Burtonfield Gardens

Have been out this morning mowing the main and side lawns. The circles we cleared around the trees last weekend have made a massive difference to how easy it is to mow the side lawns!

Then took the mower out on the field and mowed the main paths around the meadow and the orchard avenue. It’s great mowing the field since it gives a chance to take stock on how fast things change at this time of year. Noticed the worst areas of dock investation had some plants forming flowers so have mown those areas – don’t mind some broad leaved dock, but don’t want it to take over!

Also mowed the area we’re planning to put a poly-tunnel on – long way off yet, but the more its mown, the less “weeds” and the flatter the area.

Took stock of the ragwort situation. Can’t see any on the field next door this year (perhaps they’ve sprayed?), but its much worse on our field than it was last year. Will have to mention it to Jen. We’re always torn between it being the food plant of the larvae of the stunning cinnabar moth and potential livestock issues… we had lots of larvae and moths last year.

Noticed a big patch of yellow flowers by the road, so mowed a strip alongside the beech hedge to have a look It’s not ragwort – its some form of dandelion I think…need to look it up. Hadn’t noticed that in the corner of the field is a large limb that has fallen from the willow! Not sure how long its been there, but checked the rest of the tree to make sure nothing was overhanging the road.

This afternoon? … mowing the back and “secret” lawn of course!

On the whole the weather has been warm and fine with sufficient rain to aid good plant growth. Much of our recently planted plants have grown well and now cover most of the borders we dug this spring.

The beds are looking surprisingly mature. Seed sowing and potting on in the greenhouse has not stopped all summer. At times it has been difficult to know where to put the plants. We are now overrun with Yellow Achilleas, Evening Primrose, Broom, Penstemons, and many more. All waiting patiently for the new borders to be dug in autumn.

Injuries prevented all but essential work in the garden during late July and August. This led to a massive clear up operation as soon as fitness returned. Hedges were growing to create an untidy mess; these were cut several times to keep pace with their rapid development. The grass has required weekly cutting and edging. There are serious weed infestations in some areas of the grass. These will get attention in the autumn.

The wildflower meadow looked like a muddy plain for much of the summer. Ribwort plantain gradually grew well along with a few Musk Mallows, Buttercups and Yarrow. By the middle of August we had a flourishing wildflower meadow full of insect activity. We were delightfully surprised by how wonderful it looked. Although the seed had germinated in a patchy fashion this should even out over the years as more seed germinates.

The Dock in the wildflower meadow has grown well despite being ploughed up. So we embarked on a programme of pulling up this smothering weed. Since the soil was moist this was not too strenuous except for a number of very established plants which required cutting. We are unlikely to kill all the dock but at least it will weaken the plants. If we remove dock in this way each year their numbers will decline and allow the meadow to develop. It may be a labour intensive method of controlling this perennial weed but it does not involve the use of toxic chemicals. Regular mowing will also help in achieving our goal

We made slow progress at the start of the month due to working away from home. This meant I missed the arrival of my long awaited greenhouse. However construction did begin in my absence…

and it was soon erected and filled on my return. Once filled with existing plants and seedlings the 20’x 8’ greenhouse had plenty of room for further sowings and potting up. The continued good weather prevented the final digging over of some of our new beds. We concentrated on planting potatoes and filling a bed with our growing euphorbia collection. It was reassuring to see signs of new growth on the raspberries and blackcurrants. April has been a month of tremendous change in the garden as the trees and shrubs have blossomed and produced fresh new leaves. An amazing sight!

We aimed to plant as many of the plants taken from our previous garden. This meant extensions to the grass bed and woodland garden. We had lots of bargains bought from nurseries last month to plant. We received a Phormium ‘Yellow wave’ from a newly established nursery in N. Ireland. (Bali-Hai Nursery) The Phormium had several healthy new shoots that I potted up on the day of its arrival. Hopefully in time it will grow into a spectacular specimen plant. We now have a growing collection of Phormiums, Euphorbias, Heucheras, Tiarellas, and their resulting cross-breeds Heucherellas. We have produced a new labelling system that we hope will help us to learn the names of all the different varieties.

The dry weather enabled our agricultural contractor to get his seven tonne tractor on the field to harrow and drill the soil. The work was completed in the second week of April but the dry warm weather has not been conducive to germination. At the end of April we still have a barren landscape apart from the growing dock! The last few days of April have been wet so we are hopeful the seed will germinate soon.

The continuation of cold weather at the start of this month did not put off work in the garden. The shed was embellished with guttering and water butts; ready for the copious amounts of water required by our growing stock of plants. This brings me to a confession…

I’m addicted to plants. A visit to the local plant auctions left my chequebook dented even though it was my first ever purchase through an auction. Having arrived one Friday morning to “see what sort of plants were available” I easily got in to the swing of buying plants. The plants were of good quality and VERY cheap. It is well worth a trip if you are stocking up on plants. I managed to get sufficient plants to fill my first woodland bed and a few grasses to start on the grass bed. A visit to my in-laws’ garden enabled a further increase in my plant stock. I took many Hebe cuttings from this garden in the hope that although really the wrong time of year, some of the cuttings may root.

A warmer and dryer spell of weather enabled the woodland bed to be double dug and enriched with mushroom compost. Very hard work! The bed has now been planted up and is almost complete apart from a bark mulch. The grass bed in front of the lounge window has also been dug over and enriched with mushroom compost. This bed was only single dug since it was already in use as a rose bed. My other excuse for single digging is that a four-inch depth of gravel had to be removed from the bed before digging commenced. Surprisingly my back has held up well to all this physical work – I put this down to digging little and often.

The cold February days have required escape to indoor seed sowing and potting up. Among the sowings were sweet peas, sweet peppers, rhubarb, begonias, dahlia and a number of herbs. Last months strawberry sowings have not faired well with only two seedlings surviving damping off disease. Not to be put off more strawberry seeds were purchased and sowed in the last few days of this month. I’m starting to run out of space in the plant room and conservatory so it’s a good job I’ve ordered a 20’ by 8’ greenhouse! This is destined to be placed in the front garden in a soon to be dug fruit and vegetable garden.

Finally it feels as though progress is being made on making the land more manageable. Ploughing began in the middle of the month and I now look out onto neat rows of soil. It’s not quite finished yet, about another acre to go. Decisions will soon have to be made as to exactly what meadow mix will be sown in April.

February has turned out to be quite a busy month in the garden – inside and out! I look forward to the warmer weather when I can really get stuck in to this years projects.

Our much wanted Black Labrador puppy has been settling in well at Burtonfield. She has made herself at home and now rules the roost. Despite the weather and the puppy progress has been made on the garden.

The wet weather has restricted much of the gardening to indoor activities. The propagator is now full of seed trays with developing seeds and seedlings. The first to be sown were tomatoes (Money-maker) and strawberries (Sarian). The most recent were sowings of Birch trees, Lady’s Mantle, Lettuce and Begonia. Germination rate seems to be quite high of all types but the Birch and Lady’s Mantle.

Work has begun on the woodland garden. Two conifers (Leylandii) obstruct the light entering the garden and the house. One has been removed and the other has had its height drastically reduced. This has made a great improvement to the quality of light in the back garden. Some of the turf has been removed to create a large bed that will be filled with woodland type plants. Recent rain has prevented further digging on our heavy clay soil.

The land surrounding Burtonfield Gardens is currently rough grass filled with dock plants. Our aim is to level and re-seed the land this spring. It’s too wet to plough the field at the moment but we hope to get the work started as soon as there is a dry period. A visit from Norfolk County Council’s Countryside Officer (Gerry Barnes) enabled a thorough discussion of our plans. Grant aid could be available for most of our ideas. We’re planning to commence planting of a traditional orchard and woodland this autumn. We hope to have contact with a local orchard specialist next month so that detailed planting schemes can be developed.

Weather, visitors, work and Christmas did not leave much time for gardening. The garden was bathed in snow for a few days during the middle of December, looking very beautiful. The snowfall was not too heavy so there was little risk of damage to the boughs of the trees and shrubs. No need to rush out and rescue the plants!

We did take delivery of a rather large (10’x16’) timber shed. This was relatively easy to erect with the help of our nephews. Problems with missing parts and roofing felt that was too short delayed the completion of the project. Once finished, it was quickly filled with tools and other gardening equipment. The completed shed also meant that the last boxes were unpacked from the move last month.

Burtonfield is located on the edge of the Georgian town of Wisbech. It has many facilities and is a centre for horticultural businesses. The land is fertile but quite heavy clay. This makes it ideal for growing a good range of plants.

After the stress of the move and unpacking we found time to investigate the garden. The hedge had outstandingly beautiful colours. The beech trees held onto their leaves until late November making a spectacular show. Exciting and daunting at the same time we began to discuss our options for the garden and the surrounding land.

The immediate tasks in the garden were to set up the compost area in a corner of the garden. Since there are numerous deciduous trees and shrubs leaves are in abundance on the grass. A newly acquired petrol leaf blower/shredder was put to good use creating lots of potential leaf mould. A tidy up of the backyard was also carried out in preparation for the arrival of a new shed next month.

Many plants were brought with us from our previous garden. These were positioned in a sheltered location on the patio so they can survive the winter. The range of plants is quite extensive. Young plants from this years’ sowings include asparagus, hellebores and a variety of perennials. Spring bulbs were also brought from the last garden. These are now in pots ready to enhance the patio come springtime.

There is much to do in the garden as the only plants are in the hedge and a few roses grown against walls. A blank canvas – this is great, we can’t wait to get stuck in.