28/02/2007 19:42 - Goodnight, and Good Luck.

This will be my last entry on to the BBC Head Gardeners' blog page, after twelve months my stint has come to an end. I hope that those of you who have been reading my entries have enjoyed them and found them interesting. I thought I might use my last few words to shamelessy plug our wonderful little garden and inform you of the projects and events we have in store in the coming months and years. This year should be the first good year for our species rose collection in the rose dell, they've been in 12 months now so we'll be expecting a decent show of their floral offerings. The summer bedding display features some unusual selections of salvia and verbena as well as gingers for dot planting. Throughout the summer there will be many different events including a new exhibition telling the stories of the wider estate from way back when. There will be the usual classic car days and three plant fairs. The autumn will bring an enchanted feel to the gardens as the lighting spectacular gets underway once more. This year it will run on 10 consecutive nights, so make sure you don't miss out! The gardens at Brodsworth are always changing; as we come ever closer to completing the restoration, we hope to give visitors a glimpse in to the past, to an era when money was no object and the passion for gardens and plants was at its height. If you would like more information on events, admission times or anything else to do with Brodsworth please visit the English Heritage website or click on the link at the right hand side of this page. I leave you with an image of Helleborus argutifolius. A fantastic green flowered hellebore with spiny, chestnut like leaves. Thanks for reading and good luck with all your gardening endeavours.

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27/02/2007 13:31 - Bulbs For All Seasons 4

It's time for the spring flowering section of our fern dell bulb selection to get going now and they are certainly giving it a good go in their first season in the ground. The image shows the vibrant and incredibly varied Cyclamen coum. This little beauty has been scattered through the lower tiers of the fern dell and it looks brilliant, poking its dainty flowers through the old fern fronds. The flowers can range in colour from an almost white pink to a striking magenta, so if you buy a couple of hundred you should get a nice palette of colour. Obviously there are plenty of snowdrops out in the fern dell too but they aren't all the common variety, Galanthus nivalis. Other snowdrops to be seen in the Fern Dell include, G. 'Atkinsii', G. elwesii, G.nivalis 'Flora Pleno' and G. gracilis. Each one is intriguingly different from the last; maybe it's slightly taller, has bigger flowers or a more obvious green blotch on the inner tepals. All of them are a sight for sore eyes at this time of year, especially on a horrible rainy day like today! The name galanthus comes from the Greek words for milk and flower 'gala' and 'anthos'; so the snowdrop actually started life as the 'milk flower'; doesn't have quite the same ring to it does it? The name 'snowdrop' is derived from German 'Schneetropfen', pendants or ear rings that were the height of fashion in the s16th and 17th centuries; quite a well travelled little bulb, considering we usually think of it as so quintessentially 'English'. Snowdrops can be found in most of Western Europe and all the way down to the Iranian Caucasus and the Caspian Sea!

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26/02/2007 11:04 - Winter Aconites

Well, if this doesn't demonstrate the North/South divide in terms of weather then I don't know what will! You'll see from Jim's entry on the 23rd January that his winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) have been out for over a month already down in Sussex. Ours, here at Brodsworth, have only just started flowering! They were planted in the acer dell a couple of years ago but haven't really performed until this year. They really seem to be enjoying themselves now, with plenty of large bright yellow flowers and lots of lush green foliage providing a brilliant splash of colour above the woodchip mulch. If you've got alkaline soils (as we have here), this French native will quickly form its own little colony and will wow you with a bright winter display for years and years. It will also grow in other soils, it may just take a little longer to colonise.

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23/02/2007 13:53 - Spring Cleaning

It's not only the house that gets a spring clean here at Brodsworth! Every two years the glasshouse gets a good scrub down too, if only it was as easy as cleaning the house! As you can see on the image, it's cleaning on an industrial scale. Along with the usual scrubbing brushes and buckets of water, we use pressure washers and cherrypickers to get the job done.

The width (about 20 feet) of the glasshouses, and the fact that they have a triple apex, make the roof the hardest part of job. This is where the cherrypicker really comes in handy. With a really long hose and an equally long outdoor extension cable, we can take the pressure washer almost anywhere across the whole span of the roof, which is handy, seeing as this is the dirtiest part of the structure. Unfortunately, it's not so easy to clean the central gutters out; these are frustratingly out of reach, a metre or so beneath the cradle of the cherrypicker, AAARRGH!

To clear the gutters, we have to go up through the vents in the roof using our ladders. Obviously, we can't go out on to the roof itself, so this becomes a very laborious process, clearing a small section then coming back down, moving the ladders and going back up to do the next section. This has to be done over the whole length of two, forty foot gutters! Once the roof is finished, which takes about two days, the side windows get a quick blasting and it's finished. Well, the outside is finished anyway, the inside's next!

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30/01/2007 15:52 - Spring Already?!

What funny weather we're having these days! One minute it feels like we're in the middle of a hurricane the next all is peaceful and quiet. After the chaos of the gales you'd think it would be nice to have a period of calm tranquillity but it's not; it's making me very suspicious instead. Mother Nature is just trying to lure us in to a false sense of security and then, when we feel all safe and at ease, she'll whack us with eight feet of snow and hailstones the size of footballs! Joking apart, the weather really is becoming that unpredictable. Yet again we are seeing a strange mixture of 'Winter' flowers. Some of the 'Spring' flowers, like the Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor) pictured here, seem to be a little confused as to what time of year it actually is. Things that were late last year, like the winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis), are right on cue this year, the snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are a little early and the daffodils are already budding up! WHAT IS GOING ON?! There is only one thing for it; we'll have to blame climate change! Not that doing so carries much clout these days, with everyone blaming everything on climate change from the reason all their cat's fur fell out to the increasing price of pickled onions! Sorry for that little outburst but, if climate change really is happening (which it probably is) its about time that people stopped talking and started doing, expelling all that carbon dioxide going on about it isn't really going to help the cause now is it?!

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25/01/2007 14:20 - The Storm

You may remember that last Thursday (18th Jan) was rather windy! When I say rather, I mean ridiculously, last Thursday was ridiculously windy! Reports were coming in from all over the country, winds of 99 miles per hour! Doncaster only got up to about eighty but I'm pretty sure that Brodsworth took the brunt of it.

Most of the trees in the gardens here are around one 150 years old which means that losing one is a bit of a disaster; last Thursday we lost four! Luckily only two of them were centurions. The other two were approximately 30 or 40 years old, still a loss however when you have an over mature and ageing tree stock. Amazingly none of the fallen trees did much damage to their neighbours, a few broken branches here and there but nothing major. A couple of our paths took a bit of a pounding but nothing irreparable.

The first one to come down was a big old chestnut. The diameter of the trunk and a quick ring count suggested that this specimen was about 165 years old. This means it was probably planted as part of the original garden design, d'oh! I noticed this one as I walked down one of the safer paths on my way to lunch. I could see parts of the crown poking through some aucuba; "another branch down", I thought to myself. As I got closer I noticed that it wasn't a branch, it was the entire tree! This perfectly healthy mature tree, not particularly exposed to the elements, had been completely uprooted!

Friday morning revealed something that resembled a bomb site. The root ball was massive, matched only by the size of the crater it had left behind in the ground. The brittle branches and twigs of the Chestnut had scattered far and wide leaving sharp, splintered points where the tree's canopy once was. We all stood there for a moment, in awe of the sheer size of the thing, then, after a few quick photos, the chainsaws were revved up and we set about it like a plague of locusts!

Just across the path from the chestnut a 150-year-old turkey oak (Quercus cerris,) had been uprooted. This one had tumbled in to another turkey oak nearby and got itself stuck. We used the cherrypicker to remove the jammed limbs and down she came to be next in line for the locust treatment. With the two big ones safe and out of harm's way we tackled a young beech next. This little juvenile specimen had also got itself stuck in a neighbouring tree; again the cherrypicker was called in to action, handy bit of kit that. We left the fourth, a yew, until after the weekend, this one was in an isolated patch of woodland not accessible to visitors and it was laying safely on the ground anyway. This meant we could concentrate on getting the paths cleared ready for the weekend's opening. The one problem we have now is.......how do you get rid of a root ball that's 20ft in diameter that probably weighs over 20 tons?! I am open to suggestions!

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05/01/2007 13:50 - And so it starts!

On a beautifully clear morning on Tuesday this week, Tony (my deputy) and I started the yew hedge project. It was a perfect day for this sort of job, with fantastic visibility and not a breath of wind. Wind is a very important factor to consider when using a cherrypicker, especially when you are using it to do tree work as we are. You have to consider that there is not only a risk of the wind blowing the cherrypicker about, but also the tree you are working on. It's only when you are up there next to the thing that you realise just how much a tree can flex and sway in the wind: even a relatively low wind can move the branches a couple of feet or so, which can be very dangerous if you are making an important cut with your chainsaw. This is why the manufacturer recommends that the cherrypicker is never used at wind speeds of more than 12 metres per second, about 28mph I think, so not that strong really.

Anyway, back to the job at hand. We decided to tackle the worst first, so that the job would keep getting easier as the project wore on; that's the theory anyway! The first yew to be done had not been touched previously. All the others were done at the same time but, for some reason, this one got left out. As you can imagine, after a 140-odd years of growing freely, it had become quite a beast. Also, due to the overgrowth that occurred around it, many of the lower branches had developed an exaggerated, elongated appearance which made them ultra-flexible when the wind got up. This also caused a problem when we were taking most of the weight off the end of the branch, as the bit that was left would spring back up at you. We had to get our arms out of the way sharpish: spring-loaded branches can give you a right whack! We spent all day Tuesday and half of Wednesday getting it down to the right height, and it looks much better for it!

By doing this, we've also opened up another view in to the rose dell and given our visions of an evergreen border in this area a much better chance of coming to fruition. Only another 50-odd to go now: we might just get it finished by Christmas!

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27/12/2006 18:30 - This Winter's Projects

This winter looks set to be a busy one for Brodsworth's chainsaws and cherrypicker. The major project for this year involves the lowering of two parallel Yew hedges that run half the width of the gardens from the Summer House to the Rose Dell. The hedges currently stand at about seven and a half metres tall (that's about 25 feet in old money!).

The plan is to take about one metre off every piece of both hedges; this will obviously mean the hedge will then be about 6.5m tall. This may not seem like much of a difference but, by taking that single metre off the hedge we will potentially save two weeks worth of man hours in the garden! How? Well, at its current height the hedge can only be clipped using the cherrypicker and, although this is a perfectly good method, it can take a while. Once the cherrypicker is in place, it is amazingly flexible and can reach over 10m in any direction and up to 17m vertically; but getting it in to position is a different proposition altogether! In wide open spaces it is relatively simple but in areas where there is other planting to consider or tightly restricted access it can take a couple of hours just to get set up and then you inevitably find one of the legs can't go down properly because of an old sycamore stump or something! On top of these problems some of the sections of hedge near the acer dell (where there is a very steep banking and a hedge at the bottom) are simply impossible to clip properly! If the hedge is reduced to 6.5m it can be reached by an amazingly innovative tool which we intend to purchase specially for this job. The tool is a petrol-driven hedgecutter with a telescopic aluminium shaft. The shaft can be extended to 5m in length and, when you add this to the one and a half metres to the average persons shoulder height, you get - 6.5m, exactly what we need to get the job done.

This doesn't quite solve all the problems with clipping this hedge however. There is still the steep banking behind the acer dell to consider. The banking is far too steep to stand upright on with 5m of hedgecutter swinging around above your head; so here's the plan. There will be a series of wide work platforms built in to or on top of the banking. Each platform will be the right distance from the others to create an overlap with the new hedgecutter to avoid any little bits near the top being missed. The hedge was 'hat-racked' and reduced to its current height about six or seven years ago and it hasn't been clipped since. Many parts of the hedge are starting to meet up again and some are beginning to look a little overgrown so its now or never for this project. Also, once work on the hedge is completed we can finally get on with finishing the evergreen border that will complete the formal garden. Its going to be a tricky one but we should reap the reward of our hard work for years to come as the maintenance gets easier and easier. Hope you all had and excellent Christmas, even though it wasn't a white one, again.

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22/12/2006 14:20 - A Winter Garden

For many gardens across the country, winter is a quiet, less appealing season than the other three; in fact many gardens close completely throughout the winter period. Brodsworth is different. Here there is just as much to see in the middle of January as there is in the middle of June. The strong evergreen presence we have here means there is never a time when the beds appear bare or dormant. The large number of hollies, with their massive variety of shapes, sizes and colours are a sight for sore eyes at this dark and dingy time of year as the low winter sun reflects off their highly polished foliage; meanwhile their berries, the blackbird's staple diet, provide vibrant splashes of red, yellow and orange, equally as bright as any Summer bloom. In the rose dell, the spiky winter stems of our species rose collection stand out against the dark yew mulch, in shades of red, blue and yellow. Some of them, such as the evergreen Rosa beanii, are still in leaf and many still bear their autumn hips. In the evergreen borders the topiary is looking ultra sharp in as many shapes as you could shake a stick at! The berries of the aucubas contrast with their yellow and green foliage and the pretty little white flowers of Viburnum tinus 'Eve Price' are in full bloom, scattered throughout the garden.

This also a good time of year to check out our latest projects for yourself. We are always extremely busy throughout the winter as we continue to progress with the restoration; the garden changes on a daily basis between now and the start of growing season in March. So why not walk off that Christmas podge with a leisurely stroll around Brodsworth Gardens? You can even get a nice cup of tea, no mince pies though, you'll be on a diet remember! The gardens are open each weekend from the 6th January and then all week once the snowdrops show their faces.

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29/11/2006 15:33 - More new trees

This month has seen the addition of even more new trees than last winter, although half of them were much smaller than last year's batch. In total we planted 16 trees. Eight beech, three copper beech, three English oak, one small-leafed lime and one horse chestnut. Four of these trees were planted in the car park, either to replace existing mature trees or simply to regenerate this little piece of parkland. In a couple of decades, these trees will also help to keep your car cool on those hot summer days as they cast their massive shadows over the parking bays. Two more trees were added to the rose dell, a project you can read about in one of my first blogs. These were both planted to replace existing specimens that are now coming towards the end of their natural lives. One of the copper beech trees was put in place above the fern dell, in the spot shown by a historic photograph found earlier this year. This tree will help cast some welcome shade on the fern dell eventually. The rest of the trees were planted in the church woodland area. This corner of the garden has received little attention since the initial clearance in the early nineties. Our plan is to retain the natural, wild feel of this area by creating a thicker tree canopy with small clearings and glades in which native bulb and ground cover species can flourish. This is a much longer term project than most here at Brodsworth - good job I'm only 23!

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20/11/2006 15:01 - Time for bed!

As I'm sure you are aware, it can get a little chilly at this time of year, especially in the north! The frost arrived about three weeks ago, heralding the start of winter at Brodsworth. However, we were prepared. For three weeks prior to the first frost we had all been scrutinising various weather forecasts and, as is usually the case when people watch different TV channels, we all reported different weather conditions each morning. We decided, in the end, that checking the BBC weather website at lunch time each day would give us consistency if nothing else, and so, at twelve noon each day we paid strict attention to the evening's weather predictions.

Such vigilance is necessary in this season of change - it's a matter of life and death! Not for us hardy gardeners obviously, but for the more delicate members of our plant collections. Specifically, the tree ferns, (Dicksonia antarctica) located in the fern dell and a small corner of the quarry. These magnificent, prehistoric-looking ferns can quite easily be killed off by a harsh frost, and they are particularly susceptible in the early part of the winter when the rains are more frequent too. If moisture is allowed to get in to the unprotected crown of the plant, followed by a frosty night, then the new, curled-up fronds inside the crown could easily be badly damaged, if not killed. It's not only the crown you have to worry about, the trunk also needs extra care. The reason for this is that the majority of a tree fern's root network can be found on its trunk, giving the trunk its attractive, hairy appearance, and these fine, thread-like roots can also easily be killed of by a harsh frost. Both of these parts must be protected from the frosts all winter long if the plant is to survive.

There are many different methods you can apply to help your tree fern through the British weather. We tend to go for natural-looking hessian and straw. First, we wrap the whole trunk, from top to bottom, in two layers of thin hessian, tied on with standard garden string. Then we pack the crown with lots of fine straw, similar to the stuff you can buy for your rabbit hutch. Try not to pack it in too tightly or it will just hold the moisture instead of soaking it up and drying out in the breeze. Don't worry if you see it lying around on the floor a few days later - it'll just be the birds or squirrels nicking it for their nests - there should still be enough to go around if you've put plenty in. In colder climates, it may be necessary to put thin layers of straw in between the hessian for extra protection. Other methods include bubble wrap (not particularly attractive or eco friendly) and old fronds. In their native habitat, tree ferns hang on to their old fronds for years to form a protective skirt around the trunk, although this doesn't afford the crown much protection though. We also use hessian to protect our chusan palms (Trachycarpus fortuneii). Both of these species can easily tolerate temperatures as low as -15C, but it's not the cold that will kill 'em, it's Jack Frost!

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14/11/2006 17:03 - Autumn colours

It really is a shame that it gets so dark so very early at this time of year, because there is so much to see in the garden. At this time of year most of the deciduous plants in the garden are showing off their best autumn shades. Many of these plants, such as the Larch (Larix decidua), pictured here, seem relatively boring, unassuming plants throughout the summer when they are just getting on with the business of being as photosynthetically efficient as possible. They know there are plenty of other plants busy showing off at that time of year, so they don't have to. They patiently wait their turn and then, just as the last of the herbaceous flowers gets nobbled by the first autumn frosts, BANG! The riot of colour begins.

Some plants, such as the acers, seem to be their summer colour one day and their autumn colour the next, as if they have changed colour over night! Others gradually alter their appearance over the course of three or four weeks, going through various shades of green, yellow, orange and red in the course of this annual event. Even the native trees, which sometimes get taken for granted, put on a good show at this time of year. Beech (Fagus sylvatica), horse chesnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) and lime (Tilea species) all have a stunning array of autumn colours and we have seen them all at Brodsworth this year, especially on our mature beech trees. All the autumn shades throughout the garden seem a little brighter this year, and this can probably be attributed to the relatively hot and dry summer we had.

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31/10/2006 14:01 - The end of an era

It's a sad day in any gardener's life when they have to make a decision that means a loss of life for any plant. It's made even harder when the plant in question is over two hundred years old. Plants, or more specifically trees, like these have become part of the landscape they are living in, and some of them have even helped shape their surroundings. Over the last couple of weeks at Brodsworth, three of our more mature tree specimens have had to be taken down, as they had become a danger to the general public and staff alike. Two of these trees were ash (Fraxinus excelsior), which is notorious for losing large limbs unexpectedly. Both were showing signs of fairly advanced honey fungus infestation, and their buttress roots were starting to rot at ground level too. Added to these less obvious concerns were the more obvious signs seen in the crowns of both trees. The growing points of the trees had suffered extensive die back over the past 12 months, and several branches had dead patches and holes which were visible from the ground.

The other tree which had to come down was a cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani), which was probably closer to three hundred years old. This tree had also fallen victim to honey fungus. Bark had been falling of the lower trunk for the last three or four years, but the crown always seemed healthy until this year, when it started to show bad signs of die back in the lower limbs.

One of the ash trees was the first to go: this particular tree was balancing on a ledge near the gardeners' yard, within easy reach of our glasshouses if it decided to fall that way. We mananged to get one of limbs off relatively easily, but then we noticed a large open cavity in a union between the other two limbs; this meant they couldn't be dismantled in the usual way. It left us with two options; fell it onto the banking, or get a crane in to remove the limbs in one piece. We decided on the crane as it was the safer option. I'd never seen this method employed before, but it was actually relatively simple. First, the tree surgeon climbs to the point where he wants to make his cut, then the crane passes him his really big chainsaw (see image). The crane is then attached to the limb to be cut off and Bob's your uncle - in goes the cut, and down comes the limb, lowered by the 39-ton crane in a controlled and safe manner. Using this method also means you get huge lengths of useful timber. The other two trees came down without a hitch, and then the only problem was what to do with all the wood and saw dust. The long lengths of ash the crane lowered down were taken to be sold by the tree care specialists as part of the job; ash is used to make snooker cues and Morgan car chassis amongst other things. The other ash was cut into disks for my neighbour and me to chop for our wood burning stoves: an 80-foot ash should last us a couple of winters! The cedar was another matter: the wood is not that great for burning, and this tree was too knotty for furniture. How are we going to get rid of it? I think that's another entry for another day: you must be getting ready for a brew after reading all this!

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27/10/2006 14:20 - Who needs fireworks?

Over the next three weeks (Thursday to Sunday, 6pm til 9pm) the gardens at Brodsworth can be seen in a completely different light. Usually at this time of year, it would be difficult to see your hand in front of your face by six o'clock, and when the clocks go back an hour tomorrow it will be pitch black by that time. However, this year it's different, with Brodsworth's Enchanted Garden event. This event involves the illumination of all the best apects of the gardens, as well as the highly formal Italianate east and south faces of the hall itself. As you approach the hall from the main drive, subtle spot-lighting guides you past the magnificent 300-year-old cedar of Lebanon, uplit with bright, white light which emphasises its tiered stucture brilliantly. As the hall comes back in to view, it appears to be a completely different colour as the massive city lights alter its character from warm and cosy to cool and spooky. As you walk further along the south terrace, the fountain and the summer house catch your eye with more imaginative lighting effects. The route then guides you down towards the fern dell, where you will discover the ingenious use of a disco ball, casting little specks of light all across the grove and far in to the night skies. Suffice to say, this is an excellent and unusual event: if I say much more, I'll spoil your surprise, so you'll just have to come and see it for yourself. I'll post some pictures when I figure out how to take a decent photo in the dark!

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18/10/2006 13:05 - Bulbs for all seasons 3

Even though our selection of dwarf species bulbs has only been in the ground for three weeks, we are still getting an excellent show from most of the autumn-flowering species. Most of the plants that are flowering at the moment are crocus, like the one pictured here, but we also have flowers out on colchicum, cyclamen and plenty of shoots breaking through from things like sternbergia and iris. Some of the colchicum were up after the first week, but unfortunately these early birds were pummelled into the ground by heavy rains and strong winds, and never really stood much of a chance. This second flush is doing much better. They've been out for about a week now and are still going strong. We didn't really expect much from them this year so it has been a pleasant surprise for the team at Brodsworth, and also for the few brave souls who have ventured through the gates over the past week of murky mornings and drizzly daytimes. If this autumn batch is anything to go by, it should be a very colourful 2007 in Broddy's fern dell.

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22/09/2006 15:41 - Rose update

The species rose collection in Brodsworth's rose dell is really starting to fill out now. The majority of the plants have at least doubled in size in the last six months; many have grown even more than that. The most impressive rose in the collection and the winner of the prestigious, 'Most Growth in the Year' award has to be Rosa virginiana. Since it was planted in January this year, one of its new stems has grown more than eight feet - that's nearly 2.5 metres! I think we're going to have to keep a close eye on that one! Coming a close second place is Rosa brunonii. This is one of the climbers which has been planted at the base of an ash tree. New growth of six feet (1.8 metres) this year means the tree trunk will be clothed in flowers in less than five years. We knew the species roses would do well down in the dell, but they have still managed to surprise us. It should be a spectacular show in a couple of years.

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22/09/2006 15:21 - Passion flower power

We rescued this Passiflora caerula (passionflower) last autumn from a decrepit old wicker obelisk in the herbaceous border. It looked like it was feeling very sorry for itself and, in fact, it had died right back to the main stem, with hardly a single flower in sight. The position of the obelisk was not very well suited to passionflowers: although they like their faces in the sun most of the time, they do prefer a little shade at the hottest part of the day. Unfortuntately, the obelisk caught the full glare of the sun from sunrise to sunset. We decide to give it another chance and moved it on to the rose pergola. Here, it could creep its way between the roses, vines and honeysuckles, poking its fantastic flowers out in to the sun whenever it wanted. If the sun got too hot, it could grow downwards on to the inside of the pergola where the other plants would provide it with dappled shade in which to cool down. Our theory was right, and the once-moribund passionflower is now revitalised and has become the most vigorous climber in the entire garden. The crop of flowers this year has been unbelievable and it doesn't show any signs of stopping yet; this photograph was taken yesterday when I counted at least another 15 flowers waiting to burst open. It just goes to show, the right plant in the right place can be truly spectacular!

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22/09/2006 15:01 - Bulbs for all seasons 2

Well, the bulbs have arrived and a couple of thousand are already in the ground. The sternbergia and colchicum are in full flower, so we had to be very careful with the delicate stems, but it does give the garden some instant interest. We also had to be very careful with the Leucojum autumnale bulbs. These bulbs are very small and easily lost by clumsy hands, they measure approximately 5mm in diameter and we only had ten, so every last one had to be planted with great vigilance. Sometimes referred to as the summer snowflake, Leucojum autumnale is a close relative of the snowdrop and is very similar in appearance. The main difference is the flowering period: rather than being a spring-flowering bulb like its cousin, Leucojum autumnale flowers in late summer through into the autumn. The image shows Fritillaria verticillata, a native of Siberia and another of the interesting new additions to Brodsworth's fern dell. The rest of the bulbs will be planted in two weeks' time; they're having a nap in the fridge until then.

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19/09/2006 13:30 - Bulbs for all seasons

This week at Broddy we are expecting the eagerly anticipated delivery of 44 different kinds of bulbs. All of them are species varieties ranging form allium to sternbergia. Many of them originate from exotic or extreme climates, such as Morocco and Siberia, but all of them should be hardy enough to survive the worst that South Yorkshire can throw at them. The majority of the bulbs will be planted in the fern dell which, with its unique micro-climate and sheltered position, will provide the ideal spot for what should be an unusual and varied display. The other reason for choosing the fern dell for this planting is its pocketed layout. Here, the bulbs can be displayed and contained within one or two pockets, making them easier to label, record and enjoy. With the exception of our geranium collection and a few other perennials, the fern dell has sometimes lacked seasonal colour. With the addition of these bulbs, we hope to change this and have something flowering in each month of the year, in as many different colours as you could shake a stick at! The labels arrived last week and I completed the planting plan yesterday, so once the plants arrive, it will be 'all systems GO!' for the brightening of the fern dell.

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11/09/2006 14:50 - Brilliant begonias

This year's summer bedding display is now beginning to fade. Usually, we get good displays right up to the end of September, but June and July were particularly hot and dry this summer. This seems to have shortened the lifespan of the majority of the annuals in the flower garden, even though they have had plenty of water from the hoses (and the skies) in the last few weeks. I say 'the majority of the annuals', because there are some still trying. The begonias in the image (taken today) had a bit of a rough start to their short life here at Brodsworth; they struggled to adapt to the alkaline soils we have here. At one point, it really looked like we may have to replace all 3,000 of them, or risk having large gaps and very few flowers. In the end, the age-old constraints of time and money meant we opted to give them a chance, and I'm really glad we did. They are looking fantastic and have turned out to be the best of the lot. They look like they'd flower forever if it wasn't for the onset of winter!

In just two short weeks, it will be time for the bedding to change all over again; it doesn't seem like two minutes since this batch of 10,000 plants went in. Next year's spring bedding includes a wide variety of pansies, polyanthus, hyacinth and tulips. It promises to be another stunner to brighten up your day and cure your winter doldrums.

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30/08/2006 15:02 - Ain't August great?!

Don't you just love this time of the year? Everything seems to start settling down around the end of August making it a very pleasant time to be a gardener. After the usual hectic start to the growing season, the grass is just starting to think about dropping down a gear or two and the weeds that you've been hacking at all summer have just about given it up as a bad job. In the herbaceous borders, many of the late-flowering perennials are out in full bloom, like the Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldstrum' pictured here, giving you a wonderfully bright show as the evenings start to draw in and become more dusky and cool. The weather is no longer trying to bake you (and the soil) into submission, so the miles and miles of hose pipes can finally breath a sigh of relief as you coil them up. This is the part of the summer when you have time to take a step back to admire your handiwork. Everything's looking neat and tidy. But, just as you start to gaze up into the clouds, you notice something in the trees. They're a browny-yellow shade of green and they look remarkably similar to the innocent little fresh green leaves that brightened up your life just six months ago. Hang on a minute...they ARE those innocent little leaves! And in a couple of months time the ground, your car, the gutters and every piece of grass for miles around will be carpeted with millions of the little monsters! Some people say they like to see the leaf fall. Obviously they've never spent six weeks with a rake attached to each arm trying to clear them all up!

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22/08/2006 15:51 - Short back and sides 2

The team at Brodsworth has now passed the half way point with the formal clipping and we are on the home straight, the end is in sight, there is light at the end of this dark, green tunnel: or is there? There are many jobs in the garden which could be likened to 'painting the Forth Bridge'. Dead heading roses is one, cutting the lawns is another but the task which bears the closest resemblence has to be the clipping. The image shows the foliage of Berberis darwinii, situated at the front of Brodsworth's two cedar beds. This exact plant was given a fairly hard clip (even by our harsh standards!) less than four weeks ago. And look at it now! It has managed to put on six inches (15 cms) of regrowth in some places meaning it will almost certainly require another clip before the month is out. This wet and warm weather we are now having is really giving the plant a new lease of life. It appears that the garden's second clip this year will be happening significantly earlier than in previous years. Unfortunately the weather is also encouraging the grass and the weeds, both of which had given up the ghost three weeks ago in the baking heat. I suppose I can't complain, it was only three weeks ago I was moaning about it being too hot and dry, mind you, we British are never happy with our weather are we?!

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22/08/2006 15:02 - Autumn comes early

The signs of autumn are already starting to show here at Brodsworth. Euonymus alatus (see image) is just one of the plants in the garden already showing it's autumn shades. It's a member of the staff tree family (Celastraceae and is often referred to as the 'Burning Bush' thank to its fiery autumnal colours. As you can see the leaves have turned a stunning scarlet colour, usually a sure sign that autumn is upon us; this year it seems to have come a couple of months early! You can probably attribute this sudden and unexpected change in appearance to the relatively dry summer we have had (until last week that is!), as many of the garden's older trees are starting to show signs of an early leaf fall this year. Nothing to worry about, hopefully.

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01/08/2006 16:41 - Border control

This is just one of the exciting new additions made to Brodsworth's re-designed herbaceous border this spring. The re-designing of the border near the Target House was a winter project given to two of our longest-serving garden volunteers. They were given a brief with a limited timescale and a small but sufficient budget, and off they went! The first thing to do was to clear the existing design and to decide what to keep and what to move or dispose of. Most of the unsuitable plants found a new home elsewhere in the garden but some plants which could not be identified by sight or on any plans had to be chucked as we couldn't be sure of their provenance. Once the volunteers had their blank canvas, they could start to choose new additions, but only after extensive research. All the plants in the border had to have an introduction date which was before 1901 in order to conform to our remit for the Victorian restoration period. This meant that each plant had to be meticulously researched. Numerous historic publications were used to ensure the correct introduction dates were achieved, and now, thanks to the volunteers' remarkable levels of patience and perseverance, we have an entirely historically correct herbaceous border. Once they were sure they had the right plants for the job on their lists, they could begin to source them. In the end, all the plants came from local nurseries including several clematis which clamber up three metal obelisks in the central beds. The plants were all put down on a colour-coded plan to ensure a harmonious mixture of shades and textures and then, in April this year, it was finally planted. Each bed has been given its own individual plan so that visitors can easily identify the plants that interest them; they can also see an eventual height and an introduction date because they are on the plans too! All in all, it's a job very well done and, come next year, the border will look fantastic. Well done Maureen and Anne - and thank you!

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28/07/2006 13:41 - Hat racking

Just to follow up on 'Short back and sides' and provide an image that demonstrates this particular pruning technique. The image shows a holly which was quite severely hat racked about eight months ago. It had grown to about 25 feet tall (7.5m) and was reduced to five feet (1.5m), which is quite a severe pruning. As you can see, it has responded well but, as I mentioned in 'Short back and sides', some of the foliage has lost its variegation and has turned all-yellow or all-green, a common side effect of being 'hat racked'. The clipping is progressing well, although it hasn't been easy in this oppressive heat wave. All the gardeners are drinking about three litres of water a day, which is more than most of the plants are getting in a week!

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27/07/2006 14:11 - A thorn between two thorns (2)

Just a little update on our species rose collection. All the plants are doing really well and the thick layer of mulch we surrounded them with is really helping us with water retention. In fact, it's doing such a good job that we have only had to water the roses once this year and that's through the hottest June and July I can remember for a long time! Almost all of them have had a decent amount of flowers on them over the last few weeks and now they're starting to produce their hips. The hips come in all shapes, sizes and colours from bright green, conker-like hips to tiny, iridescent red ones. Many of them have traditional medicinal uses too. The image shows the bright red, spherical hips of Rosa sericea pteracantha, which featured in the first 'Thorn between two thorns' blog entry. They are the final stage in this rose's long period of interest. Most species roses have this attribute, providing three distinct periods of interest at some point of the year. First the leaves, new stems and brightly coloured young thorns, then the flowers, lasting for many weeks, and finally the hips. Some of the smaller, more well-behaved species make a good, reliable addition to borders with perennials and evergreens, and they don't take as much looking after as their cultivated cousins either!

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20/07/2006 17:21 - Cathal test, quotes adjusted

It's that time of year again! Last week the team at Brodsworth started the garden's first of its twice yearly clips. Every piece of topiary from simple ball-shaped laurels (Prunus lusitanica) to intricate box (Buxus sempervirens) spirals will be carefully tended, some will remain the same shape, others will change and gain extra appendages. Generally the best results are achieved using hand shears rather than petrol shears but the workload here is far too large to shape every shrub by hand. We tend to use the powered variety for the larger, less complicated specimens but always stick to the fine shears for the focal points, most of the bed around the flower garden are clipped by hand. Some of the big Holly topiary examples are actually remnants of the original 1860's planting and these, along with some rather large Holly Oak (Quercus ilex) and Yew (Taxus baccata), are the biggest clipped plants on site, the tallest being about thirty feet high. These have to be looked after using the cherry picker and some especially long pruning tools. Luckily, the slower growth rates of these older varieties do mean they generally only need clipping once a year. Many of our best Hollies had suffered terrible neglect in the eighty years prior to the start of English Heritages ownership and almost all of them had lost any form they may once have had. All was not lot however. A pruning operation known as 'hat-racking' has brought them back to life. This technique involves the reduction of all side branches to pegs of approximately 20cm (eight inches in old money) in length; the height is also reduced if necessary. The plant responds by producing masses of fresh, vigorous growth which can be easily clipped to quickly restore the shape you desire. It is quite rare this operation will kill the plant but with mature specimens it is advisable to try it in stages if you can't risk losing them. On variegated plants you have to watch out for stems producing leaves of only one colour, these will take over and you may end up with a plant of just one colour where once you had two, prune them off immediately to avoid this.

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20/07/2006 13:41 - Low maintenance pets

Low maintenance pets. Not a term you hear very often, is it? Most pets require hours of attention and seemingly endless amounts of food but not Brodsworth's pets. The flower garden here looks after 24 of these unusual specimens with the greatest of ease.

Technically, I suppose they aren't really pets as such, although their name suggests otherwise. The image shows the Rose 'White Pet' in full bloom last week, in the middle of the figure-of-eight box plants in the flower garden. One of my earlier blog entries talks about the good year the roses have had here at Brodsworth, but these little beauties always have a good year. No matter what the weather has thrown at them or how much food and water they've had they always put on a fantastic show. 'White Pet' is one of the most reliable roses I have ever come across; this is why they form the mainstay of the dot planting in our summer bedding displays every year. As you can see, you get a fantastic amount of lovely white to very pale pink flowers which last for quite a while: the ones here have been going for about two months now.

The ones in the gardens here are grown as standards and would be an ideal addition to any border, or maybe even as a patio rose in a large enough pot. The one thing you have to watch out for is the heads snapping off. We have lost quite a few of our older examples over the years in heavy rains or strong, gusty winds in the summer months when they are laden with flowers and lots of heavy foliage. It's a difficult problem to solve as you can't really stake them high enough to stop this happening, and if you don't stake them at all you end up with the same result. The only real solution is to choose a sheltered position, but that's not really an option for us here at Brodsworth as the flower garden is possibly the most exposed area in the whole garden. It's a risk worth taking though when you see them in full bloom, don't you agree?

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10/07/2006 14:41 - Short back and sides, please!

It's that time of year again! Last week the team at Brodsworth started the garden's first of its twice yearly clips. Every piece of topiary from simple ball -shaped laurels (Prunus lusitanica) to intricate box (Buxus sempervirens) spirals will be carefully tended, some will remain the same shape, others will change and gain extra appendages.

Generally the best results are achieved using hand shears rather than petrol shears but the workload here is far too large to shape every shrub by hand. We tend to use the powered variety for the larger, less complicated specimens but always stick to the fine shears for the focal points, most of the bed around the flower garden are clipped by hand.

Some of the big holly topiary examples are actually remnants of the original 1860 planting and these, along with some rather large holly oak (Quercus ilex) and yew (Taxus baccata), are the biggest clipped plants on site, the tallest being about 30ft (9m) feet high. These have to be looked after using the cherry picker and some especially long pruning tools. Luckily, the slower growth rates of these older varieties do mean they generally only need clipping once a year.

Many of our best hollies had suffered terrible neglect in the 80 years prior to the start of English Heritage's ownership, and almost all of them had lost any form they may once have had. However, a pruning operation known as 'hat-racking' has brought them back to life. This technique involves the reduction of all side branches to pegs of approximately 20cm (about eight inches in old money) in length; the height is also reduced if necessary. The plant responds by producing masses of fresh, vigorous growth which can be easily clipped to restore the shape you desire quickly. It's quite rare this operation will kill the plant, but with mature specimens it's advisable to try it in stages if you can't risk losing them. On variegated plants you have to watch out for stems producing leaves of only one colour, as these will take over and you may end up with a plant of just one colour where once you had two. Prune them off immediately to avoid this.

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29/06/2006 15:51 - Summer bedding

This year's summer bedding is settling in nicely here at Brodsworth. It was all planted out about three weeks ago and the weather has been fantastic for growing, so all the plants have really cracked on. The blue petunias (see image) are doing particularly well and have already formed a carpet of flowers in the beds where they are planted. The design this year consists of petunias, begonias (non-stop and semperflorens varieties), and french marigolds. It looks like it will be quite spectacular once it's all knitted together, especially with the newly restored fountain trickling away at its centre. Give it about another four weeks and come and have a look, it will knock your socks off!

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28/06/2006 15:41 - Fantastic peonies

This picture shows the enormous flowers on one of the peonies in the new herbaceous border here at Brodsworth this year. The peonies had never really done that well in this part of the garden until now. Last winter we decided to give this border a good dig over. We dug every plant out and divided them, forked in plenty of leaf mould compost and then re-arranged the planting to give a wider variety of colour across the border. The peonies obviously got caught up in this and were divided along with the rest of the plants. Sometimes peonies can react badly to transplanting and dividing but that is certainly not the case with this specimen: the flower in the picture is nearly the size of my head and, as anyone who knows me will tell you, that's big!

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26/06/2006 10:51 - Birds galore!

If you're a bird lover then now would be an excellent time to visit Brodsworth. I've never seen such variety here as I have this year. The image shows a lesser spotted woodpecker just about to enter its nest in one of our old ash trees. There has always been the odd woodpecker that has visited Brodsworth but this year we've had quite a few and two of them have made a home here and hatched chicks, you can hear them tweeting like mad when the parents go back to the nest with some snap. Brodsworth is not particularlry well known for its bird life but it really should be. I'm not really an avid bird watcher but even I can see there is quite a diverse range of species living here. I've seen all kinds of finches and tits, not to mention tree creepers, gold crests and willow warblers. Last year we had a family of red kite which had returned from the previous year to nest again and last week a visitor couldn't wait to tell us he thought he had just seen a crossbill in one of our monkey puzzle trees! As per usual, the chaffinches are starting to get really cheeky on the tea terrace; they'll practically eat out of your hand now and probably off your plate if you're not careful!

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21/06/2006 16:31 - A good year for the roses

It looks like this year is going to be a good one for our roses. Every specimen in our rose garden is absolutely smothered in buds and many of them are already blooming in abundance. The rose garden is home to approximately 100 different Portland roses, all of which were cultivated before 1900. They all have beautiful flowers and offer a wide range of intense and lingering fragrances. Their only problem is reliability: in recent years the weather has not done them any favours and in a wet, cool early summer they tend to be more susceptible to mildew and rust.

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19/06/2006 16:01 - To bee, or not to bee

Sorry, I couldn't resist the cheesy title for this blog! The image shows one of the beautiful and ingenious flowers of the bee orchid. Its botanical name, Ophrys apifera is derived from the Latin apius, meaning 'Bee-like'. The darker, inner part of the flower has evolved to mimic the appearance of a female bee in the male bee's eyes. It's so accurate a copy it makes you wonder whether this orchid once had eyes so it could see what a female bee looks like!

The reason behind this impersonation is pollination. When the male bee lands on the flower he crawls up to the top to start his courtship, this triggers a reaction in the orchid's flower. The pollen is deposited behind the bee's head, just above his wings so it cannot be easily dislodged. The orchid is so highly evolved it always hits the target; this is very important.

When the bee finally realises he's being given the cold shoulder he will fly to the next bee orchid to have another go (not unlike blokes on a Friday night). Here he will deposit his little back-pack, thus pollinating another bee orchid.

This year has been a bumper year for bee orchids at Brodsworth; we've always had half a dozen or so but so far this year I've counted over 20! Unfortunately I can't claim all the credit for this sudden rise in the population as orchids are notoriously difficult to propagate from seed, as I'm sure you're aware, so it's not down to my growing skills.

Orchid seeds in the wild have a special symbiotic relationship with a microscopic mycorrhizal fungus which they need to help them germinate; we must have plenty in the lawns here. However, I can claim some of the credit here. The area where the majority of the new plants have appeared always used to be cut relatively short; this year we decided to give a little more grass over to the wild flower area and this is where the bee orchids have popped up.

Try it at home. If you have a fairly large and diverse lawn leave a little corner to grow naturally and see what pops up, you might be pleasantly surprised.

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24/05/2006 13:30 - A pleasant surprise

We thought this tree fern, Dicksonia antarctica, had been nobbled by the cold snap we had in February. All the fronds went a very unhealthy-looking brown colour and died off - it wasn't looking good for the poor thing. Every year we wrap them up tight with hessian around the trunk and a good handful of hay in the crown and usually they do really well: last year they all stayed winter green for the first time! We were just thinking about digging it up and cutting it into disks (these disks will sometimes regenerate and you can end up with more plants than you started with) when it started to release some new fronds. The rain we've had helped too. This image shows what it looked like yesterday. Some people are suprised to see them outdoors this far north but, in actual fact, they are suprisingly hardy if you can find them a sheltered spot and keep the damp and the frost out of the crown. You have to water the trunk almost every day in summer as this is where 90 percent of the root system is and it tends to dry out very quickly. If you're thinking of buying one, make sure it has a plant passport. You can then be sure that you're not bringing in any invasive alien species and also that it hasn't been taken from the rainforests in its native Australasia.

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24/05/2006 12:50 - A thorn between two thorns!

The newly-planted species rose collection in the rose dell is really starting to come to life. Some of the early-flowering species are blooming in abundance and the whole lot seem to be really enjoying their new home in one of the most sheltered parts of the garden. The great thing about wild roses is that most of them actually prefer poor soils - which is a good job because there is plenty of it in the rose dell! The dell sits in the lowest part of the quarry and has possibly the shallowest and poorest soil in the whole garden, which is ideal for these plants. The image shows the thorns of Rosa sericea pteracantha. These evil-looking things are bright, translucent red on young shoots and measure 3cm x 2cm (1.5"x1"). It's not the friendliest of plants if you get too close, but from a distance, with its simple white/pale pink flowers and the sun hitting those young thorns, it's a very attractive one. Rosa primula is another good one for this time of year. If you've got plenty of space I'd recommend trying a couple of species roses. They're more reliable, less disease-prone and in many cases, more interesting than cultivated varieties, and some of the hips they produce in the autumn are apparently a good form of cancer prevention, so maybe they'll save your life one day too!

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22/05/2006 15:10 - More new trees

Our new copper beech in the rose dell has finally decided to show itself. All three trees are now fully in leaf and they're looking pretty strong. I suppose all this rain's good for something; it saves us watering for a while. For me, copper beech is one of the best trees around, I think the colour of the foliage is just fantastic! There are several very old and very large examples of this magnificent tree on the Brodsworth parkland which are clearly visible from the south terrace. They really draw your eye, even from a distance. We have one large example in the woodland garden here at Brodsworth which has retained its natural shape remarkably well, considering the 80-odd years of neglect it suffered and the mass invasion of this area by marauding sycamores. I recently stumbled across an old photograph of an area I've been pondering over for some time now: it's only a small area but nonetheless a very important one as it can be looked down on from the summerhouse bank and it's on the main path from the fern dell to the pet cemetary. I've been thinking for a few years that the fern dell always seemed a bit too exposed and brightly lit and could do with some dappled shade casting over it. The photo has confirmed my suspicions that there would once have been a tree on this spot - it shows a fine example of a copper beech standing proud on one of the highest parts of the garden. Any tree in this position would have been clearly visible from most parts of the garden. The copper beech is an excellent choice and as this is a restoration project I think I'll put one back in: any excuse to use more of a tree I hold in very high regard.

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22/05/2006 10:03 - Summer's here!

Summer has arrived at Brodsworth! Not! The image is what I wished it looked like this morning but unfortunately it's the complete opposite. I'm sure most of you have had a lot of rain recently but it is starting to get a bit silly now: it has rained every single day for the last twelve days. People on the continent always say we British do nothing but talk about the weather - not really surprising when you can't get outside to do anything more interesting, is it?!

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08/05/2006 16:10 - Spring flowers

For me, late spring is one of the best times of the year for wild flowers here at Brodsworth. OK, we might be lacking the unusual extravagance of the orchids that grace our meadows in the summer months but it's still a busy and interesting time of year in the grasslands. Close inspection of the wildflower areas reveals a fantastic level of diversity, plants such as the dog violet (Viola canina) thrive here along with the bluebells, periwinkles, cyclamen and many different species of wild primulas. We have always maintained a relatively large area of wildflower meadow and I'd definately recommend it to anyone with a large enough garden. Not only will you get hours of pleasure from the beautiful floral displays but you'll be doing your bit for the wildlife in your area. Wild flowers encourage all kinds of insects to visit your garden and with the insects come the birds, and so on. On top of all these wonderful benefits, you won't be cutting the grass as often either!

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08/05/2006 15:40 - New trees 2

Phew...we can all breath a big sigh of relief here at Brodsworth! All of the large new tree specimens (see 12th April blog) we planted in the rose dell this winter are starting to come in to leaf (not that i was ever worried they wouldn't, honest!). The first to show was the hornbeam (see image) with its sharply-toothed fresh green leaves, then the next was the Oak which is just peeking through its winter jacket. The copper beech must be having a lay in, as it's only just waking up: the buds are turning a lighter shade of brown at the ends, which is a good sign that they are just about to burst open. As I've said before, we've given them plenty of the old H2O and they'e come good despite the poor soil conditions in this area of the garden. I'll keep you all posted on their progress.

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24/04/2006 16:30 - Look Out Trevi !

After 80 dormant years Brodsworth's charming little fountain flows once more. This is the finishing touch the flower garden hs been waiting for. The painstaking restoration project started back in August 2005 when the garden team kicked it all off with the arduous task of trenching for the water works. The trenches had to be 900mm deep to avoid any chance of freezing pipes but after about 400mm we hit bedrock!

Lucky for us we ahd purchased a back hoe for our compact tractor some year before! Not so lucky however was the overflow trenching. The overflow pipe had to travel on a constant downward gradient from the tank in to an area of open air so the end couldn't get blocked by plants or soil. This is not an easy task when you're working in a relatively flat area and the only reasonable space of open airis uphill from the tank! Unfortunately this trench had to be dug by hand as it was too close to a new path to use the back hoe. By the time it was finished the trench was almost 1500mm deep and we were laid on our bellies digging it out with trowels.

Two weeks and several blistered palms later the pipes were in but it was November before the actual fountain restoration would start. The most important thing was that the fountain was level, so that was the first job. then the surrounding walls were disassembled and removed for cleaning. The fountain was the covered over with waterproof plastic so the contractors could work inside cleaning and treating the fountain without it getting rained on. The new base was the next job. Concrete with a waterproof layer then a smooth, shaped screed. The waterproof layer required five degrees centigrade temperatures so this part of the project was delayed for about three weeks in mid-February! Once the base was complete the walls could go back up and be sealed in place and that was that, ready to be connected and switched on. After a bit of tweaking the fountain is now running well. Hopefully the turf around it won't suffer too badly from the spray and increased foot traffic. Otherwise you may be coming to see Brodsworth's new bog garden and fountain!

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12/04/2006 15:20 - New Trees

We've planted, or transplanted, several new trees here at Brodsworth this winter including hornbeam, copper beech and English oak and they were all of hernia-producing size! The important thing to remember with all large planting is watering. With plants of larger size planted in winter this is especially important. Some people get caught out by the early time you have to start watering. Our new additions have been well watered (that means four or five watering can fulls each) every week four weeks already, despite heavy rain, hail and snow which could have fooled you in to thinking they didn't need watering. This sort of plant needs great care and attention to nurse it through its early years in your garden. If you're not careful, they'll be dead before you know it and it won't be the suppliers fault!

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12/04/2006 15:11 - A Late Spring?

I don't know what it's like in your part of the country but spring seems very late around here. This is Magnolia x soulangeana in the Woodland Garden which flowered three weeks earlier than this last year; and we've got winter aconites, usually February flowers, out with the bluebells! These unusual occurrences can obviously be attributed to the unseasonable chill in the air, you'd think? Temperature is a factor, but often plants use light levels and something called red light to decipher what time of year it is and therefore when to flower or drop their leaves, that sort of thing. This should be a more reliable gauge of the seasons, maybe something other than the temperature is different this year.

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12/04/2006 14:31 - Mulch Monday

Hello all. It's been a bit hectic here this week. Have you ever seen seventy cubic metres of bark mulch? It's not a pretty sight first thing on a Monday morning let me tell you, but nevertheless this is what welcomed the Broddy gardeners to another week of work. The delivery arrived in the biggest truck I've ever seen; so big in fact, it wouldn't go through the back gates.

I decided to have it tipped on the North Drive as this was the only area the truck could get to that was big enough to hold it all. this meant we had to shift it sharpish or we'd be causing access problems and so, the marathon started. Six gardeners, six wheelbarrows, a loader, a trailer and a dumper working eight hours a day = seventy cubic metres of mulch shifted and raked out in only one and a half days, I think we're the new world record mulch moving champions!

The image shows the area where it has been used. The Rose Dell covers about three quarters of an acre in Brodsworth's pleasure grounds. Until recently, this area was completely covered in ivy and self-set trees. It now contains some 80 different species of roses. There are no cultivated roses in this collection at all, all are species roses found in the wild somewhere in the world. I hope this will one day be awarded Brodsworth's first national collection status. Once the plants are established, which shouldn't take too long, the Dell will be awash with scent and colour throughout the summer months. The topography of this area gives a wide array of view points making this an ideal spot to exhibit such a beautiful and interesting collection.

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21/03/2006 16:40 - Isn't Spring Wonderful?!

Well it's that time of year again folks. Underneath the innocence of the snowdrops and the effervescence of the daffodils lies a slumbering menace just awakening from its winter sleep! Soon gardeners all around the country will be charging around their gardens wondering how it's managed to catch them out again! Hours and hours of precious garden time (which passes much quicker than normal time) will be consumed as the beast rampages towards the bright light of the summer months! I speak, of course, of GRASS!!! One minute it's nice and neat at the 12mm of the last autumn cut, the next, the machetes are out and you're wading through lush, green meadows that, no matter how hard you try, always seem to be that little bit too long! We'll be giving the Brodsworth turf it's first cut this week, weather permitting; it doesn't seem two minutes since we were greasing up the mowers for their winter nap. Oh well, I suppose it's true what they say,"There are two things you can be sure of in this life, GRASS and taxes". That is what they say, isn't it?! I'm not sure which distresses me the most; ask me again at the end of the summer. The image shows the church before our hedge cutting, so you can see the difference.

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17/03/2006 14:40 - A View Restored

Finished! We've finally completed the yew hedge restoration after four solid weeks and I'm really pleased with the results. When you see a finished product like this you pretty quickly forget how cold, wet and tired you've been. The image shows just one of the many views we were aiming to retrieve in this project. I've managed to dig out some 'before' shots that demonstrate the massive difference our efforts have made to this area and I'll be putting them on with my next entry so keep an eye out. On another issue, just when exactly do you think spring might show its face?! I'm getting sick of snow, sleet, rain and wind all day long and I think the dafs are thinking of retreating back under ground: maybe I'll join them!

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09/03/2006 16:30 - "I'll leave it til next year"

This is what happens when you keep putting a tedious job off. It turns from a two-day task with a pair of shears and a rake to a two-week back-breaker with a chainsaw and a cherrypicker! This is the size of the task facing the Brodsworth gardeners for the next couple of weeks. Someone, about 80 years ago, decided to stop clipping the yew hedge that divides Brodsworth Gardens from the parish church and this is the result. After so many years of neglect these yews have put on alomost 30ft in height!

The aim of this particular restoration project is to regain the views from the house and gardens to the pretty little church in the north east corner. Historic photos and archive material came in very handy when we were trying to determine the historic maintenance height of the hedge. The evidence pointed to somewhere between six and seven feet! This meant we had to cut the trees back to about five or six feet in order to give enough room to the fresh, new green material we will eventually clip in to the shape of the hedge.

As I sank the chainsaw in to the first tree, I began to wonder if we were doing the right thing. After all, it's not the yew's fault the family couldn't afford to pay enough gardeners all those years ago. Now though, with the first side complete, I realise it was the right thing to do in the end. The view is magnificent. Light floods in to the church yard and through the stained glass windows giving this area of the garden a new lease of life.

Future plans include the re-establishment of the deciduous woodland with the addition of coppice and woodland shrub species to the ground flora. Native bulb species will be introduce to the grassed area along the hedgeline providing spring and autumn interest and the perfect setting for a family picnic on those hazy summer days to come.

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24/02/2006 16:02 - A Day for Gardening?!

Hmmm....what do you do when your garden looks like this?! This is what we woke up to at Brodsworth this morning, thus raising the age old question....What do gardeners do when it snows? Make snow men? Go home? Actually the gardeners are hard at work today in spite of the weather. A day like today gives you the chance to get all those, "I'll do it later", jobs out of the way. Jobs like servicing the machinery or sweeping out the glasshouses. Another task well worth the time on a day like this is cleaning all your tools. A good way of keeping your spades, forks and hoes in top nick is keep them soil free when they're in the shed and on a rainy day give them a good rub down with an oily rag, it'll only take ten minutes and your spade will last twice as long! But as well as snow, this week saw the start of the first annual snowdrop festival. It also saw the first week of consistently cold, wet and just generally horrible weather for more than six weeks, which meant a distinct lack of visitors. Bit of shame really, as the snowdrops look wonderful despite the battering they've taken from the elements.

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