October 2024
Hello Everyone
On a gloriously wet afternoon I am writing a newsletter to you all, and it's on time. Having said "gloriously wet" I do feel so sorry for people living in parts of the country where plants and crops are being severely affected. We have mulched heavily this year with home-made compost, and pea straw at the back of the new woodland area but it is so good for our plants to have rain on the foliage.
The excitement is that soon I will have a shade house. It is a glasshouse which will be covered in shade cloth and I am going to use it for growing seeds and striking cuttings. This is a process which will be conducive to my slower pace. I will always add new plants to my plant collection but I am wanting to do bigger sweeps of some existing perennials and shrubs. The potager is big enough for us to grow vegetables for our own use, annuals which I will grow from seed, and plants that I am trialling before I find a permanent place for them.
It is the visiting season and I often get asked if people can just come on their own or in twos or threes; i.e. not in a bus group. Yes of course! And I very much enjoy plant chats with visitors. This year we have a number of plants for sale which have been propagated from the garden. It is good to see them in a garden setting. Visitors are most welcome to bring their own picnics and many do.
The photos this time have been chosen to illustrate some of my thinking processes and gardening tips.
Photo 1: The reason for having buxus domes outside the kitchen window is that I want something that looks good all year round. The domes are going to be let loose with random trimming so that the look is more informal. We have painted the gas tank under the right hand end of the kitchen windows, and the heat pump machine on the left in the soft green that has been used on many a spot around the place where I felt it pulled the place together better, and the object being painted receded into the background. We affectionately call it "Frensham Green". It is the same colour as that used on the window sill, which is a half tone deeper than that used on the door and window frames.
Photo 2: Looking out from the summer house. I often think of ideas while looking from the inside out. The wisteria is Peaches'n'Cream which is delicately perfumed, as are most of the plants placed near the summer house. I do enjoy the shape of the wisteria branches.
Photo 3: Rich warmth on a sunny afternoon. The flowering shrub is Camellia x williamsii.
Photo 4: One of the most talked about things in our garden is the live willow fence that sits near our entrance. There is a smaller one behind the potager. The willow was grown and these were made by Mike Lilian, a master craftsman. Around the house, both inside and out I have many willow works woven by Mike which include various baskets, a wood basket on wheels, an umbrella holder, and one of the tall baskets as you see in the photo. This photo was taken in Mike's garden and each year I put mine out for the summer months on a raised lawn area under trees. It will go out again this week.
Photo 5: One of the earlier roses to come out as it sits just in front of a brick wall that gets morning to noon sun is the miniature rose 'Winter Magic'. A soft lavender to grey colour, it was bred in the USA about 1985. I've grown them for many years and they give such good value, flowering throughout the season.
I've been picking bunches of coral peonies to give to friends as well as for our house. They are one of the few flowers in my garden that I prefer in a vase. This is because they make any room look so cheerful, but I find them a little bright in the garden as they stand out so much from other things and can be spotted from a long distance. Maybe it's an age thing as I enter the pre twilight years!
Best wishes to you all,
Margaret
