A new season begins! Whether you call it spooky, pumpkin-spiced latte or judging by the amount of long-legged whoppers in my house, spider season, I think we can all agree that Autumn has crept in over the last few weeks.
Although we are still feeling the warmth of the sunshine, an increase of rainfall and storms brings us back to reality to remind us that the garden is gently starting to slow down. Saying that, there is still lots of life and colour in the garden at the moment alongside the dried seedheads and fallen Chestnuts.
The Acers are looking beautiful, particularly around Alice’s Seat. After reading some information about the science, my theory is the leaves should be redder than usual this year due to the dry, sunny days we have had. The colour apparently is influenced by a mix of chemical processes and the weather but essentially, leaves containing 3 pigments each with long, sciencey names but in more relatable language those that makes up green, yellow and red leaf colours. Cold nights fade the green pigment to yellow but if the temperatures stay above freezing, the reds take over. In dry weather, the sugar in the leaves becomes concentrated and more of the re pigment is produced; Chlorophyll (the green one) stops in Autumn which begins the process of the colour change.
Making an Entrance
If you have been to Trebah recently or even just popped into the Court Garden you will have noticed some big changes at the entrance. Some of the Camellias have been transplanted to the other side of the drive after clearing all the Vinca (Periwinkle) to create a more even distribution and we have also added some Chamaerops palms to mirror the Trachycarpus down the drive. Now that the planting is settled we have begun to build a stone wall much to the delight of the gardeners, It is a very satisfying feeling to find each stone that is the perfect fit – almost a Cinderella moment.
Gardening at Sea Level
Every year after a summer of admiring the beautiful Agapanthus flower heads along the top of the wall by the beach, it is always a great job to head down to the bottom of the garden and deadhead them by the sea- it is definitely gardening with a view. We have been very lucky to have a successful Agapanthus bloom this year as I’m sure many of you keen gardeners know about the fight with the Gall Mite; thankfully we seem to have had the upper hand, with no real rhyme or reason as to why. Whether it has been the heat, the lack of rain, last Winter’s constant rain, or a totally different reason entirely not yet discovered, we are grateful to have benefitted from beautiful flower heads this summer!
Whilst down by the sea we also spent some time tidying up the coast path to make it more easily accessible, trimming the coastal-loving Tamarisk.
Transforming the Drive
We spent some time tidying the drive down towards to the house this month. It was one of those projects that started small and ended up taking a few days. Lots of the Libertia grandiflora had died, we think due to the hot, dry conditions of the summer, which ended up filling a couple of tractor loads by the time we had finished. The rest was tidied to make the wall more visible which revealed lots of self-seeded Aonium succulents which made for a lovely surprise. Once the dead fronds were removed from all the palms the whole area looked super smart. After a final weed through and brush up, the drive makes a really great entrance way to the house.
Seed Head Collecting
It’s that time of year again where we have to talk about the big C word! I will agree that it is unusually early to be thinking about Christmas but as we are using some natural materials again, we have to plan ahead before the wet weather comes in. With the amazingly dry summer and a fairly reasonable Autumn so far, lots of beautiful seed heads have already begun to dry in situ. It’s a really nice job to imagine what will work for decorating as you see the garden with a fresh pair of eyes. Instead of glancing past things that to some may have already had their time in summer, instead you look for the detail in everything; every discarded seed head, cone or pod that often reflects the end of the nature’s cycle in one way, can instead be the beginning of something new. It allows plants to extend their purpose and we can appreciate them in a whole new way.
Be sure to come and visit this festive season to see what we have been up to!
A Garden in Transition
With Autumn comes lots of tidying to keep the garden looking loved all while it fights back dropping every kind of leaf, shell, seed and nut it can in a rebellious attempt to be remembered after summer.
The Gunnera will soon have to be cut down after a very dry summer has left it looking quite sad. Usually lasting until late October/ early November, only collapsing due to the late Autumn storms, this year’s drought brought an entirely different problem. The large, heavy stems have been weakened and snapped due to significant lack of water, and the popular shade tunnel of this Jurassic giant was very short-lived over the summer.
The season’s are changing and with the whispers of possible weather extremes due to El Niño this winter, we watch and wait to see how the garden fairs.
