Our NGS garden opening is but a faint memory of lots of lovely people, cake and the deer who broke in and ransacked the roses on the Saturday night before the Sunday opening. Of course the electric gate into the wood has sensors set at above Ghillie height, but rather lower than deer height. Someone (that’s me) also forgot to shut one of the gates into the top garden…!
July has hurtled past with masses to do outside Ferns Lodge garden – around the office, business travel and ‘stuff’… Gardening has been accomplished whenever possible and I am now quite skilled at night watering – although Ghillie thinks it a very boring game! Simon has soldiered on with hedges, lawns, cutting back and repairing, and the ever needful watering, particularly of the new trees and shrubs at the bottom of the restoration garden. This involves huge containers, a wheelbarrow and lots of patience and muscle. So far, everything is alive so….
The bees are epic… The lavender bed is their favourite café and the buzz of the bees on the top terrace is deafening. There are bats everywhere and as the nights just begin to draw in the owls are massively vocal and object loudly to night watering and gardening when they have stuff to do!
No spraying has not been enjoyed by the fruit trees and the lack of water is also not particularly welcome. Nothing in the garden is watered unless he or she joined us in 2019 and I have to say that the established plants have been brilliant, putting up with the lack of water and making a terrific display. The new beds by the house are really filling out and the passion flower on the barn is fab with its waxy flowers, that look as if they are made of gossamer and wax.
No amount of rain dances seem to help, and whilst we are lucky not to have the awful flooding seen further north, the lack of rain is an issue. Newly planted grass seed took beautifully, only to die back as the rain doesn’t cooperate and we have huge patches of brown beneath the mighty trees that have made their home here.
One small victory is the area by the top compost heap, filled with cottage flowers and vegetables – we have sweet peas, peas, tomatoes, peppers, and courgette growing amongst the marigold and cosmos, which makes for a cheerful sight. This unlovely spot is now a riot of colour and we even have courgettes growing in the compost – their lovely big green leaves make a splendid cover for the unlovely carpet that lies beneath. This winter we will again feed the beds with the 2 year old compost and leave this year’s haul to settle down in 2020.
It is now officially panic stations at Ferns Lodge for our next opening on the 24th and 25th August. The days are rattling past and we hope to see you then and that in the meantime please pray for rain for us…
Contact sue.grant@fernslodge.co.uk.