Repairs & Renovations for Open Gardens

Despite competitions, preparations for open gardens next week are well under way.  Chris even gave up a Bank Holiday Monday to come renovate Kay's swing seat roof and mend one of the green garden doors which had succumbed to rot over winter.  The previous roof had been ply which had only stood a very short test of time so it was decided to go for something a little longer lasting.  Brian our painter took me over to Lanes to collect the corrugated tin which we tied onto the roof of his van.  Luckily it was still there when we arrived home so I was able to paint it with Tractol 'Landrover Green'.  I was in trouble for painting the right side of one sheet and the wrong side of the other!!  As a mere apprentice, how was I to know?  It worked out in my favour luckily!  Now all I have to do is touch up the green paint.  It looks really smart and having had its joints tightened and extra bracing, it's a whole lot steadier.  Today, Janine and I turned the conservatory into a tea room so, time to sit and swing in it would be nice!  Getting ready for open gardens

BREAKING NEWS

Pear Tree Cottage Garden has made the final shortlist of 3 in The English Garden Magazine's competition: 

"Britain's Best Gardeners' Garden"

If I was brutally honest, I'd confess to the fact I'd forgotten I'd even entered which made the arrival of the email all the more surprising!  The judges are planning to visit next month so.....

...............watch this space!

Don't forget - this private garden is open to visitors under the National Garden Scheme 
30 & 31 May 2015
&
Wichenford Open Gardens  20 & 21st June 2015

Circular Wisteria

A Wisteria with history grows over the studio.  I propagated this one from a Wisteria from Cook's nursery in Stourport which they propagated from a really exquisitely mature specimen which drapes itself elegantly over a quaint pub called The Dog at Dunley.  In turn, that one was propagated from a really grand old Wisteria from Witley Court.  Presently, Witley Court is in a state of  'maintained dereliction' Once upon a time, it could have rivalled Blenheim Palace.  Now: given that Pear Tree Cottage was part of the former Witley Court estate, this Wisteria has come full circle.  Furthermore, the sparrows haven't touched it!

Magnolia in the Herb Garden?

The niche in the Herb Garden got a new coat of paint thanks to Brian.  It's made from plaster and after a few years all my efforts were peeling off in large papery flakes.  It's now had a special treatment before being painted with magnolia (!) Santex exterior paint

International VE Day Garden Cairn!

Finished & planted cairn

Chief Blogger's bin a tad busy lately!  Cairns to finish and a zillion other things before open gardens at the end of the month.  Temperatures have been positively glacial for most of this month with occasional frosts at night.  This cold snap has meant that potatoes have been earthed up early - well, early for me.  The sparrows have been dust bathing in my onions and none have germinated in a whole row!!  Not to be outdone, I've sown another row between the peas and beans - a somewhat less inviting location for sparrows.  As it was a 2 Chris Saturday with Chris P. strimming and hedgecutting - ALL day, I lapsed into apprentice mode and helped Chris G. finish the cairn (as well as glue on ceiling letters - a whole different story and totally un-garden related!)  As a mere apprentice, my job was sorting & passing stone and mortar! Many of the stones used have come from all over the place - some from as far afield as Australia, Yorkshire, Wales, Scotland, Shropshire - to name but a few places.   It's  really quite an international cairn! 

View from the far  end of the service path

A finished cairn meant much rubbing down and sculpting of mortar the following day and a major clear up around the base.  I know that the building part is where the real skill lies but, the removal of the mortar from around the stones really is totally transforming.  I found a drop of brick acid left so cleaned up the slate plaque and some of the stones.  During its construction, Chris left some pockets for planting ferns so I was able to squeeze a few in and others around the base.  It doesn't look quite so new now and it'll will soon weather in.  Hopefully most of the ferns will survive their move and moss will colonise the nooks and crannies.  ...............And we did actually start building it on the 70th anniversary of VE Day.  Victory all round!

Angelic Angelica!

Just some shots of Angelica by the silver birch logs.  It's about at its best right now as it quite a striking and statuesque plant. I can't imagine how it got such a name.  A common name is Angels' Fishing Rods but it bears no resemblance.  The Royal Horticultural Society also tells us: 

Angelica Archangelica are large biennials or herbaceous perennials, some monocarpic, with pinnately or palmately divided leaves and small white or purple flowers in large umbels.  A. archangelica is a robust upright perennial, sometimes monocarpic, with 2 – 3 pinnate leaves to 60cm in length, and rounded umbels of light yellow flowers in early summer.

This is from Wikipedia and even more interesting:

Natives of Lapland use the fleshy roots as food and the stalks as medicine. Crystallized strips of young angelica stems and midribs are green in colour and are sold as decorative and flavoursome cake decoration material, but may also be enjoyed on their own. The roots and seeds are sometimes used to flavour gin. Its presence accounts for the distinct flavour of many liqueurs, such as Chartreuse. 

Among the Sami people of Lapland, the plant is used to make a traditional musical instrument the fadno.

I have only enjoyed eating it crystallised and had never thought of flavouring gin....................................................until now!

Garden Feature to Remember VE Day!

Sculpting mortar!

We had always fancied using up all the left over and spare bits of stone to build a cairn but somehow never found quite the right spot for it or it could never be deemed a priority!!  Then we did find a spot for one and we had the perfect occasion: the 70th anniversary of VE day.  Of course our master builder: Chris Genever was at the helm with his trusty helper not far behind!  We found a piece of slate which Chris cut to size and with one of Al's punches, I inscribed the words 'VE Day MMXV'.  It made a perfect plaque to build in on the front.

View from the cairn

Inside and, in an empty wine bottle (hic!), we placed a piece of paper in a sealed plastic bag describing the occasion, date and naming the 2 builders.  We persevered despite the increasing rain and to protect it overnight, a plastic bin liner was rather unceremoniously placed over it until the following day when I gouged, rubbed and sculpted much of the crumbly and drying mortar so as to expose each individual stone.  Now, given that on one side and much too close for comfort is a vicious rose backed up by a thorny berberis, this was quite the most uncomfortable activity!

And where is this being built?  Well, about two thirds of the way along the service path - the idea being that it forms a focal point at the end of a straight and narrow woodchip path with a mixed native hedge on one side and a line of shrubs on the other.