Merry Christmas from Iford

The crib scene at Iford this year was 'housed' in a gnarled piece of a yew tree's roots which had to be dug up this year.

Happy Christmas from everyone at Iford!

Cutting the oil seed rape

It is an exciting, but somewhat jittery, time for farmers as the harvest continues in the midst of some very "catchy" weather.  After all, harvest is the culmination of a whole year's work towards income which arrives only after the seed or grain is off the land.

We were very pleased that we managed to find a break in the showers for long enough to get the oil seed rape in from the fields.  Just the wheat crop to go now, but that harvests a bit later in the year, so farmers (and everyone else I should think!) will be hoping for some dry weeks through to mid-September.

Iford Land Agent Stephen Thompstone looks on, wistfully, in the evening light...

Congratulations to Ed McKeever

Finally managed to find time to make my pilgrimage to the Golden Postbox in Bradford-on-Avon in honour of Ed McKeever's brilliant gold medal in the Kayaking.  Well done Ed!!

(Unfortunately, we still don't have a central post office in Bradford, because it hasn't reopened yet after what feels like months and months.  Come on Royal Mail...)

MG Rally

Well, thank heavens for the nice weather arriving just in time for the arrival of the MG Owners Club at the weekend.  Some wonderful vehicles, and a great afternoon for a drive.

 

The Moth that came to tea

A Lime Hawk Moth came to tea this afternoon, arriving on the window sill of the tearoom serving counter and settling in for the afternoon. Warm and dry, and with cream teas and cakes available until 5pm, we can see why Mrs Moth decided to choose this window sill rather than one of the many lime trees in the valley.

100 MWh reached, rain still falling but opera continues undaunted

It is odd to think how much store we put in milestone numbers, which of themselves mean very little - after all, does the 1,000,000th customer bring anything that the previous 999,999 did not?  Of course not, they are just another customer.  But with smiles all round, we're still going to be pleased that the hydro plant has made it to 100 Mega Watt Hours, thanks to the rather determined rain we've been having lately.

Cleaning the screen through the wet season has been relatively easy, which is a relief.  On the other hand, since the hydro party, which was reported fairly widely in the press (which was nice), we had some problems with the bottom bearing.  When I say that we had some problems, I mean that the entire bearing unit had to be replaced.  It is thought by the experts on our installation team to have been of faulty construction, however we shall see... if it happens again we shall know if there is a more fundamental problem.  Fingers are very firmly crossed.

Whilst we have been making power thanks to the rain, the Iford Arts season has been suffering from this bout of British drizzle.  It would, however, take quite a tempest to dampen the spirits of a stoical English audience watching Mozart's comic opera Die Entfürung aus dem Serail.  Thankfully all the performances are in the cloister, under cover, and Bill Bankes-Jones production brings a delightful warmth to the story.  On the 22nd June the sun graced us with its presence, reminding us of the golden light which bathes the valley on a beautiful evening (before clouds promptly returned for the rest of the week!).

The Seraglio princesses and their security guards take the scenic route to the cloister (June 22nd):

postbox

Just loved the contrast of the red of the postbox and the blue and purple of the flowers with the garden wall and house as a backdrop. Happy days.

roses at the mill

Having started the day with rain and grey clouds threatening it has turned into a gorgeous morning with sunshine and sweet scented roses. Stunning...

Warm evening sun in the garden

There are few occasions that I can recall the scent of wisteria and summer blossom being so overpoweringly irresistible; a true force of nature.  Today in the 25 degree warmth of a truly perfect day, we were enveloped by floral scents wafting right through the house, into the tearoom, throughout the garden and valley.

Half an hour ago, to take advantage of such a rare evening, I went out to hear the evening concert from the songbirds and to take some photographs to share with the world (some a bit 'contrasty', I'm afraid - haven't much time to sort that out today).  I hope you had a lovely day wherever you are, and if you didn't perhaps you can borrow a piece of our lovely day.

Roasting wisteria

Glorious weather at 25C has brought the wisteria into full bloom, finally. Now's the moment to see it - and the lucky recipients of this spectacle are a delightful Russian group who enjoyed the garden in the evening light with a cream tea. Mmmm.

Muck

Always important to churn the compost - helps aeration to allow the ideal breakdown. The sweet earthy smell is glorious - sadly I can't share that over a blog!

Scum.

A friend of mine just sent me an email.  I couldn't resist sharing it - do yourself a favour and pop along to Iford Manor Teas to be saved from such oblivion.

Caroline refuses most of the time to have "all that fancy tea". This is a recent example of what she prefers....moments before the milk was sloshed in, the teabag squished against the side and it was all given a little stir just to make sure the scum on top was evenly spread. 

 Mmmmm....

Magnolia flourishes

One of my personal favourites (mainly because I see it in the morning from my bedroom window), is currently giving us a glorious display.  So sad that magnolias are so susceptible to cold weather and browning off in a frost - and with High pressure approaching, we might have seen it at its best already this year.

Wisteria Watch - May 13 2012

A mixed bag on the wisteria front.  Those plants which were in exposed locations suffered a significant set-back from the frost in early April.  In most cases they are having a go, and we will see some rare 'intermediary' blooms this year I suspect in late May, when the flowers are out with the smallest of the leaves.

In other, more sheltered areas, we have a good show - especially on the Casita (above) which is ready this weekend, and by the Loggia (below).  

The ring of wisteria around the lily pond in the centre of the garden will need more sun to mature yet:  

Free-standing forms in the upper terraces are coming on and are about a week away, given some warmth.

 The weather has proved this year just how unpredictable things can be, with spring having arrived three weeks early on the average at Iford, and yet we are now looking at a late flowering of the wisteria!  It is as though the late frosts and the drought sent everything into suspended animation for a month.

Hydro Electric Open Day

What a lovely morning to be setting up for the public open day for our Hydro Plant this afternoon.

All are welcome, although it isn't really suitable for children. Entrance is free to the hydro, and the tearoom and gardens are open too.

Hydro open day: 2 - 4.30pm. Meet the design and build teams, and learn about sustainable energy production in the Iford valley.

Cracking up!

It's going to take a lot more than just a bit of rain to solve this - and it's only just the second week in April!

Wisteria Watch April 8th 2012

Increasing numbers of people are telephoning to ask about the wisteria, and we are directing them to the blog so that they can see with their own eyes how the wisteria is coming along.  Basically the cold weather over the last week has held it back a bit, which is no bad thing, and so we're looking at full bloom on the front of the house in about 1-2 weeks, and for the free-standing wisterias about 2-3 weeks or so, but in each case quicker if the warm weather returns.  Keep watching those photos!

Metal detectrists' Sunday

One of the local Metal Detecting Clubs held a field day today combing over some land on the top of the hill to see what they might find.  Actually, despite much Roman activity in the area there wasn't a huge amount coming up.  We had carefully cordoned off some known Roman settlements which were definitely not on the menu today because they are scheduled sites already so clearly must not be dug over without expert intervention and appropriate permissions.  Nevertheless, the folks had expected to find more Roman finds than they did from the new, unsurveyed areas they were working in - you can barely move for pieces of Roman pottery during ploughing time after all so it was hoped that some coins and such might come up.

A small number of Roman coins were found, and other interesting finds included this half crown from 1921:

The most pleasing thing about the event, though, was the number of people who attended, on a warm, overcast Easter Day, as shown by the number of cars wishing to park in the farmyard around which the event was centred!

Find us on...

In case you haven't found us yet, you can hunt Iford down on:

Facebook: as a place which you can 'like': "Iford Manor: The Peto Gardens" and also "Iford Arts"

Twitter: 
We tweet as @ifordmanor and @ifordarts

Web: 
For the garden, valley and estate:
www.ifordmanor.co.uk, 
For the music and opera festival:
www.ifordarts.co.uk,
For our fine tea company:
www.ifordmanorteas.co.uk,
For our recordings of musical events:
www.ifordrecordings.co.uk

Rain, rain, come again

Well, for a "band of heavy showers moving through" I don't think that was really up to much.  We're very, very short of water and last night we can barely have had more than about 20 minutes of rain.  Oddly the river this morning is actually lower than it was yesterday, which raises in my mind questions about who might be extracting water upstream.  Just asking.

I wrote an article on the need to think about water management, both a local and national level, for www.thegoodwebguide.co.uk.  You can find it here:  http://bit.ly/HTjWxt

Seiridium cypresses removed; optimism for replacements

For a while the scourge of Seiridium cupressi has been affecting cypresses at Iford for some time.  We are by no means unusual, sadly.  All over the world cypress, thuja and similar 'soft' conifers are suffering.  It is a really depressing disease because this canker causes such rapid destruction (taking two years to all but kill some trees); and from the gardener's point of view, it is an ugly and very public demise too - sad for all concerned.


On the terraces at the back of the house four hearty cypress trees had stood for some fifteen years since they were put in as adolescents.  By now at well over twenty-five feet tall, the effect was one of drawing up the eye to the heavens, a reminder of Tuscany on a gloomy Tuesday which would raise a smile on even the grumpiest of visitor!


But after one had to be taken down last year, this winter a further two had to go, leaving just this remaining stalwart, toughing it out in the face of his limbs browning off and dying back.  He will, I fear, have short time also.

We have known this would probably be coming down the track, and for this reason have been trialling a number of different cypress forms to see which might be most resilient.  Over the past ten years that they have been being brought on, some have already perished in the cold, but this hardy specimen, and his friend across the path, have now replaced their unfortunate cousins.  


So the perpendicular optimism of the Italianate has its renaissance on the Iford terraces.  Let's hope both that an antidote will be found against Seiridium, and also that these two fine replacements will reach their full, towering maturity.

First day open for 2012 and weather concerns

Earlier in the week the warm spell turned cold, and our thoughts turned excitedly to the prospect of a drought-averting rainy spell.  So much for that!  The reality could not have been further from the forecasts, and Sunday 1st of April has been a glorious, warm spring day - in fact, the type every historic garden hopes for when opening their doors to the public.

The day started with a visit from Oliver Gerrish, @oligerrish if you are a Tweeter, who brought a couple of charming Americans to us - they are on an architectural tour of the UK and were visiting Iford as a part of their visit to Bath.

As the heat of the day began to strike, we were rushing around trying to find all the little essentials (such as car park signs) which had been hidden away safely over the winter, but which definitely needed digging out for the first day open.  The oven was hard at work creating cakes and dough was being hooked (? one uses a dough hook, after all!) ready to be made into scones.  Two o'clock arrived and a few minutes later the gates opened - just about on time, Peto's theatrical garden prepared for summer visiting once more.

I am very pleased to say that a steady flow of garden visitors came to see us; and the tearoom had a healthy first day, which bodes well for the season.  One man telephoned this morning to find out if we were open, explaining that he had been waiting all spring for us to open - very kind flattery, perhaps, but if he did in fact visit this afternoon, he had a good day for it!

But now it seems we are threatened with potentially quite a cold end to the coming week.  Heavy frost at this stage, especially if combined with a cold wind, will freeze-dry the wisteria buds, which are at their most delicate right now - that, for the wisteria fans, would be very sad indeed (although often it means that the second flowering in June is all the more splendid).

We live in uncertain times, weather-wise.  It doesn't help one jot, but I suspect it has been ever thus!

[Iford is next open on Tuesday April 3rd, 2pm]

Spring blossoms and green shoots

This weekend is a great time to visit Iford if you like cherry blossoms (and who doesn't?).  The lawns have been mown off for the first proper cut of the season, and our songbirds have been out and about making the most of the unseasonally warm weather.

This Sunday Iford opens for the first time in 2012, and we shall be opening fully throughout April on account of the increasingly early Spring.  The tearoom will also be open, so there's a warm cup of tea or an ice cream depending on the weather.

And whilst we're at it, cross your fingers for the replacement cypress trees which have gone in to replace those lost to the horrendous seiridium disease which is causing real problems for our cypresses.

New signs on A36 - thanks, (I think...?)

We're very grateful to whichever department of whichever bit of government has decided that our 'brown signs' needed upgrading on the A36.  They were quite small and now you shouldn't possibly be able to miss them, given their ENORMOUS size.

However, I wonder if the person putting them up considered the view for oncoming traffic from the Warminster direction?  Hmm... (admittedly, marginally better, but not much, if you are actually in the middle of the road, but I didn't fancy getting killed whilst taking the photo!)