A Month of Contrasts - July 2019

I write on 1st August - Yorkshire Day - and it seems quite appropriate to be doing so. July saw the very best and the worst of the Yorkshire weather; unfortunately the recent deluges have badly affected local areas. But overall, the mix of weather has been conducive to a very healthy garden.

The highlight of the month was Norton Conyers' inclusion in Country Life magazine - the article providing a detailed insight into the history of the house, gardens and estate, and how the garden continues to evolve. The author of the article, Non Morris describes:

'there has been an incredible and passionate battle to restore and preserve the house. It's [Sir James and Lady Halina]'s tenacity, generosity and unflagging sense of duty in their role as guardians of such a special place that pervades every aspect of Norton Conyers today.'

A quote from Lady Graham included in the article describes Head Gardener Giles' work:

'I think Giles has got the eye of an artist. His colours are very subtle.'

Perhaps the ultimate example of the clever planting in the garden is the main border, which is currently abundant with shades that combine to create a visually sensual experience. Unlike the artist, Giles has only his memory and knowledge to draw upon when he instructs the team to go about their work. It is remarkable to think of the 'blank canvas' that is worked with in the winter months - how decisions made during this period have such a strong influence on the appearance and overall feel of the garden months later.

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Last year, we endured a lengthy heatwave, which made for a difficult growing season; twelve months on, and the colour around the garden is more vibrant, with a lush, verdant backdrop.

Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus)

A favourite plant of mine is the Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus), which emerged in bright shades of pink, red and magenta. In isolation, each is a tiny firework, but with the countless flowers in this section of the cut-flower border, the result is a sea of colour.

Giles and I continued our work by the lakeside during the first weeks of July. We continued our assault of the Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera). Having cleared as much as we can at this stage, we will return later in the year to remove any new growth, and so prevent the exploding seed heads from spreading this invasive species.

Bright green foliage is now abundant in the woods, and the lake itself is filled with plant life; a stark contrast to the scene in January of this year.

January 2019

July 2019

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The gardens have been a hive of insect activity - particularly towards the end of July - with butterflies and bees paying particular attention to the lavender borders. 

Blue Thistle (Eryngium planum)

Anthirrhinum

Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus)

Poppy (Papaveroideae)

Lavender (Lavendula)

Dahlias

A favourite plant of mine during this season is the Acanthus or Bear's Breeches. With its towering structure, and outstretched tongue-like leaves, the spiky plant has great visual and structural appeal.

Bear's Breeches (Acanthus)

A particular highlight of the gardening year for me is the ripening of fruit. Raspberries, whitecurrants and redcurrants were among the ripening berries in July, with blueberries and apples well on the way.

But as this new life emerged, so the process of removing exhausted plants from the vegetable garden began. Cauliflowers had been a great success, and the remains of the plants needed digging up. Remaining peas and mange tout were harvested, before removing the plants. We had limited success with the strawberry plants this year due to squirrels and other four-legged invaders. Some of the plants were at the end of their three-year 'cycle', so 'runners' were removed to produce news plants, before the old plants were discarded.

However, many of the vegetables are only just maturing, so the harvest season will continue for a number of weeks yet. In order to maintain the environment, work weeding and digging over the soil continued throughout the month. 

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And so, despite a wet weather forecast for the next few days, the sun is at least trying to break through on Yorkshire Day. Plum, Gile's dog will most likely be making the most of the dry weather!

In addition to usual opening times on Mondays and Thursday, the gardens are now open every Sunday until 8th September. For further details about the house opening, visit http://www.nortonconyers.org.uk/opening.html

Colour and Form - Norton Conyers, June 2019

June at Norton Conyers began with a fanfare of colour. Having been ‘split’ two years ago, expectations were high for the irises. And they bloomed in florid abundance.

The timing was perfect too - with the gardens opening for the National Garden Scheme on June 2^nd; visitors enjoyed them at their very best.

The June British weather was kinder on the garden this year. Mid June 2018 marked the beginning of a long summer heatwave; it will last long in the memory for many. However, so far in summer 2019, the weather has struck a kind, nurturing balance – a mix of coolness and warmth; clarity and cloud; sunshine and rain. Unremarkable, yet generally pleasant weather by all counts. 

Whilst mowing was brought to a halt for a number of weeks last year due to the dry ground and slow grass growth, so far this year the lawnmower has not been out of action. A weekly trim has been necessary to keep the lush, verdant grass tidy and neat. So, it’s taken up much of my time this month!

But, as the summer months progress, the fruit and vegetable gardens demand increasing attention. With potatoes, onions and peas among the vegetables already planted at the beginning of June, the rest of the vegetable plot needed preparing – earth weeding and turning. 

Preparing the vegetable borders

And with the strawberry plants beginning to bear fruit, nets were placed over them. It was a windy day to do so!

Installing nets over the strawberries - 'a job that should only take a few minutes...'

Supports were raised carefully over peas and broad beans – an intricate undertaking.

Elsewhere in the vegetable gardens, African marigolds were in bloom – their simple structures studding the borders with vibrant colour (and attracting pollinating insects in the process!)

Marigolds

Nigella flowers are a personal highlight. The flower's shape and structure is beautiful in its intricate detail; with multi-layered petals and curled stamen, they appear as intricate pastel blue fireworks.

Nigella

Elsewhere, berries were filling out and emerging from their camouflage, with redcurrants making the gradual change from green to pink; pink to rose; rose to ruby.

Ripening Redcurrants

Poppies and paeonies made their presence known in the garden, with pastel pinks and reds; poppies, with their tissue paper petals, and paeonies opening with wavy, sea anemone centres.

Poppy (Papaveroideae)

Paeony (Paeonia)

A particular species of foxglove captured my attention. With snow white, velvet pocket petals, lined with flecked magenta, buds unravelled, as though in construction of an ivory tower.

Foxgloves (digitalis)

In the greenhouse, the perfect culinary partners – tomatoes and basil were beginning to grow.

Basil and tomatoes (growing against the wall)

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Whilst much of my Monday mornings were spent mowing, in the afternoons I was often sent to the lakeside with the strimmer to attack Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) - also known as 'Jumping Jacks'. The distinctive, tall plant - with its explosive seed pods and pink flowers - is an invasive species. Introduced to the UK in 1839, if not controlled, the plant can spread prolifically and smother other vegetation. With new trees planted earlier in the year, this problem plant needed controlling. 

Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)

Strimming back the balsam before the seed pods have the chance to mature stops the plant from spreading further. However, there was lots of it to tackle! By the end of June, Giles and I had cut back thousands of the plants, but there was still more to do.

Giles says that we’ll have to cut back the balsam every year, and that there will be a substantial reduction in the number of plants in just a couple of years. 

We’ll have to return to cut back new shoots of growth later in the year.

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With glorious colours and extraordinary forms emerging in the gardens, we look forward to the fruits (and vegetables) of our labour ripening for the picking in July. Visitors are welcome to come along and pick their own too! 

The gardens are open 10am-4pm on Mondays and Thursdays throughout the year, and both the House and Gardens open on specific days in August and September.

For more information, visit http://nortonconyers.org.uk/opening.html

Jewels in an Arid Land - Norton Conyers, Summer 2018

I write in mid July. The record-breaking weather continues; it is the longest and hottest heatwave in the UK since 1976. The country has basked in sunshine, and both sport and weather have dominated the headlines. The weather ran in tandem with the country's growing hopes for the England football team in the World Cup; rain (briefly) came the day after their defeat in the semi-final to Croatia.

Many people are enjoying the novelty of the enduring hot weather. But for the gardener it is a headache and a challenge.

June began warm but unremarkable - Norton Conyers' NGS opening gardens was held on a disappointingly dull day, and we looked set for a typically British summer. Grass was mown every week - a task taking up much of every Thursday - and there was still plenty of other work to be done - hoeing is one of Giles' favourite tasks to delegate.
Driving the tractor for the first time was a particular highlight of mine...

Mowing the lawn outside the house

However, the month progressed with the mercury rising and growing intervals between rain. Much time was spent hoeing the dry topsoil across much of the gardens; weeds are peskily persistent. With large fruit and vegetable plots, and freshly planted borders, watering was the most vital part of our work. Watering in a garden the size of Norton Conyers' takes up a lot of time - especially given the days between work here, where a really good soaking of the earth is required to ensure plants are able to survive in the heat.

The watering paid off - the majority of the plants in the garden have still been able to thrive despite the prolonged heat. There is a remarkably healthy crop of vegetables and fruit, and nothing to suggest the harsh climes in which they have grown.

Cows

Towards the end of June I arrived at Norton Conyers - early as usual to drop my Mum off at work en route - and set out to explore the grounds before Giles opened the garden gates. A relatively cool, but bright and clear start - perfect photographic conditions. I walked towards the house, and then along the external perimeter of the walls. Cows - sometimes heard from inside the gardens - grazed in their herd. I walked along and took pictures of the main border in its summer prime through the gate. I took my time taking shots, but had no sense of what was happening behind me...

I turned - the cows had spotted me and were heading my way in their herd. I stood and took photographs of the creatures as they advanced.  No more than 20ft separated me from them across the ha-ha as they gazed, questioning the reason for my presence - was I a bringer of food?!

Strimming

The day's work began, and I set about hoeing borders. The temperature rose rapidly, and after lunch Giles set me to work with a strimmer on the overgrown land outside the house. Having topped up the fuel and equipped myself with harness, protective helmet and visor, I ambled out of the courtyard and towards the house. Although Alyson had been employed with this task for some time before me, there was still much to keep me busy. In the full sun I soon began to tire. Nettles and goose grass tangled as the base of the machine spun, meaning my efforts were regularly frustrated, and bits of projected debris smarted against my skin. A stop-start job, but one which I managed to finish just in time for lunch; by which time I was hot and achy - my forehead shiny with beads of sweat.
Much more land would be strimmed over the coming weeks, but due to the weather, no one was to be employed doing this job for more than a couple of hours in a single day.

Rosa Iceberg - a favourite of Sir James - outside the Orangery.

Odd-jobs

As the month progressed and dryness began to take hold, the grass - growing at an ever-slowing rate - was left alone. This freed up much time - in other circumstances, time is a luxury to the gardener. But Giles had a declining list of jobs to do given the arid weather. When watering and hoeing were in hand, odd jobs included thinning out pears, weeding around the house and trimming bushes - all worthwhile but not pressing priorities.

Fruit

However, this time would soon be needed as the 'fruits' of our labour were beginning to ripen. I stepped into the peach house in the last week of June - the sweet and intoxicating scent filling the room. The fruits had been thinned out just a few weeks previously, and so I remarked at the fast progress that had been made since then. Given the plethora of ripened fruits, we were able to take some home for ourselves. I baked four in the oven and added cream - divine!

A peach, ripe for the picking

Redcurrants hide themselves amongst the leaves - waiting to be discovered. I had found them a week or so previously - small, white, unappealing. However, on this occasion I found perfectly-formed, glistening ruby jewels. I was struck by nature's enduring tenacity in conditions so unfavourable to life. It's our job as gardeners to assist the natural process, but the relentlessness of the weather could not prevent these plants from producing the largest, reddest currants I had ever seen.

As raspberries and loganberries ripened, along with some of the straggling redcurrants, a glut of fresh fruit was available. I cast my mind back to my first day in the gardens when I helped Giles to install huge wooden supports for the new raspberry plants; on this June day I stood admiring four months of nature's hard work.

Redcurrants hanging like threaded beads

Ripening loganberries

A few coach-parties visited during this period, and we had fruit punnets picked in anticipation; peaches and apple juice ready for purchase.









Arid Land

June turned into July, and - like much of the rest of the country - the effect of weeks of dry, hot weather had yellowed the lawns. The lack of mowing and uneven growth added to the untidiness. This was a shame given the magnificence of the rest of the garden. But there was no practical way of preventing nature's course in this instance. We just had to wait for the rain to come.

Further tractor driving was to come at the beginning of July, as the meadow outside the house was to be mown for the first time in the season. The length of the growth demanded a slow tractor speed - another time-consuming job. I swapped to start clearing up with rake and pitchfork, and several dumper loads of grass were taken into the woods. I was told that the dryness of the grass made this an easier job than in previous years - just as well given the heat! The whole team was involved in this operation, and a convivial atmosphere was enjoyed before lunch.

Alan - dumper commander

Lunch time!

 


















The Vegetable Patch

The vegetable patch is a wonderful sight right now. Earlier this week, huge cauliflowers were picked; I enjoyed some in a home-made vegetarian lasagne today along with peas and courgettes also from the garden. The brassicas sprawl and the onions and beetroots sit proudly in their beds. Not everything has been a success though - our experimentation with Soya plants this year will be chalked up in the 'experience' category (it was largely destroyed by pigeons), and a row of  beetroot didn't grow at all (we think the freshly planted seeds may have been hoed over by mistake...). But overall, we are all delighted with a very healthy crop and another successful year - so far at Norton Conyers - success indeed given the harsh growing conditions. We will enjoy the fat of the land for weeks to come.