Happy January!

Well, Happy New Year to everyone, if it isn't too late to say that.

This being the UK, we'll start with a traditional comment about the weather, which has been mostly warm and wet all winter.  Looking on the bright side, we're off to a flyer here with our hydro electric plant generating lots of green electricity from the high river flow.

 Earlier this month, Rob and Tom took the opportunity of a dry couple of days to get out and start pruning the wisteria sinensis at the front of the house.  This exercise always takes at least a couple of days, removing last year's racemes and breaking off the dead wood.

With Easter so early (garden visitors arriving!), and winter having been generally so warm, we wanted to get it done before the wisteria decided to get growing again.  These wisterias were some of the first to be planted by Harold Peto when he came to Iford, in 1899, so the oldest of them are well over 100 years old.

The Oriental garden has had its annual clean out.  

- Before -

We drain the pond down to a low level, and remove the leaves which fell over the winter, clear undesirable weed, return any stones which have moved over the season, thin out the box, ferns and other plants to allow room for this year's growth, and generally tidy the place up.

- After -

This is year four of our five-year historic replanting of the garden.  After three years of working on the borders with Alison Jenkins' support and the replacement of Harold Peto's roses with help from Robert Mattock, this will be the "year of the rockery".  

Over the coming months we will try to explain a little of how we are maintaining the rockeries in the garden which are such a useful way of filling in the space, transitioning from area to area or opening up borders without leaving them exposed.

So, here's to 2016.  May we wish you a successful year full of happy gardening and garden visiting!

Wisteria 2015 - Wowzers!

I don't think I can recall a more abundant showing of wisteria here for many years. So I thought it might be nice to put a few photographs up.

If you can possibly get here to see it, you've got about a week left.

Garden update - wisteria

The wisteria is really showing off.  It's out in force on the front of the house, on the casita and by the central entablature of the terrace.

  

Summer... catch it while you can

Storms forecast for this week (much needed for the water, but you know what it can do to blossoms...) so don't miss out on the Iford summer colour. 

As readers of the blog will know, we have been undertaking a historic replanting this year which will be a three year project. The border work on the terrace, despite the long winter is really paying off, and Alison Jenkins' terrace scheme looks splendid. This is phase 1, and the rear of the borders here will be done next, with other borders around the garden following. 

 In other news, fans of Wisteria will want to know that there is a 'token' second flowering out in the upper garden, less so at the front of the house.

Spring / Summer Collection

This year the wisteria has been simply remarkable, and it continues to be so.  

 

Perhaps this is due to the late chill through March and April, which set the plants back and seems to have intensified the flowering.  Thankfully there was no frost to kill the buds - always a threat in late spring.

 Here are some images of the wisteria so far and if you haven't visited us yet, this coming week is the prime time for the wisteria in 2013.

 

 

Wisteria Update: 21 May 2013

For those in the know...:

Casita will be 'prime time' this weekend (25/26 May)

Next week for the standard wisterias (27/28/29 May)

The plants in front of the house are a little later (first week of June)

Garden Update May 17 2013

It's cherry blossom time at Iford.  On the terrace, Peto's last surviving Cherry is in full flow.

 The standard wisterias are a week or two away, but those on a southerly facing wall, such as the front of house are just opening up.  Hopefully we will not have any frosts as the number of buds looks enormous.

 The scent from the Daphne burkwoodii (above) on the Conservatory terrace is overpowering in the evening.  But perhaps the star of the show right now is the cherry in the Japanese garden, hanging like clouds above the 'Fuji' rock.

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.