Peto's famous cherries in bloom

The last of Peto's six spectacular cherry trees in the middle of the garden is in blossom this week.  

Whilst double grafted (at 6 inches, then top-worked at about 5ft), we are getting new growth from the bottom graft.  These plants are over 100 years old now, hence we have lost the others to old age - but it is as though the plant knows it is sadly not long for this world and is trying to give us some new material to propagate from.  

The puzzling thing is how similar the new material off the bottom graft (image below) is compared to the growth from the top (image above).  As I see more of the leaves and get detailed images I'll put more here as a compare and contrast.

 

Jumping the gap: one electric fence, two borders...

 Our electric fence which repels the rabbits from the newly planted borders met with an untimely accident with a lawn mower this week, severing the fence in two.  It would be insensitive to go into the gory details of the fence's demise whilst the other tools are still in shock.

 This created a problem... how to join two pieces of (now rather shorter) electric fence together to protect two separate areas of border (note gap/lawn above).  And here is the simple solution we came up with.  Indeed it could even be employed by intentionally cutting a fence into two sections I suppose.

 This has been so successful that we are thinking of digging in the wire where it crosses the lawn so we can more easily erect the fence as needed in future years.

Charity Opening Weekend

It was chilly but dry for our charity opening weekend, which traditionally happens on the last weekend of April.

Yesterday we were pleased to raise around £200 for Dorothy House Hospice, our local hospice which does such brilliant work for those facing life-threatening illness.  www.dorothyhouse.co.uk

Today was Gardeners' Sunday, when we raise money for the National Garden Scheme, commonly know as the Yellow Book.  It was the first truly busy day of the year, and around 100 people came to Iford, which meant we were able to raise over £400.

Thank you, hardy garden-visiting public!

Historic Rose Border construction underway

Last time we discussed the terrace area, but an important part of the Iford replant is the border behind the manor where Peto had originally intended a Rose garden.  Working with Robert Mattock we have designed a scheme which will bring some wonderful older forms of roses back to the garden at Iford.  These will run along the left (and in time, the right) of the lawn below.

As the cypress trees have suffered on the terraces (the last one shown in the photo above has now died and been removed, sadly), a rose garden will bring renewed interest to this corner of the garden and help to lead the eye through to the patio garden beyond.

A large laurel is removed from the corner of the patio garden.  It had grown well beyond its appropriate size and was starting to damage the wall below. 

A lot of ground work has to be done because we are on a rather 'mobile' hillside - clay layers within the ground mean that the ground slips slowly and inexorably toward the river - not good for structural walls!

 Hence, these concrete plinths which will form the fixings for the uprights up which the roses will grow.

Keep watching for more updates!

Miscanthus Harvest

The elephant grass, our bio-crop, was harvested this week.  Here's the machine in action...

Once it has dried out a bit, it will be baled and sent off to be co-fired with coal to generate electricity.

St Georgeous day

What a stunning day St George's day was!

The sun shone warmly and the house wore its finest red and white flag, but you have to look closely to spot it.

Britannia oversaw proceedings, in her regal lichen cloak.

Ah, the sweet scent of summer

Cities have their benefits, for sure. I cannot be alone, though, in deriving great satisfaction from the first smell of clean country air on returning from London.

Last night as I got out of the car I was almost knocked over by the powerful scent of the vibernum carlesii, standing just a few feet away. A powerful honeyed scent that just screams  "Summer is icumen in".