My Garden

Roses in the Autumn

The Roses here at Rosemoor have mostly finished blooming now with some exceptions; in the Cottage garden some are putting up a bit of a late show and, although the number of blooms on display is a mere smattering compared to the exuberance of their Summer offering, these flowers are a welcome sight and lift the spirits on an overcast and rainy day. I’m pleased tosee that Rosa ‘Stanwell Perpetual’ is living up to its name and still producing its pink sweetly scented blooms, just right for a small vase for the dining table

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The apple harvest here at Rosemoor is safely gathered in now. Pictured here is one of the last trees to be picked in the orchard, which is a cooker called Edward VII.

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Exciting times are here at Rosemoor as we have just taken delivery of a new composting machine.

This machine, called 'The Rocket', accelerates the composting process, taking just 2 weeks instead of months. The machine uses frequent turning and heat to speed up the process

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Autumn is a very exciting time at Rosemoor as the garden explodes into colour!

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As the summer comes to an end and the garden takes on its autumnal tints, we begin to change over our seasonal bedding. We reluctantly removed the tender perennials that have provided a colourful display since they were planted in May. Cuttings have been taken of all of these plants, which will be over-wintered on the nursery for planting next year. The first frost came last week which would have killed these plants had we not removed them first.

The recent dry weather has provided us with the ideal opportunity to get on with the spring bedding which will root out while the soil is still warm. We have planted wallflowers, forget-me-nots, polyanthus and a range of spring bulbs – tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths

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As part of Rosemoors’ Apple Day celebrations we were honoured to have been donated a ‘limited edition’ Bramley Apple tree that had been grafted from the original that is still going strong 200 years on in Nottinghamshire. The graft (one of 200) was donated to Rosemoor by the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers whose Master, Alan French, came to Rosemoor to plant the tree in our orchard just outside our Fruit and Veg Garden.

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Now’s the time to start planting garlic. [Fig 1a] Garlic can be planted anytime from autumn to early spring. Most cultivars are better planted before Christmas although some can be planted as late as March. What determines whether to plant early or later is whether they are hard-necks or soft-necks. The hard-necks need to be planted in the autumn – October is a good time. The reason why the hard-necks need to be planted early is that they require a period of cold (6-8 weeks below 10°C) to form cloves properly. Otherwise the bulb will not split to form individual cloves – it just gets bigger.

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Super fit Google Maps tryclist Rhys, and his Google Street View trike, visited Rosemoor this Thursday and Friday, to take photographs of the entire garden which will show up on Google Street View searches in the future. The initiative will put Rosemoor right on the virtual map, tempting people at home and abroad to explore the garden in an exciting new way.

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It’s that time of year again! RHS Garden Rosemoor is getting ready for its ‘Taste of Autumn’ festival, which this year runs from 26 September – 26 October. The month will be dedicated to championing local produce, autumn flavours and growing your own veg through a series of special Garden events.

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It's not just the visitors at Rosemoor that are taking advantage of the warm weather this September: Some of our furry friends are making the most of it too!

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For the last few years we have suffered from blight on our glasshouse tomatoes. Prior to that it was very unusual to get blight in the house. It appeared this year on the 6th August. There are supposed to be more aggressive strains of blight around now and this could be the cause of our problem.

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For the last two or three years we have had very little trouble from wasps but this year we have been plagued by them especially on the fruit. 

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Australia week (17th – 23rd August), part of our Global Planthunter Adventures theme for the summer, was a great success with action packed events and activities happening everyday. The creepy crawly shows have had kids and parents on the edge of their seats and other novelties such as face painting and magic shows all added to the fun.

My focus was on the Wednesday when, with the help of my brother Rich and friend Tristan, I hosted two open musical sessions throughout the day, where visitors to the garden were encouraged to join in. The event was supposed to be held in our new picnic area in ‘The Brash’, but due to rainy weather, it took place in the lecture hall. Both sessions were well attended, so ‘No Worries’ either way

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We estate people don’t mess around when it comes to cutting the estate boundary hedges; we could use an electric hedge trimmer but the extension cable wouldn’t be long enough; we could use a 2 stroke trimmer but we would be there all year
So instead we hire contractors to do the job.

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Meadow care 1

Here at Rosemoor we always try to garden with Wildlife in mind. To this end, the garden staff have gradually been extending the areas of grass given over to wild flower meadow. These areas are a haven for wildlife and have the added advantage of being beautiful informal swathes of colour and interest from spring through to late summer, much appreciated by our visitors

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