May Garden Focus

As well as completing our usual sections, we’ve also undertaken some additional areas due to other pressures, such as the removal of the David Harber sculptures and alterations following the felling of two large Pyrus standards by our Estate Office. Sadly, these trees had to be removed due to a fungal disease known as Ganoderma applanatum, which gradually breaks down both heartwood and sapwood. We retained the tree for as long as was feasibly possible, but its condition had deteriorated too far to be safely preserved.

These trees have, however, been repurposed in our car park as standing deadwood features – carefully propped upright as sculptural pieces in their own right. This not only gives them a renewed purpose but also supports and sustains wildlife well into the future. In addition, many other structures and wildlife piles have been created using worn turf, ornamental grasses, and various woody materials from across the garden and estate – essential components in our rewilding efforts and ecologically focused management of the space.

In the gardens the tulips and other spring bulbs have been wonderful, although some fleeting as the unseasonably warm weather has caused them to flower prematurely. Nevertheless there is still plenty to admire and our opening last week saw many still looking great. Some of our favourites this year have been ‘Blue Diamond’, ‘Pretty Princess’, ‘Icoon’, ‘Dordogne’ and ‘Cabanna’.

The topiary is currently being clipped for the first time this season and we have also given it its first treatment against the larvae of the box tree moth and a foliar feed to help in its resilience against box blight. The productive plots have seen second early potatoes planted, many leaf crops sown and planted, many brassicas planted and numerous tender crops growing away behind the scenes in our glasshouses ready for planting out at the end of May. Don’t be tempted to cut corners and plant tender plants early, hold your nerve and wait until the end of this month.