The Earth's Bounty - Norton Conyers, July 2018

Varied Fortunes in Adverse Conditions

The parched land at Norton Conyers was finally relieved in mid July. Memories of the summer in 1976 had been very much alive in the public conscience, as records were broken week after week. Unfortunately for the gardener, the weather cannot be changed; adverse conditions can stifle and overwhelm. The lawns yellowed, and whilst some plants struggled between waterings, others flourished despite the arid soil:

Passiflora caerulea (Blue passionflower)

Cherry and apple trees were also resolute and unmoved by the lack of rain; both developed healthy fruit during this period.

The Relief of Rain

On a day in which Alan had spent most of the morning watering the vegetable garden, the rain finally came! He had left for home half an hour previously, and I couldn't help but imagine his exasperation at the sheer irony of this. However, the downpour was brief, so the work wasn't in vain after all. However, it was enough to refresh the still and stagnant air.

This was to be the end of the drought; intermittent spells of rain followed over the coming days, with the occasional storm. And remarkable things started to happen...

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The speed of the grass' recovery was something to behold. Mowing had been abandoned for six weeks; the small amount of scruffy growth was left to prevent further damage. Colour quickly started to return to the lawns, and a fortnight after the first rain, it was ready for cutting again. Usual working arrangements fell back into place, with strimming and mowing being completed every Thursday.

However, the success of the vegetable garden was the biggest surprise for me. Whilst the vegetables were religiously and thoroughly soaked during the heatwave, I thought the enduring heat may stymie their success. But a bumper crop prevailed - carrots, cauliflowers, onions, peas and beans to name just a few good crops. 

A barrow full of marrows!! 

The speed of growth in the garden after the drought has been difficult to keep up with. A 'barrow full of marrows' was harvested at the beginning of August - a process to be repeated within two weeks! Similarly, cucumbers growing in the greenhouse were remarkably prolific and fast to grow. 

We have also been blessed with bountiful beetroot - some are now the size of footballs!

The produce at Norton Conyers is well used: it is available to purchase in the orangery and boxes of fruit and vegetables are regularly taken up to the house.

A personal favourite recipe is Gennaro Contaldo's Curly Kale Pizza. It may sound rather suspicious, but it is incredibly tasty, with chilli, garlic, tomatoes, capers, olives and nuts providing the base for the kale topping. Norton Conyers' kale was used, and the pizza was enjoyed in our house on two consecutive evenings!

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This year, Giles planted a variety of salad potato that he has not grown for 40 years; the 'Pink Fir Apple' is an unusually-shaped heritage potato. Blight had started to attack the foliage of a number of the plants; I was tasked with cutting the affected back to the base. Alan and I were to dig up this variety the following week; I was impressed with the flavour and texture of this heritage crop.

Digging up Pink Fir Apples potatoes

Flourishing Willow

At the beginning of August, Giles asked me to cut back the willow hedge adjacent to the greenhouse; I thought back to one of my first days in the garden in early March, where all of the gardeners were involved in pruning and pollarding the previous years' growth. That same hedge had grown with vigour in the intervening months, and now towered above and impeded the pathways to the side. I was struck by the willow's sheer vim and vigour.

Pollarded Willow in March

The same Willow in August

A Time to Reflect

Months of hard work and patience have been rewarded over recent weeks. Whilst work in the gardens never ends, there is a deep sense of satisfaction gained through successfully growing - and harvesting - the earth's bounty.

It is incredible to think of the development of the gardens - both manmade and natural - since I started working at Norton Conyers in February. 

Kevin Woods builders have been on site over the last few weeks; their work consists of restoration and repair - preserving and respecting the past, with a keen eye on posterity.

And this reflects the work in the gardens too - assisting nature, and building on generations of hard work, whilst seeking new opportunities for development and improvement.

Apple trees in March

August