New Trees in November

November has been a real mixed month weather wise. I’m sure the plants don’t know if they’re coming or going with the ups and downs in temperature. There were a few unexpected flowers appearing around the place as either hangers on from summer, or confused spring arrivals, but a good hard frost over the last couple of nights should have hopefully reset everything back to normal.
We have been busy with tree and shrub planting over the last week, including some fantastic new additions to the winter borders, some beautiful multi-stemmed Betula utilis ‘Jacquemontii’ with its striking white bark, as well as new Cherry and Magnolias around the main entrance and mansion beds to add some spring impact. We are also expecting deliveries in the near future of a collection of dwarf conifers for the pinetum, fruit trees and bushes for our kitchen garden and food forest plantation, and a mixed order of rare and unusual trees and shrubs for various areas. It’s always exciting to be planting out these new additions and seeing how they settle in.
Bulb planting is always a big job this time of year and we have nearly completed the monumental task of planting over 30,000 bulbs. We try to add new areas and mixes to our regular displays and over the last few years have put a lot of emphasis on naturalising bulbs so that they come back every year and provide an ever-increasing quality show. This has worked well, and the gardens have really become a sight to behold in the springtime.
Ongoing work in the gardens is very typical for the season, with emphasis on tidying, cutting back and mulching. A big job for us this time of the year is leaf collection. We compost a lot of our leaf litter, as it’s a free source of extremely good mulch for plants. Let’s face it the natural ways are usually the best! We do not however collect up the leaves from our main Lime tree avenue. These are pushed back under the trees to provide a protective mulch and feed for the snowdrop and bluebell bulbs that live there.
December is always a month where we aim to finish up projects etc, but I have learnt to be realistic. Life goes on in January! Planned work for the month includes wind lopping roses to prevent wind rock, roughly digging over vegetable beds, tidying up and disinfecting glasshouses, planting, or moving bare root trees and shrubs, sorting out compost bins and spreading on the surface of vegetable beds, tree surgery and general housekeeping.
All of us here in Blarney Castle Estate would like to wish everybody a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. We hope to see more of you in the gardens next year. Do make use of the season passes, as they represent excellent value for money. There’s always something new to see, and it’s a great way of getting a little exercise. I look forward to seeing you in the gardens in 2025.
Happy Christmas! Adam

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