It’s July,  summer is in full swing and so are the gardens at Goldstone.  After a season which has been slow to start things finally seem to be getting away, and in some instances getting away from us!

Kitchen Garden 

In the kitchen garden Sarah has been continuing to plant out brassicas including kale as well as rainbow chard sown successionally.  The fennel and Kol Rabi are growing nicely and some have already been harvested.  The calabrese are also starting to develop their heads which can be picked soon as well as broad beans which Sarah has sown to give a continuity of supply for the kitchen.  Broad beans can be martyrs to aphids which can quickly congregate at the tips and along the pods. A quick but satisfying squishing session is the best solution along with pinching out the growing tips to remove most of the problem. This year we have grown two varieties, ‘Crimson Flowered’ and ‘Giant Exhibition’. The peas, ‘Douce Provence’ and ‘Kelvedon Wonder’ are podding up; what could be better than fresh peas from the garden?   The garden is literally bursting with fruit which almost seems to ripen before our eyes.  The Loganberries, Tayberries, black currants, red currants raspberries and gooseberries are picked early in the morning to keep the fruit cool and preserve its quality.  It reappears after a bit of magic in the kitchen as in various forms to embellish both sweet and savoury dishes. After a late, cold spring, it does seem that the pollination on our espalier apples and pears was good and there is a good amount of fruit set after the ‘June drop’.

Summer Pruning 

One of the most important tasks at this time is the summer pruning which is a task not just reserved for apples and pears but also stone fruits such as cherries and plums, grapes as well as wisteria and especially roses.

Summer pruning has one main purpose which is to check the exuberance of vegetative growth and make sure that the plant puts its energies into growing flowers for next year or ripening fruit.  This is done by removing the leading shoots which changes the hormonal signals sent from the leading bud through the rest of the plant.

The basic rule of thumb with apples, pears and wisteria is to cut back the current season’s growth which is usually green and extremely pliable to about 4-6inches from the previous year’s growth which is often brown and woody.  This is further shortened in the winter but you’ll have to come back for a winter break to read about that….or see us in the garden!

It’s also time to prune roses in one way or another.  Most ramblers will have finished flowering by now and as they often have large backward pointing thorns you can be as brave as you like in tackling them.  Where they are large or ascending into trees you can be satisfied with taking off any growth that is likely to entangle unsuspecting passers-by and leave them to their own devices.  Climbers are a much more restrained version usually grown up a supporting structure such as a wall, pergola or obelisk.  Unlike ramblers they usually repeat flower so can be dead headed and any new growth needs tying in to the wires or supports.

Bush roses such our ‘Tickled Pink’ or ‘Super Trouper’ are foribunda roses with upright stems bearing abundant heads of multiple flowers.  If the new flowers are to open fully and be seen to best advantage then the spent heads need dead heading otherwise the plant will cling on to the old faded blooms at the expense of the new ones.  Dead heading prolongs the display and keeps your roses fresh and healthy.

Join Us in the Garden 

Whether it is the taste and aroma of great food, fine wine, or the sights, sounds and smells of the English summer garden here in Shropshire, there is always something to delight the senses this season at Goldstone Hall Hotel & Gardens.

We’ve also got a few spaces left on our Taste of Late-Summer event where you can join Sarah and I on a walk and talk tour, followed by a delicious seasonal tasting lunch. Click here for more information and to book.

Also, don’t miss our garden updates on our new Youtube channel, see here.

Warm wishes from the Garden Team

A Georgian manor house and restaurant with 12 comfortable bedrooms overlooking the rolling tree-strewn hills of the North Shropshire countryside. Boasting 5 acres of award-winning gardens, including a productive one-acre kitchen garden.

Located in the ‘golden garden triangle’ close to Wollerton Old Hall Garden, Hodnet Hall Gardens & Dorothy Clive Garden.  

A warm welcome awaits you.

Find out more about the hotel and garden opening times here.