New Year, new course, new me ... and you!

Goodness, what happened to the last few months?  Well I've been pretty tied up with a few family issues but I am back!

Very exciting news - a new course starting in February - with an amazing discount as I have been so remiss in not blogging.  Here it is ....   a chance to see the developing gardens, take time for yourself, meet us and rejeuvenate.
Even better a chance to spend a whole three days with www.lynnadams.co.uk to really make a difference to you ... and me!

Made for the Shade...

Gardening In The Shade

By Mark Saidnawey, WBZ-TV Gardening Expert

 

Click here to watch our Segment on CBS Boston TV 

Aired: August 2, 2011 1:19 PM

BOSTON (CBS) – For many of us urban gardeners, the shady areas of our garden are often the most challenging.

For many of my customers that shop with me at Pemberton Farms they are always asking what is new and different for shade and how do I add color to those dark areas of my garden.
Fortunately for them, many nurseries are now stocking a larger selection of shady plants and growers are adding new varieties each year. Unfortunately, shade-tolerant plants are in many cases not very colourful in flower, but often there is consolation in attractive or interesting foliage. Plants for shade gather what light there is by large leaves which are rich in chlorophyll and therefore often very green. Variegated plants are less successful in shade than in sun as they lack chlorophyll.
Watch to see some creative ways I have added to color and texture to my shady garden:

Watch Gardening With Gutner
You will see a combination of hanging baskets, vines, herbaceous perennials and flowering annuals. All it takes is a little creativity and patience for plants to fill in and you too can have an interesting, and colorful shady garden.

Some tips on Shade Gardening:
Knowing the amount of shade you have is extremely important in determining which varieties of plants will thrive in your garden. Many plants that require part to full sun will work in light or partial shade. It is often a trial and error method to see what works where but if you can determine the amount of shade you have it will help you when you go to choose your plants. When customers come to our garden center and ask for assistance in selecting plants it is the first question we ask.
To grow healthy plants in shady areas, it is important to identify the degree of shade that a plant needs or will tolerate. Few shrubs will thrive where shade is very dense, particularly when coupled with a dry impoverished soil. Additional organic matter and a general fertiliser will provide more suitable conditions for plants to grow.

1. Light shade: A site that is open to the sky, but screened from direct sunlight by an obstacle, such as a high wall or group of trees.
2. Partial shade: A site receiving sunlight for two or three hours either in early morning or late evening. Midday sun supplies considerably more light.
3. Moderate shade: Mainly reflected or diffused light, for example through tree canopies.
4. Deep shade: Usually under dense deciduous trees, e.g. beech, conifer hedges or overgrown shrubberies.

Here is a list of some the most popular Annuals and Perennials for the shade:
Annuals:

1. Begonias
2. Browallia
3. Caladium
4. Coleus
5. Diascia
6. Fuchsia
7. Impatiens
8. Mimulus
9. Torenia

Perennials:

1. Hosta
2. Astilbe
3. Polygonatum (Solomon Seal)
4. Heuchera (Coral Bells)
5. Ferns
6. Vinca Minor
7. Lamium (Dead Nettle)
8. Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)
9. Helleborus
10. Brunnera “Jack Frost"

Find The Perfect Christmas Tree

 

Click Here to watch us on CBS Boston TV 

Aired:December 3, 2010 11:09 AM

(CBS)

BOSTON (CBS) — The countdown to Christmas is underway, which means the lights, the ornaments and other decorations are making their ways out of the attic.
Perhaps one of the most important centerpieces of Christmas decoration is the tree. But with so many different types out there, how do you choose the “one” and keep it fresh and healthy until December 25?
Todd Gutner talked to Mark Saidnawey of Pemberton Farms to find out.

Web Extra: A Guide To Picking The Perfect Tree

BALSAM VS. FRASER
Two most popular types are Balsam and Fraser. They both work perfectly as Christmas trees at home, but depending on what you are looking for, one may be more suitable than the other.
Balsam gives off great smell that fills the whole house, but one downside, it loses its needles quickly.
Fraser, rapidly gaining popularity in the last five years, can be more expensive, but retains its needles better. It, however, does not give off any fragrance.
Additionally, Balsam trees are greener than Fraser trees. So it ultimately comes down to, do you want a rich green tree or one with a hint of silver? And would you like an odorless tree or a tree that fills your house with scent?
KEEP IT FRESH
Once you find a tree you like, then the trick is to keep it fresh until actual Christmas day.
Mark Saidnawey said, the most important thing to remember is to make sure your tree takes in a lot of water, especially in the first few days after the purchase.
If you don’t plan on putting the tree up in the house immediately, keep it in a bucket of water outside.
Also, try store-bought preservatives, such as Prolong Christmas Tree Preservative or add Sprite or sugar into the water. These tricks will help keep your tree healthy and fresh.
POTTED TREES
Besides freshly cut trees, potted trees can also work as great Christmas trees.
If you have potted trees that you keep in your front yard year round, you could bring them inside for a couple of days around Christmas. But potted balsam trees cannot survive more than two days in warm temperature.
Most Christmas tree farms in Eastern Massachusetts offer indoor potted plants as well, and these can certainly survive inside a warm house.

Get the Patio Ready! Happy 4th Of July

Happy 4th Of July — Time To Spruce Up Your Patio

By Mark Saidnawey, WBZ Gardening Expert

 

Click here to watch us on CBS Boston talk Patio Pots... 

Aired: June 28, 2011 12:34 PM

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – We have made it to the big 4th of July weekend. Are you having a barbecue and lots of people over? Is your patio or deck full of flowers for your guests to enjoy?
If not, now is a great time to visit your favorite garden center or nursery for those last minute touches to make your yard colorful for all who will visit this weekend.
Here at Pemberton Farms (and I am sure at your favorite nursery) we have a large selection of fresh patio size pots full of Zinnia’s, Salvia, Cleome, Cosmos, Impatiens, Coleus and mixes of colorful plants that are reasonable priced and easy to just purchase and set out on your patio.

Watch: Gardening With Gutner
The key is getting the right plants for your sun/shade situation. I for one have a patio that bakes in full sun all day and have plants that can both take the heat of the sun and also not dry out when I am at work. Be sure to ask at your nursery which plants require lots of sun or which will do well in shade. You can also create your own planters with some of my favorites like Million Bells, New Guinea Impatiens, Petunias, Bacopa, Marigolds, Gazania and lots more.

Here are some Patio Planter Tips and Advantages:
Tips:
Planters are good for flowers, plants and herbs. Place them on patios, front porches, and balconies. Group them in sets of two and three; they look so much better in clusters.
Garden planters, outdoor flower pots and window boxes come in a large variety of materials, styles and sizes—wood, ceramic, terracotta, fiberglass or resin, clay, concrete and metal—there are so many choices! But did you know that the characteristics of each type will make some better-suited than others. Making the right choices in both planters and plants for the growing conditions, location and size of your container garden will make a big difference in your results.
New production methods and materials result in outdoor planters that are more resilient to extreme weather, lighter in weight and bulk, and offer a greater variety of decorative styles, textures and colors. Look for innovations such as self-watering features, illuminated or extra large and lightweight outdoor planters.
Advantages:

• Add color, fragrance and style to balconies, decks, patios, entranceway or home landscape
• Hide eyesores around your home with planted pots and hanging baskets
• Garden planters can be moved or replanted when displays fade or plants outgrow space
• Less chance of pest damage
• You can take your container garden with you when you move
• Plants not suited to your yard soil conditions can be grown in containers and planter boxes

Simple and easy to enjoy. Head out and spruce up your patio now. The 4th of July weekend is rapidly approaching.
Thanks, Mark Saidnawey

December's Unseasonable Warmth

How To Deal With Unseasonable Warmth, Upcoming Cold

By Mark Saidnawey, WBZ-TV Gardening Expert

Click Here to watch us on CBS Boston 

Aired: December 14, 2011 4:50 PM

(File Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

BOSTON (CBS) – Daffodils, crocus’s, forsythia, cherry trees, rhododendrons and even azaleas are sprouting up in many homeowners’ back yards so far this fall.
Alas, have no fear, Mother Nature will surely bring us colder temperatures and our plants will once again be reminded that it’s winter and return to their dormant phase.
All your deciduous plant material (perennials and bulbs) will be fine once the cold returns. They will go back to sleep underground and will come up fine next spring. To be sure, you can add a layer of fresh mulch, compost or salt marsh hay to protect them.

WBZ-TV’s Todd Gutner reports.
As for the trees and shrubs that are blooming now, it’s a slightly different story. As you may know, many early spring blooming trees and shrubs set their buds in the fall. Therefore, if the buds are popping open now, they will not have time to reset and bloom again in the spring.
Fortunately, I do not suspect this to be a widespread problem because blooms on trees and shrubs have been sporadic. The only difference you may see is slightly fewer flowers when April and May roll around.
Either way, there really isn’t much we can do except hope for a nice insulating snowfall come early January that lasts into March.
In general, no snow protection and extreme cold temperatures are not good for plants.
If you have any questions or comments you can contact Mark at mark@pembertonfarms.com. Or, follow him on twitter @MarksGardening.

September, Seasons of Mists, Harvest all done aaah

So finally we lop into September - a quick dash to Bristol to be nurtured by the kindly and specially trained people at the Apple Store.  They must go to a special special school for unflappability - all deserve medals for those of us who have finally succumbed to a Mac - I have hankered for 17 years and finally for one of those unmentionable birthdays it happened.  It is never straighforward though is it - happily going through life as a leopard I now have to navigate and move up to being a lion in order to be the same as the techies who currently abide here.   It should mean dear blog slogger that my photos are clearer and even more excitingly the right way up.  A lesson is to take place tomorrow - we will see! For now I will have a quick peruse on the camera to see what joyous snaps we have for the last week.

The Bank Holiday Weekend was filled with the gorgeous flower festival at Lingen - the Church was full of stunning quilts and flowers depicting biblical scenes.

Bank Holiday Monday I had to act as chauffeur to Ross and had an hour to spare - do pop into Labels on the M50 Ross-on-Wye if travelling to stay with us.  Wiggly Wigglers now have a mini shop upstairs and there is a lovely little food hall.  You can of course get sucked into retail therapy downstairs but I averted my gaze - well apart from a lovely little Italian white, pin-tucked floaty coat - for a split second I thought I could match our new bedlinen and be very corporate serving breakfasts and then ... well I restocked up on our ecover washing up liquid and bought a few gluten free nibbles and read a few packets (still looking for sugar free, gluten free, dairy free TASTY biscuits).

Took this photo last year - obviously as it is all so green (AND he who is important mentions that the plough now has one extra furrow on it  -thus conserving fuel)- we are really struggling with lack of rain - I am definitely getting out my Beth Chatto Dry garden book.  I bought a few different miscanthus grasses in Hereford from an old colleague the other day and have great plans for a mini prairie in the Cottage gardens - after they have been well mucked and green manured first.  It is so mild I thought I'd try some mustard to break up the cloddy red Herefordshire earth but this time I must remember to trim it before digging it in!  Learning all the time!

Escape to Alnwick

Can't believe I am the owner of a new greenhouse and I've left it and all the apple crumble seedlings.  Still - visiting Alnwick gardens has been a wish for about four years after reading the book about the development of the gardens whilst at Pershore College.  It did not disappoint - and a most ungardenworthy comment has to be made about the amazing food in the treehouse.  Youngest daughter was bribed with promise of the Poison Garden, getting wet in extreme fountains and a meal in the best treehouse ever.  Best of all we had a lovely chat to Trevor Jones, Head Gardener and discovered some more details of the next phase of the garden - going to revisit in 2014 to see.  Hopefully to stay in wonderful self-catering in Alnmouth too and return with he who is most important who hopefully will not be harvesting then.

Anyway a few photos to wet appetites.   Tomorrow we are checking out Trentham Gardens, the Prairie planting and restoration of the Italian gardens and then hope to resuscitate they who were just peeping through!

The Keder Greenhouse ... is here!

Greenhouse, end of term and the Royal Welsh Show
There has been a bit of a gap with blogs since June as THE greenhouse arrived - really efficiently popped up by gentlemen who made it in Evesham.  The next day the Rudbekia seedlings in various forms were transplanted and the difference the heat and space made was phenomenal - two weeks later they are ready to go out - or would be if we had had - you guessed it, some rain.  Some strange seeds bought at Chelsea Physic Garden are sitting under perlite - which when watered coloured up and now looks like I am growing apple crumble.  I decided against transplanting the tomatoes but benefitted from some heavily discounted monsters from Country Homes at Wellington.  I rescued some aubergine seeds too and they are already sprouting.  A kind gnome - who will become the Upper Newton form of The Stig - sealed and popped in a water tank for me so now no excuses for not sowing all the lovely new seeds harvested throughout the garden.
Royal Welsh Show
Becoming a bit of a tradition now - our favourite local show - it keeps us busy all day and we are all happy to go our separate ways and just meet up for foodie samplings.  Our feet were needing some tender care by 4 pm which is a great time to head for the stands and watch the hilarity of the Hunt races and the magnificence of the procession of livestock.  This kind of display really grounds us and instils a terrific pride in the agricultural workers and breeders who take three days to show their stock - although of course their awards are the result of years of breeding and months of training.
A bit like the allotment section in the floral marquee - you wondered when the gardening was coming in!  Well lengthy conversations were held with me deliberating whether to plant/trial one of the new tomato plants in a straw bale - I still have a suitably soggy one down by the pond tap, used as insulation during our two periods of -16 degree winter - hard to remember that far back now!
Mystery Solved 
This reminds me, we saw Kim Hurst at the great Aardvark Books at Brampton Bryan Food Festival a few weekends ago and she identified my pretty blue flower - it is salsify, so now it can be sown both for the garden and the veggie patch.  I suspect it may be in competition with the Jerusalem Artichokes in antisocial effects but we will see!
Pembridge Show and Trotting Races
Busy weekend with lots of choice locally of fetes and shows - we opted for the above.  Lovely countryside setting by the bubbling river in Pembridge.  Lots of ponies, lots of dogs both in a dog show and also an obedience show.  As a bonus local folk had really interesting stalls and we were able to take lots of pictures in gorgeous sunshine.  We arrived home to happy farmer with completed oil-seed rape harvest and baleing in full swing - will be interesting to see if the weather holds for hay-making.

Brampton Bryan is featuring pretty heavily as Sunday we visited the Festival and had the privilege of listening to Edward Harley whilst he explained the amazing history of the castle next to his home and particularly the incredible story of the Cromwellian castle siege when the chateleine widow 43 year old Lady  Brilliana  held the castle.  I loved the understated planting alongside the castle walls - irises and a superb clump of deadly nightshade.  The flowers remind me so much of bupleurum. What she would have made of the scarecrow trail around the village I am not sure but we thought it was great fun as was the Milliner's Shop with the discussions about hats from Brampton Bryan seen at the Duke and Duchess's wedding.
What a long blog - a respite now while I transplant Nicotiana and return to the landscaping around... The Greenhouse!

Coppice Work - hazel plantation? Wisteria - GCSE's and A levels

Taking my mind off motherly worries for two taking pretty major exams busy considering a happy new wisteria - rescued from some nursery graveyard - now recovered next to comfrey bin and needing to be encouraged to scramble up the external stairs to the cottages.  A coppice worker I met at RHS Malvern came over to see if there is anything suitable in our little woodland - we seen to be missing a mid-storey but have some lovely oaks and ashes with dog roses and wild honeysuckles scrambling up them.  Fabulous habitats - it was also good to see so many english bluebells with bursting seed pods, that was after fighting our way through the nettles - I love the idea of using our wood rather than buying in anything.  Hopefully the planned arch will be suitable gnarled and twisted too - it will fit in really well in the Taylor household!

Joking apart it will be a gorgeous addition to the lovely productive vegetable area.  It's all a bit crammed in but that definitely means less weeds.  The pink fir potatoes, chard, pak choi, salad leaves, dill and radishes have been a great success. The experimental white japanese radish is not so good - lots and lots of leaf and radish long and skinnier than a pencil and not at all tasty - so that will be off the seed list next year.  The main problem is that the vigorous leaves are covering the row of very juvenile carrots - I guess they confuse the carrot fly but I think a trim with a scissors is imminent.  I bought some elephant garlic bulbs to trial planting late - now is the time as we finally achieved an 8 mm of rain yesterday.  No-one would believe how frustrating it is living in a rain shadow - you can almost touch the black rain clouds - just as you dash to recover dry washing or tools the clouds part around the valleys - we are try but just up the road is receiving a soaking - a great geography lesson.
I might drop a photo in of the L shaped veg patch - tricky to get a good shot as it is all interplanted with a Falstaff apple tree and an unknown variety (good excuse to drop into the Cider Museum and look at the Herefordshire pomona and see if I can identify it in the autumn) and a newly planted greengage on a pixy rootstock so it should be smallish.  The other side of the "L" has masses of potatoes - three varieties, a three year old cherry tree - now protected from the birds, an overladen white currant and a quince, medlar and mulberry tree - yes I know - planted too close but oh the blossom and the smell.  I'm working on the idea of a boosey hedge around it all, so far just the elder is planted but I'll try to get some sloes established in the autumn - prickly but again lovely early blossom for the bees.  Speaking of which we were treated to a wooden file full of honeycomb last night - what a delicious chew - very very sweet as it was the apple blossom honey, pity no guests to share it with at breakfast at present - it will not last long! Thanks to Peter and Marion Guthrie our amazing beekeepers for that.

Wind - still no rain looks like a bumper harvest

Just thought I'd share a Linda Mills stencil from Apple Bough Cottage as apple crop, potential of scab and the wind are all topics of conversation in Upper Newton at present.  Really need a substantial June drop, really need some rain.  During harvest it's great to live in a rain Shadow of the Black Mountains but not right now - the roads are running with water just a mile away. 

Still going to risk popping some Erigeron into the new herbaceous bed outside the kitchen window.  Spent two hours fighting the ground elder yesterday - all tangled in the Skimmia - which in itself is sulking and needing a dose of Epson salts.  Had a bit of a play with a tidy weed gun yesterday - bit scary with the wind so will leave the big paraffin driven one for another day - the paths are seeding merrily - more efficiently than my asparagus pea, dolcios lablab and nicotiana seeds frustratingly.

Also frustrating is the fact that this gorgeous poppy appears all over the garden but P."Patty's Plum" insists on staying on one side a bed when she is supposed to be mirrored on the other side.  No photos of her - she is looking decidely bad hair dayed because of the wind.

Roses and Poppies - truly May

Sorry about the sideways view of Rosa Ferdinand Pichard - cannot work out how it twisted whilst being uploaded!  Still with gorgeous self-sown pink aquilegia and deep red Persicaria bistorta "Red Dragon"a jolly bunch to welcome Hay Festival of Literature guests to Chess Cottage.

Winchester Cathedral - lovely white rose (with hint of pink on buds) with Geranium "Jolly Bee", Blue centaura and peeping white Allium Nigrum - about to be thinned out but to the eye very pleassing - photos never do blue justice do they?

I always love the evening scent of the Hesperis matronlis - alba died during the snow but the lilac is faithfully drifting through the box ball border.  The other herbs are from The Cottage Herbery - I have forgotten the name of the great blue - looks like a weed - some kind of ... wort.  It's a rare open weekend on 5th and 6th so I'll drop over to Tenbury to reacquaint myself.  Also to see what Maggie and Kim have in the way of dye plants to add to my collection. Another good reason not to wash that fleece ... actually its been pretty chilly and damp so it's still propped ominously in the garage watching the swifts dive in and out.

Ok so I give up, why are photos that are correct in My Documents loading sideways?  This lovely cat applique resides in Chess Cottage - sewn by Anne Bebbington - a real treat.  Do look at her blog her work rate and skill is phenomenal.  quiltingbebbs.blogspot.com



Chess Cottage - white linen, yellow flag irises yum

Just decided having made bed again I'd take a photo for you.  Actually it was the lovely yellow flag irises with fresh cardoon leaf that did it - photos don't do justice.  I couldn't decide whether to eat blanch and eat the cardoon or flower arrange ...

Quick picture of the downstairs and flowers too as the Circium rivulare atropurpureum looking gorgeous with the pink foxgloves - picked as they were in the white garden - another ..... moment.

People have asked why Chess Cottage, here is the answer - Chess pieces stencilled on the landing!

Final photo for today - a quick shot of downstairs with the foxgloves, just think the bright tangerine of the silk table cloth and pink foxgloves is yummy.



Malvern Show Gardens - back to school!

Treated myself to Gold Day Malvern RHS, what a treat - no crowds, time to really talk to enthusiastic nursery folk and take photos of Show Gardens minus bottoms and hats!  Really loved the Chemistry Bias to the Graduate gardens and as usual loved workmanship and finish in the Graduate Garden well deserved Best in Show.  What a funky idea having a decking overlooking a pool surrounded by your veggie patch - lovely.

Having problems uploading small enough files but here is a novel way of willow hedging.  There was a great example of this in the Coppice stand using larch (now beginning to suffer from phytophera, and ash with willow), based in Malvern - really worth a look and they run courses.  Great idea for around my veggie patch  - more picturesque than my recycled pallets! 

This hard landscaping was inspirational too and the aliums looked amazing despite the terrific wind at this end of the site.  I remember helping a friend with a show garden with tulips two years ago - they spent their week almost horizontal.

These photos are not cropped or fiddled with - I'm having problems uploading but it gives you a taste if you live too far away to go yourself.  Ballotta was planted in ribbons behind this blackboard - not often seen but fabulous and thrives on neglect.  Sadly mine succumbed this winter - it had spread into a half barrel size specimen.  Hoping to return to show today to purchase one in the sell off - always good fun!

This doesn't do justice to Graduate Gardeners veggie garden with chalet style "shed" but illustrates great blacksmithing and aesthetically pleasing planting surrounding the pool.  I tend to take snapshops to remind me of ideas I might like to utilise rather than whole gardens - plenty of those photos around by now I am sure!

Loved the simplicity of this and like London Fashion Week - nice on the model but the practicalities of baubles in a farm garden - I don't think so!  Immaculate planting though and lovely subdued hues.

Oh did I buy?  Seeds mostly - oh and a greenhouse - new learning curve - so when you arrive for B&B and are gasping for a cup of tea there will be a new notice on the backdoor - in the garden/orchard/pottingshed/.... greenhouse!  Just trying to work out how to get some electricity and water to it now - not exactly an impulse buy - I've been chatting to the standholder for five years oggling his vents - but still have to get around he who is important to help me level the ground etc.

Happy gardening and show visiting.  Oh nearly forgot I visited a fabulous new NGS garden yesterday Titley Mill, Herefordshire, now here are some gardeners who know how to plant a bog garden and do wild in the orchard set beautifully in the landscape.   Teas are great too - do visit if you can.

Final touches to Self-catering cottages today

Unfortunately photos do not do them justice - gardening hours too precious so took them after the lovely west light had faded - so for now, just a cute corner shot looking out into the herb garden.  Wouldn't it be lovely to still be able to fit into this wee chair?  Guests last week could!

Counting down to Hay Festival now - great excitement but Malvern tomorrow first - real treat going on the RHS day so that the nurserymen/ladies are not shattered and I can have a look for some great quality plug plants - maybe to plant up the labyrinth.  Anyway, more garden photos tomorrow - for now my dark corner shot!

Finally a spot of Rain - well 5 mm so the last of the Bluebells, first of the cuckoos and a busy woodpecker

Ok so not Bluebells, but a lovely hazy morning shot of the rape in full flower overlooking the black mountains.  Everything looks lush but in reality of course the grass is beginning to gain the August drought look.  The veggies are up with great anticipation on the pak choi front and a few other exotic seed packets unearthed from the "bag I stuffed to try to look tidy" - I am intrigued by the asparagus peas and wondering whether to use them in flower arrangements, eat them as micro greens and trendy pea tips or wait - having remembered to water.

Now to the bluebells - the Spanish were going to be added to the compost BUT they are so blue and so great by the ancient red brick wall.  So a compromise - photos of the woodland with true English bluebells.  Spanish moved to a very dry part of the garden where they will not seed or divide so successfully.  That way they are available for vases for the cottages for Easter guests and reminders of the need to walk down the Long Meadow for the first hazy sightings usually a month later and accompanied hopefully by the cuckoo.

While down in my favourite stream bordered part of the farm I looked up to investigate a woodpecker's tapping and found this obviously favourite branch.

Gentle Rain, effervescent colours in the garden today.

Thought I'd cheat and show you a lovely June photo to inspire you to grab those picnic days.
Actually I am rather proud of myself as I have managed to get into my website and find out a url and paste it somewhere suitable and upload it for you to share!  Sometimes gardeners need to leave the age of the dinosaur although I am sorry as it takes a while to load in the website.
And then I tried to do another one and failed - what is it about computers.  Back to root cuttings!

http://www.herefordshireholidays.co.uk/  Brainwave, send you to look yourselves!   Website under construction so please chip in if you do not understand anything.  I'm trimming my verbosity - yes it hurts.

Spring arrangement outside holiday cottages - pretty pleased!

At this time of year, Upper Newton is singing - it is definitely a Spring and Autumn garden. Really delighted with these beds outside the holiday cottages.

Also in the main garden the quality of the White Triumphator tulips popped in the circular bed to replace a huge Mahonia Japonica "Charity" are great - underplanted with a white rosebay willow herb - I will regret this!

Japanese guests on a garden design day!

Afternoon inspection of the garden reveals that the pink fir potatoes are up - just in time for predicted frost tonight, the lilies are unfurling in the parterre, agastache seeds sown two years ago have finally deigned to grow - obviously two cold winters have helped their dormancy. The angelica is looking wonderful, the cercis is just beginning to unfurl (too late once again for me to transplant this) and the lavendar "Hidcote" has finally discovered an area in the garden where it is content. All appears well - however the garden planted by a Japanese guest fairs less well.

A month after the tsunami I finally had contact with our last Japanese friend/guest. They are all safe but obviously so traumatised. It seems ironic that the "bright' bed she helped to plant back in August 2010 is looking a little stressed too. The hemerocallis are looking decidedly sulky, of the rudbeckia there are no signs and goodness knows if the moles have finished off the galtonia's. The cistus have an eery snapping sound when investigated and the heuchera's obviously didn't have their feet established well enough - ah well - new gardening opportunities. I'd like to make a link at the end of this Box Ball bed to the labyrinth - which yes, I am still thinking about planting with cosmos and in the mean time continue to clear and rake the parts that are meant to be crawled in readiness for inspiration. Photo of labyrinth to follow - any suggestions welcome - bearing in mind the proximity of the wellontonia, the dryness as a result of bordering farm buildings and the industry of moles this year.

Very chilly today so spending a necessary hour in the greenhouse with the dahlias and taking a few photos to help jog the maintenance diary for next year.

Apple Bough Cottage, new look

Finally, Apple Bough Cottage new look - love the teal. Cleared the clutter, toned down the stable stalls with lovely taupe paint. Now moving towards re-designing the herb garden after the ravages of the winter. The rosemary and sage plants, the curry plants and the rue all succumbed and as yet no sign of the woad. Shame as I am into felt-making big time and enjoying dyeing fabrics - watch this space for garden courses, could offer detoxes and fitness if we have active garden courses - now there is an idea!!

Gardens we love to visit around us.

Brobury House Gardens










Brobury, Bredwardine, Herefordshire, HR3 6BS nearest to Upper Newton B&B Tel/Fax: 01981 5002298 acres of formal terraced Victorian gardens and water meadows set against a backdrop of mature trees and the River Wye, fabulous silver birch "forest", lovely new fern and bog garden planting as of 2006.



Burford House Gardens, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, WR15 8HQTel: 01584 810777 about 25 minutes from Upper Newton B&B 7 acres of riverside gardens containing the National Collection of Clematis and over 2000 other varieties of plants.
Hampton Court Gardens, Nr Hope-under-Dinmore, Leominster, HR6 0PNTel: 01568 797777Magnificent gardens designed on a grand scale in historic castle grounds.
Hergest Croft, Kington, Herefordshire, HR5 3EGTel: 01544 230160 Fax: 01544 232031 just 8 miles from Kinnersely. A garden for all seasons. Brilliantly coloured rhododendrons and azaleas up to 30 feet in Park Wood. Over 60 champion trees in one of the finest collections in the British Isles.
Ivy Croft, Ivington Green, Leominster, HR6 0JN Open by appointment plus a great website. Just 15 minutes from here. Tel: 01568 720344
Lawton Hall Herbs, Eardisland, Leominster, Herefordshire, HR6 9AXTel: 01568 709215
Ornamental Tree Nurseries Ltd, Broomy Hill Gardens, Cobnash, Kingsland, Leominster, HR6 9OZTel: 01568 708016 Fax: 01568 709022
Stocktonbury Gardens, Stocktonbury, Kimbolton, Nr Leominster, HR6 0HB One of Pearl's favourites, lots of garden rooms Tel:01568 613432Sheltered 4 acre garden with a long growing season and an extensive collection of plants set amongst medieval buildings with quirky features.
The Walled Garden, Knill, Nr Presteigne, Powys, LD8 2PRTel: 01544 267411 or 2603314 acres containing a walled garden, a river, bog garden, primulas adding to a beautiful Spring garden and one hundred varieties of shrubs and climbing roses. Open by appointment any day 10 - 6pm. Telephone in advance.
Weir Garden, NT Swainshill, Nr Hereford, Herefordshire, HR4 8BSSet high above the River Wye this woodland garden is particularly noted for its riot of spring flowers, wonderful riverside walk.
Westonbury Mill Water Gardens, Westonbury Mill, Pembridge, HR6 9HZTel: 01544 3886502½ acres of bog and moisture loving plants around a tangle of streams and ponds, together with a natural bog garden in the area of the old mill pond. Please let Pearl know what this is like as she has yet to visit!
Whimble Nursery, Kinnerton , Presteigne, Powys, LD8 2PD. Tel: 01547 560413. Unusual herbaceous perennials cottage garden plants and climbers, wonderfully grown. Many plants in Upper Newton Gardens are from here - they always survive, having been grown is such an inclement setting.