Winter coats

You would think that a garden in winter would be bland and uninteresting.  Far from it!  Instead she takes off her summer dress and shows her true shape to the world.  Now that all the leaves have dropped we can see the evergreen beauties standing tall.

The Dell changes beyond recognition in the winter. The Gunnera has caught the first frosts and withered into the ground...a heap of alien like pods!  With the enormous Gunnera out of the way the stream has seen the light of day and the cascading water sparkles in the winter sunshine.  The removal of the Gunnera also exposes the sides of the Dell and so you can see the true form of this little valley.  It looks so much steeper than you expect.

The evergreens show off a blast of deep rich colour against this wintery backdrop. The Giant Sequoia dominates the middle of the Dell.  The second tallest Giant Sequoia in England, she stands regally in the spot chosen by the Duke of Bedford.  For a lady who is 180 years old, she is looking good!

At the top of the Dell, the Nordmann Fir is a million miles away from the little Christmas trees that everyone has at this time of year.  Stretching 160 feet into the sky, we would need at least 10 sets of fairy lights on this one.  But seeing this enormous tree in a natural setting, gives you a sense of awe at the amazing living plant that is so much more than a Christmas bauble.

Also at the top of the Dell, amongst the Silver Fir trees is a group of Giant Sequoia which include the tallest tree in England but the slope of the land and the distance involved in viewing the tree make it look strangely smaller than its brother half way down the Dell.

The beauty of Repton's garden is that she shows her strengths at all times of the year.  The hardest question we get, on a regular basis,  is 'when is the best time to see the garden?'.  We have to say 'All the time'!

The winter cometh...

It feels like a race against the cold weather.  Just when you think things should be quietening down in the garden, the grass stops growing and the trees shed their leaves, and we find ourselves launching headlong into a frenzy of bulb planting and Parterre sorting.  The kind of activities that make you mentally by-pass the winter and look to the joys of spring!

So 9,000 bulbs are now bedded down for the winter and are, we hope, stretching their tiny roots into the still warm soil, preparing to give us a fantastic show in the spring.

7,000 tulips have gone into the long border and the beds around the house.  They have been planted in a wavy swathe that should give a bold thread of colour along this enormous border.  We have gone for a mixture of purple tulips with the occasional white or striped flower to lift the colour. It's actually a mix of 7 different varieties.

Then we also have 1,000 mascari (little grape hyacinths) which have been divided between little patches on the long border but have mostly found a home on the fernery/rockery. Again a mixture of varieties has been used so that we can enjoy that amazing deep blue but lighten the effect with some pale blues and whites.

My personal favourite is the alliums.  A further 1,000 alliums have been planted around the house and in the long border.  We have included some some 'super globe' along the beds by the house. Not only do they grow incredibly well in this sheltered spot but we also dry the heads and use them inside the house in the winter.  The other advantage of the alliums is that, unlike the other bulbs, they do not seem to get eaten by the field mice. So we live in hope of an amazing display in the spring...that or we will have very fat field mice!

Following on from the Parterre work, we now have our very own Tamar river monster in place. Swim little fish, swim!!

The Parterre in winter

When the house was originally built, the Duke of Bedford would visit for only a few weeks each year and that was generally in late summer to enjoy the salmon fishing.  The little Parterre (which was the children's play space) enjoys the summer sun and is a fantastic vision in summer...but winter proves much more challenging.  The soil depth is shallow and the ancient practice of using the arsenic sand for pathways means that we constantly have to improve the soil and bring in new nutrients.

The garden was never intended to be used in winter but nowadays we keep the house fully occupied all year round and want to look out on something interesting (even if we don't want to venture out in the freezing temperatures).So winter on the Parterre is a bit of a struggle.  In previous years we have tried various plants but they just don't fare well.

A couple of years ago we hit upon the idea of taking a more modern approach.  Using turf and gravel we 're-created' the river bed to echo the mighty Tamar that flows through the end of the garden. The concentric rings were filled with small sized gravel (like the river bed), bigger gravel (like the river edges), turf (like the river banks) and box balls (like the trees along the river bank).  To add atmosphere we then placed 4 moss filled wire fish, swimming along our pseudo river bed!  It took a bit of imagining but we liked it!

This year we are going back to re-creating the river bed but with an added dimension.  More fish AND a river monster who will chase the enlarged shoal.  The river bed is almost there and the fish are waiting in the wings.  Another day or two and it will be complete...wait for the photo of the monster!

Watch out...he's behind you.

 

A place of memories

The Memory Tree

People find gardens useful for all sorts of reasons...to sustain their body with exercise, growing fruit and vegetables, fresh air...or to sustain their minds and souls with peace, uplifting views and soothing bird song.  This year we have created a special corner of the garden dedicated to a 'Memory Tree'.

View from the Memory Tree

It is a quiet spot with a beautiful gnarled Acer and in return for a donation to Macmillan Cancer Support you can dedicate a copper tag to a particular memory.  People have written all sorts of things on the tags both sad and happy; special dates, names, words, places.

Memories enjoying the morning sun

The tags make an usual 'fruit' for the tree and glitter away in the autumn sun.  Nearby we have used part of a horse chestnut that came down last winter, to form a bench for those who wish to spend a moment with their memory...or just enjoy the view!

Being new to blogging

We wanted to share with you some more pictures of the garden here at Hotel Endsleigh.  All these photos were taken this morning as the sun came out. Over the next few weeks we will show you the nooks and crannies of this beautiful garden and also share with you some of the very special trees we look after.Enjoy!

Sunrise over the Parterre

The rose arch

Season of mist

The first frost of the winter hit hard last night but gave us a glorious start to the day.  The autumn colours stood out sharply and the clear blue (and very cold) sky was a stunning backdrop to the autumnal trees.  Couldn't resist a couple of atmospheric pictures of the garden!  Even the moon was still on display.

The long border, early morning

Stunning acers

Andy and Andy and 9000 tulip bulbs!

And then onto the serious business of the day. 9,000 bulbs to be planted in preparation for the spring.  We have chosen some stunning purple and white tulips which will (hopefully) emerge in great swathes of colour, threading through the long border. Andy and Andy started early this morning and are still going strong, planting away!