Gardener’s Blog September 2019 – Good News for Alpine Lovers

It’s all go here in the Gardens: this month we’ve started to create a new Alpine Yard and we’re really looking forward to completing it and unveiling it.

 

When you come to visit, you’ll spot the busy construction site, but believe us, it’ll be worth the wait. The renovation of this popular area is long overdue and it will have new Tarmac paths, which will not only be suitable for wheelchair and scooter users, but also for we gardeners as we will be able to take our trailers and tractors along them!

 

One of the main design features is to ensure it looks more naturalistic. We’re building a large Alpine House, which will be situated next to the smaller one, and in it will be tufa rock “cliff faces”, with Alpine planting from across the world throughout.

 

We’re also installing a rocky outcrop with several pieces of Westmorland limestone, each of which will weigh several tonnes. We’ll be planting a huge variety of Alpines here, too.

 

It’s an exciting project for the Gardens and we know this new feature will be of huge interest to both professional Alpine growers and enthusiastic amateurs. Watch this space for more details about its completion.

 

This month we’re giving the main lawn and West lawn some long-overdue TLC. We’re getting in contractors to do this huge job. They’ll be scarifying and aerating the compacted lawns, top dressing them with soil and adding grass seed where there are bare patches. It won’t look pretty for a week or two, but by next spring, the lawns will be green and lush once more.

 

Elsewhere, we’ll be mowing the other lawns, keeping on top of the never-ending weeding and dead-heading the flowering plants in all our bedding schemes. Just like you’re undoubtedly doing.

 

The gardening team has been excited to unpack a whole host of new electrical tools, which will help to make our workload that little bit easier. The hedge cutters, strimmers, leaf blowers and other equipment are not only lighter to carry, we won’t have to breathe in petrol fumes. Once we’ve done all the work we need to prepare the hedges for winter, we’ll be sharpening the blades and packing them away, ready for next year.

 

Thanks to the lovely September weather we’ve been having, the Terrace, the rose garden and grass garden are still looking absolutely stunning – they’re clearly determined to squeeze out every bit of summer! We really recommend you coming to see them while they are still in full bloom.