We are sorry to say that owing to the exceptional wet weather we have had over the last few weeks and months quite a lot of the garden has had to be closed off at the moment. This is to protect the lawns and grass paths which suffer at the feet of a large number of visitors particularly during half-term and it is impossible to restore these damaged areas before the late spring and summer when we like them to be looking at their best for visitors.
Last year some of the trees around the North Drive were thinned out to allow more light in. A new bark path which loops around the trees and shrubs has been laid and either side of the path, Magnolias, Rhododendrons, Hamemelis and Cornus have been added along with some herbaceous plants.
The re-planting of the Autumn Border has come into its own during the winter months with some lovely coloured stems and architectural seed heads.
Work is continuing on laying out new beds for cut flowers in the walled garden. The shape of the beds is based on the Acanthus leaf, a design that can be found on many items in the collection. The planting in the beds will radiate out like the veins of a leaf and the beds will provide flowers for Flora Domestica.
In front of the house, the Kanzan Cherry trees have been removed as they are quite
short lived and were beginning to die off. They will be replaced by ornamental lime trees Tilia cordata 'Winter
Orange', which as their name suggests provided splendid winter colour.
The scarecrow in the walled garden has a new look for 2020!
To help with a decreasing bee population, we have purchased more hives with money donated by the local National Trust Associations and the bees are thriving. However the hives have been moved to a private part of the garden so as not to be disturbed by the increasing number of vistors.
The team are working hard on restoring the garden to its original design. This will involve cutting back, removing and replacing elements of the garden.
Plans for the garden
Changes may have to be made, because of the large numbers of visitors who come every year to enjoy the garden. The grass paths installed by Ralph Dutton were only intended for a handful of visitors each year so we are looking at ways we can protect the garden whilst maintaining his vision.