It has been a very wet and mild start to December; far from the White Christmas we may have been wishing for – 260mm of rain has fallen already and as I am writing this we are only half way through.
On the plus side though, the ponds are topped up, the Water Garden is flowing and Trebah is feeling far more winter green than winter blues.
If you have been lucky enough to visit on one of our few glorious days of sunshine, you will have definitely left feeling warm and bright! The golden hues of the low winter sun are a fantastic backdrop for the bare trees and stems across the tops of the valley.
I’m writing this December edition a little early as the gardeners take a well earned break for a week or two over Christmas. A time to spend warming up, drying off and eating lots of cake (2 out of 3 things are a novelty – I’ll let you guess which!)
Clearing the Water Garden
We’ve been helping the garden settle into its wintering months although with the mild weather it doesn’t seem to want to rest! A few of our fab volunteers have begun the big (and squelchy) job of cutting back herbaceous perennials along the waterway of the Water Garden. Usually in previous years this area is brown and slimy by now with no signs of life until spring, but this year new growth is popping up all over, fooled by the warm temperatures; we’re just hoping that the fresh growth survives any cold snaps before the spring.
Clearing the View
The gardeners have been trimming some Pittosporum growing on the bank below Petry’s Path. These shrubs would grow very large if left unmanaged, and trimming the tops quite hard means that we keep the view across the valley.
They are quite an awkward spot to access so arms were tested with our extendable hedge trimmer.
The Fight Against the Parrot Feather
We picked a nice sunny day to tackle some pond clearance around the garden. The boat was launched onto Azolla Pool with the task of removing all the Parrot’s Feather Weed (Myriophyllum aquaticum). This non-native, invasive pond plant poses some problems. It tends to be a threat to native plants, fish and aquatic invertebrates due to its dense structure. It monopolises, shades out and depletes oxygen sources for other plants and wildlife. It also spread very easily through water ways, so careful harvesting and disposal is very important. Due to its dense nature it’s quite hard to remove. We collect it by hand, wrapping it up like spaghetti and heaving it onto our little boat like a fisherman hauls his catch. The weed is then left to sit by the water’s edge for 24 hours to allow any wildlife to return to the pond; this is an important factor to bear in mind if carrying out pond maintenance at home.
Parrot’s feather will regrow from the smallest remnant so being careful not to break or leave any behind any trace is encouraged, although very difficult. We will probably not eradicate it totally but we do our best to manage and contain it in Azolla Pool.
Wellies and Soggy Socks
After weeding from the boat, we turned to wellies to clear the spillway of Dinky’s Puddle, pulling out lots of unwanted Water Cress. This resulted in a clearer flow of water and one soggy sock for the gardener who strayed just a bit too deep!
We also used a rake to clear out the smaller pond further up which we have affectionately named the ‘Yellow Pond’ due to the influx of yellow Candelabra Primroses (Primula bulleyana) which invade each summer.
This pond was packed full of old leaves, water cress and water Forget-Me-Nots which was blocking the flow of the water from the stream, which could cause flooding and stagnant water, as well as depleting the lower ponds of fresh water.
All weeds were again left on the pond’s edges for 24 hours to allow any invertebrates or other wildlife to return to their environment as prioritising the ecosystem is really important.
Close of 2025
So as the final month of the year comes to a close, we wave goodbye to the leaves, a beautiful summer and a VERY wet winter (so far).
Once again we appreciate all the beauty, versatility and magic that Trebah has to offer and we look forward to welcoming back the new leaves, the Rhododendrons and the Daffodils next year.
For now, we shall be hanging up our boots for a few hard-earned days of rest. Thank you again for all the dog walkers, trail finders, lunchtime strollers and sea swimmers, and we look forward to welcoming you all back in the new year.
The garden remains open throughout the Christmas period, closing only between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day .
