When I woke to the sound of lashing rain  Monday morning, I heaved a huge sigh of relief – whilst the rest of the country were battening down the hatches for the watery onslaught, secretly we gardeners were celebrating! Why? Because sat waiting in one of our storage rooms are over 20,000 tulip bulbs just waiting to be planted! Whilst the ground conditions are such on the whale border, their intended location -  the back breaking mud bath has been suspended!

So with the bulb extravaganza on hold, we have been mending leaky buildings, soggy leaf collecting and having a general tidy up.  There are times, usually when wet through and cheesed off when you question your sanity of working outside for a living! However we are treated this time of the year occasionally, when the sun decides to make an appearance, to the most beautiful light - golden and rich, which highlights all the textures and skeletons in the garden, usually fleeting, in between showers, but definitely worth the wait. The Cotinus and Sea Buckthorn are looking particulary stunning at the moment. Read More...

This week we have had rabbits that only Beatrix Potter could be proud of! I have searched in vain for small blue coats on the shrubbery. Joking apart though, they have been decimating the borders with a vengeance: there we were merrily planting bulbs for next year’s display, when out one of them popped from behind the Beech hedge. Less than a foot from where we were working, up on his back legs not caring a jot for us and started to settle into a jolly old snack! Even much shooing from us only saw him retreat to the other side of the hedge before sneaking back when he thought we weren’t looking. Read More...