Getting Wild in June

I think to say that June was a busy month here in the gardens would be a bit of an understatement!
We have been spread thinly across the gardens as we try to keep up with the maintenance tasks, seasonal jobs and the vital watering of all of the recent introductions throughout the beds and borders. Weeds have also been thriving, and it’s always a huge task to keep up with the sudden surge in growth. That said, we are doing pretty well, and the gardens are looking fantastic.
Areas like the Tropical Border, Jungle, Poison Garden, and the Herbaceous Border are all looking great. The rose pergola that frames the Herbaceous Border is in full bloom and is a tunnel of scent. It is worth coming just to experience it!
In the glasshouses our peaches have ripened, and the nectarines, apricots and grapes are all coming along nicely. Our outdoor strawberry beds did particularly well this year and we have a promising apple crop, as well as a good range of summer berries. There will be plenty of ice cream and apple juice for the café next year!
Jobs for July will include pinching out tomatoes and cucumbers side shoots, thinning growth on our grape vines and also thinning the fruit to improve the overall crop and tying in the new growth on the peach and nectarines to form next year’s branch structure. Ongoing watering and feeding is very important. We feed every second week with phostrogen for the ornamentals and seaweed for the vegetables. In this dry weather you should make sure the plant has been watered prior to feeding it so that it does not take up too much too quick. We are also experimenting this year with using a weak seaweed solution as a foliar feed in certain areas. The tropical borders, jungle and fern garden are all hopefully getting a boost from this.
Our bees had a difficult start to the year, with the very unsettled weather not suiting them at all and having lost a couple of hives over the winter we were getting worried. They have bounced back over the last few weeks though, and we have managed to collect a few swarms from the local area to replace our losses. We have also noted that all of our log hives that we have installed around the estate are fully occupied, which is fantastic news, and gives us a healthy back up population of wild hives. We do not disturb these hives at all, they are simply given a suitable log to move into and then left to their own devices.
We take a very Robinsonian approach to our management of the gardens and let nature mingle where possible, but it does require a certain level of control to maintain that semi-wild charm that looks so lovely. We also actively encourage wildlife throughout the estate, and through various changes in management practices we have seen a marked increase in many species over the last few years. Two of our newest residents are stoats and woodpeckers. I have mentioned before that we hold the Wildlife Estate title from the European Landowners Organization (ELO) and we have adopted a management regime that also considers biodiversity and creates habitats and opportunities for our native wildlife throughout the estate, in the gardens, forestry and farm. It is fantastic to see so many rare species so close to the city.
I hope to see you in the gardens. Adam

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