The orange roses at the car park entrance are still flowering spectacularly and tones magnificently with the autumn leaves. (Rosas ‘Whiskey Mac’ and Hot Chocolate).
The Beech hedge surrounding the kitchen garden is in an autumnal patina. Beech is unusual in that as a tree its leaves drop, but in a hedge they remain on until May, when the new leaves start to unfurl. This hedge has been planted seven years and is beginning to give great structure to the kitchen garden.
The small group of Nerine bowdenii are flowering in the planter to the right-hand side of the front door; stunning pink flowers and at odds with autumnal decay.
Danny has started the annual, almost perpetual challenges of clearing the falling leaves–these are composted in the woodland garden beyond the car park; where we are trying to add fibre to the soil so that it has a more open woodland quality. This will then enable us to develop the woodland planting in this area.
Danny has harvested the Szechuan peppers–this is a tricky operation, as this Himalayan tree/shrub has ferocious thorns. The little red berries will appear in a Tanqueray gin & Fever Tree tonic as a garnish–perfect to wander around the garden with or simply sit and watch the fire dance in the Oak Panelled Room.
We are working on the new wild garden under the Cherry tree at the bottom of the great lawn–this to date has been a two-year project; reducing the grass plants so that the new wild plant seedlings can compete and thrive in the spring. The seed list will be available on the bookshelf in the bar mid-November. Any comments or thoughts will be welcomed.
