The Anniversary

It was a breezy but thankfully bright morning on Saturday after the wash out of the early week, so whilst we waited for the grass to dry out for mowing, we gave the lavender bushes their annual trim. It was pleasant grasping handfuls of the seed heads as the essential oils were released wafting that distinctive English aroma over us. Whilst we methodically worked our way through the bushes I realised that I've been working at Norton Conyers for a whole year now, a year of good and bad weather, hard work, satisfaction and many many beautiful plants and flowers. I'm privileged to be able to continue working there and to help to contribute towards the life and history of the garden.

"Ladies fair, I bring you lavender with spikes of blue, sweeter plant was never found growing on our English ground" Caryl Battersby

Nerine bowdenii enjoying the autumn sunshine

A Problem

A very obliging peacock butterfly on Alchemilla molis

We are slowly getting into a rhythm with the new course at Harlow Carr, but three weeks in and we have already had a change of tutor. Her name is Jo Makin and she's had a tough job pulling all the paperwork together so we can start the curriculum. This morning she raided her own garden and brought us some samples to identify, good fun, I always did love a quiz. Later we were given a list of autumn interest plants to locate around the garden and I was pleased to find some of the names familiar, so some of what I learnt last year did stick! However when telling us her plans for our next lesson Jo presented me with a dilemma, she intends to run the soil testing at Craven College's site in Skipton and of course I don't have a car. The only bus leaves Harrogate at 9.45am, far too late and non of my classmates live anywhere near here. I have had an offer of help from James though, he lives over Leeds way and has suggested I travel through on the train and he will pick me up and take us to college. They do say all roads roam to Leeds, or is that all roads lead to Rome?! It is a strange way to get to Skipton but an offer I will gratefully accept, thanks James!

"The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame your mother, the ecology or the president. You realise that you control your own destiny"
Albert Ellis

WET

I watched the weather with a baleful eye on Sunday evening, there was no doubt about it Monday wasn't going to be a pleasant working day. I hung on as long as I could before leaving to catch the bus, ever hopeful of a last minute phone call to say work was cancelled, of course it didn't come, so I donned my waterproofs and trudged off. I suppose I could have rung and cried off but I didn't want to be accused of being a soft townie. Up until lunchtime it was just about tolerable, we were cutting down shrubs and climbers from the clock tower walls, but afterwards the rain became steadily worse making our next task of lifting sodden strips of turf from the paths exceedingly unpleasant. Shandy had become increasingly miserable as the day progressed until finally Giles relented and popped her back into the van, lucky thing! We carried on until half past two at which point Alyson ans I mutinied and fled home to hot showers leaving the boys still working. I bet they went home too as soon as our backs were turned!

"Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative" Oscar Wilde

Bad News, Good News

RIP Bisto

In time honoured tradition I'll start with the bad news, dear old Bisto has gone to the dog kennel in the sky. Not unexpected news I know but sad all the same. I'd become rather fond of that lumpy, bumpy, slobbery, friendly and to be frank smelly old dog and will miss him, Shandy seems quite down in the dumps without her rabbit chasing chum too. I wouldn't be at all surprised to catch the odd glimpse of him haunting the garden occasionally, it's that sort of place.
 
Now for the good news, at the end of this month my years training course is complete and I have decided to become self employed, however I will continue to work at Norton Conyers on a free lance basis. I'm so glad the Grahams want me to stay as it is such a special place and has become an important part of my persona, so thankfully I'll still be able to regale you with tales from the garden. By the way, if any of you live in the Harrogate area and require an RHS trained gardener for any job big or small please get in touch, my rates are very reasonable!

"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose" Kevin Arnold

Autumn Sowing At Spofforth

Diana and I did a little autumn sowing today, funny time of year to be doing that sort of thing you may think but there is method in our madness. We were sowing green manures onto the raised beds, this has the triple benefit of suppressing weeds, covering the soil and preventing the nutrients from being leached out over winter, and then adding goodness and improving the soil structure when you dig it in come spring. I've not used it before myself so I will be very interested to see if Diana's crops improve next year because of it. As soon as it germinates we will remove the netting protecting the seed from hungry birds and wait for it to do its stuff, more pictures as things progress. By the way don't be fooled by the pretty flowers pictured on the seed packets, you dig it in before flowering, if you let it set seed you'll never get rid of it!

"Let us permit Nature to take her own way. She better understands her own affairs than we.
Michel de Montaigne

Snip Snip

I took my beloved secateurs for an overhaul on Sunday, after a year of working their magic on just about every plant in Norton Conyers garden they were dull and stiff and apt to chew rather than cut. However the nice people at Daleside Nurseries soon had them back to perfection having changed the blade and tightened the mechanism they were once again a joy to use. I felt pretty pleased with myself when called upon to prune the fig in the vinery yesterday morning as I knew the job would now be a breeze, and indeed the new blade cut through the fig stems like butter, a pity they also cut through the wire I was tying the fig to, I didn't notice until everything went floppy! That meant yet another trip to see Giles cap in hand to admit my latest mistake, as usual he took the news with equanimity thank goodness. I guess when you stop making mistakes in life you also stop learning.

Bisto was too poorly to come to the garden today.


" A man's errors are his portals of discovery" James Joyce

Wrestling With The Wild Wood

We went straight into the wild wood yesterday morning to check some of the trees we planted last winter, if you leave it until after leave fall it is very hard to tell the difference between what is alive and what is dead! I'm not surprised they call it wild, we were hard pressed to find the trees through the sea of nettles and balsam that towered over our heads, just pushing through the undergrowth resulted in multiple stings and cascades of balsam seed pinging down our necks. When I got into the shower later I found enough seeds to grow a balsam forest of my own at home gathered in my under garments! Luckily most of the saplings we planted appear to have survived. The rest of the day was gentle in comparison, trimming the lavender bushes and small cotoneaster hedge, then planting out strawberry runners. The only downside being that Bisto seemed most unwell, I gave him a fond pat as I left as I'm not sure if we will meet again.

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit" Edward Abbey