Columbine Hall

I came on here tonight to do a quick blog post to and found lots of lovely comments and new followers so thank you and sorry that I took so long to reply, I shouldn’t rely on my email notifications, obviously.

 

Well, life’s been a bit hectic recently, I have been preparing for a large gathering of my dad’s friends and relations to celebrate his life and my head is full if arrangements. Even though it was cold and raining I decided to have a break this afternoon and visit a garden at Columbine Hall not far from home. Thanks for telling me Perfect Perennials!

It’s a beautiful, moated 14th house with winding grassy paths and formal pleached limes.

We went through a lush wilderness and down a tree lined walk to the bog garden which follows a stream and was full of ferns and wild garlic.

 

In a newly planted herb garden there were the same mixture of tulips, in an old copper, as close to the house.

 

At the back of the house is a courtyard garden with a large prostrate rosemary and pretty fencing.

It was busy despite being such difficult weather so I hope that they did well. The warm barn for teas was a very welcome respite and the greenhouse looked busy.

On the way home I stopped to take a photo of these magnificent cherry trees, something that I have been meaning to do for years.

 

 

 

 

Homework

This weekend I have made a bit of progress in my own garden. As it has been such a cold spring I held off sowing seeds until we had a bit of milder weather at the beginning of April, then it went cold again with little sunshine. The result has been that seeds haven’t germinated, and some have rotted in the pot, the sudden heatwave finished them off.

Now, the polytunnel is full of sprouting dahlia tubers, successfully overwintered despite the low temperatures, and newly sown seeds just emerging. I started chilli seeds in the heated propagator, then they moved to the windowsill and now in the polytunnel.  The free ones from Mr Fothergills are doing well, the Razzmatazz didn’t germinate very well so I have re-sown, fingers crossed for a good summer so that I get some chillies. With frost forecast for this week, I am glad that I didn’t put the fleece away.

I have also taken over my Dad’s plot at my parents house. He loved growing vegetables, long rows of runner beans which he shared with the village as there were always too many for the two of them. It’s good to carry on, although he wouldn’t think much of my wiggly lines, but hard too. The asparagus that I bought him a few years ago are just coming up.

 

On Sunday, sweltering in the heat, I sowed french beans, radish, carrot, beetroot and parsnips which won’t come up because they are last year’s seeds but I can’t just throw them away. There is still a bit of broccoli from last year under the netting. I am using his mesh which is the stuff used for plastering but works well.

At home, in the polytunnel, I sowed my giant pumpkin seeds from Matthew Oliver at RHS Hyde Hall. I have been too nervous to sow them in case they don’t come up, now I just have to stop myself rooting around in the pot to see if they germinate. I will post updates as hopefully they get bigger and bigger.

Giant pumpkin seeds, with normal one for comparison