever nature is!
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