Rolls of Turf

It has been a busy time for us here in the gardens yet again trying to stay as dry as possible and now the sun cream has truly been put away for another year. We have been planning work on the East Lodge garden, reinstating hedging at Kinneuchar Inn and tidying up some of the outside properties.

The main task for this month has been landscaping East Lodge. This was an exciting opportunity to carry out something different and something that is a joy of mine. It’s always nice to see a change and be able to reuse planting in a space that is being regenerated or changed. Being from a greenkeeping background and having a passion for landscaping I have always loved this side of the job and this time it included my dream material, rolls of turf. I like to leave an area after completion that looks like it’s always been there. The area within has been redesigned to make it a more manageable area which includes a larger lawn and smaller beds. This all making it a more manageable area for the future. The lawn has been turfed with a Rye 30% Fescue 70% mix. It’s an instant transformation and leaves the area looking clean and fresh ready to be enjoyed. A freshening up of the beds and replanting of some herbs into a new bed near to a new patio will hopefully send some fragrance to those sitting out enjoying the new space. A griselinia has been replanted as a surround to enclose the new patio area this frames the areas nicely but also giving privacy and a cosy feel to this area  A freshening up of the gravel areas has resulted in a pleasing finishing and I hope one that been a success.

Another area of interest is our Rose garden and Middle terrace beds. We have been looking at ways to reduce weed ingress and workload in these areas as there are in a period of recovery and redesign. These have been topped with a heavy mulch of farmyard manure over the last 2 years and is helping to build up the soil health. We have now decided on a green manure mix. This will suppress weed growth and cut down on the time taken to manage these areas. We may add some interesting eye-catching planting such as sun flowers, within these area to add interest for the period until work begins. We look forward to seeing the results in the future months.

We continue to monitor the seeding of some of the meadow areas such as East Drive and look to complete this task of cutting the meadow area down in the coming weeks. We are seeing great results on the fruits this year with signs of bumper crops but of course some damage of the soft fruits from wasps has been a problem so far. It’s beginning to get cooler at nights and a clear slowing down of growth can be seen. We are now planning for the projects and making sure materials and stock are present on site which is always an exciting period. we here at the gardens hope that the weather allows us to set everything out for the slowing down of the seasons growth whilst keeping it looking good to enjoy. The colours are beginning to subtlety change and nights are drawing in but enjoy it, plan for those dry days to get out and enjoy your outdoor space and maybe even do a little maintenance to.