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Garden Newsletter
Hidden
Valley Gardens Newsletter, Christmas 2009
This time of year is a good time to have a break from the hectic
garden schedule and reflect about the previous season. Many
Cornish gardeners were caught out with a drop in temp in
November 2008 and snow in January (see Christmas card photo). In
November we had -7C and lost many tender plants, but a
gardener’s memory is short and most of us will be planting our
favourite tender plants again. I find it best to look upon the
‘loss’ as a new planting opportunity, replacing plants and
perhaps trying something new!
Suddenly, we realise we have been at Hidden Valley Gardens ten
years! The garden has had time to mature with height from the
trees, hedges and shrubs. Because you cannot see the entire
garden at once now, it is more interesting to explore and I hope
I have created an interesting flow from one area to another. The
wonderful thing about gardening is there is always something to
look forward to, with new projects and ideas. Our latest is a 36
metre long wooden raised bed to enable us to grow dianthus and
lavenders with better drainage and lighter soil – the bed was my
special birthday present in November (that’s Peter building it
in the photo). I am looking forward to having the delicate
shapes colours and fragrance of the flowers and to hear the buzz
of the bees in the summer. Another new addition is a Clematis
trellis fence which we have erected at the top of the Iris bed
replacing a poor Escallonia hedge – I am now building up my
stock of Clematis for spring planting. We have also ordered new
natural grey paving for the curved path which runs from the
Nursery sales area to the large greenhouse replacing the path of
chippings. This will greatly enhance the look and practicability
of the pathway. Our large pond had to be dredged this autumn
because of the build up of sludge and, with the resulting
organic waste, we have created a new area for bog plants - this
will be planted up when the mud has settled.
At last Peter has really retired so we can now spend more time
out and about together. We will be closing the gardens two days
per week, on Tuesdays and Wednesday, but we will still open five
days a week from 10am to 6pm for 20th March to 15th October. We
look forward to the coming season working together (as long as
Peter is under-gardener!) I still get lots of help from
Caroline, Shirley, Andrew, and, of course, Mum and Dad.
Charlotte successfully completed her apprentice year in June and
has started her own business. David and Alison have joined us
this year.
Our National Garden Scheme days were successful (and sunny!) and
we only just kept up with the serving of the cream teas. In 2010
we are having three consecutive days on August 14th 15th 16th we
hope by having three days in a row it will spread the visitors
out and they do not all come on the Sunday afternoon. Also
because it is in August there will be different flowers to see
compared to our usual June and September NGS openings, such as
Agapanthus, Crocosmia and Dahlias. I now have quite a collection
of Agapanthus (see photo over page) and there will be lots for
sale. The collection of Dahlias exceeds 60 (see just one in the
photo) and I have more than 50 Crocosmia. Some of these
collections will be on sale in the nursery as well as many other
plants I propagate from the garden.
Despite the recession this year our visitor numbers were good. I
believe people are returning to the simple pleasures in life and
enjoying growing their own food, flowers and visiting gardens.
The self catering has done well and we even have a couple booked
in for the Christmas period, plus a number of bookings for next
year. I do not know how I fitted in doing the Bed & Breakfast
for 8 years - it is so much more relaxing now.
The vegetable potager was very productive this year and we have
a freezer full of fruit and veg. The green house tomatoes Apero
F1 were really good a small red variety with a very fine
flavour. I shall be growing them again next year. Peter’s
blackcurrants planted last year had some blackcurrants the size
of grapes (see photo) and this year he has added another 50
plants of a different variety!!
As you will probably know, the bees in our garden belong to a
local beekeeper, Louis Riley, who is a leading beekeeper in
Cornwall. This year he has written an update on the bees in
Cornwall and, in particular, the bees in our garden apiary. He
writes “The apiary at Hidden Valley Gardens has been established
for several years and provides a pollination service for a
radius of about 1½ miles around. The plan is to maintain six
working hives at the apiary, allowing for seasonal losses and
gains. The bees are bred in the south-west and are of good
temper but the temper of the bees does depend to some extent on
external conditions, they become a little teasy in strong winds
and thundery conditions. Although bees are managed, they cannot
be tamed and the beekeeper must work with them rather than
positively control them. There is a project to breed back the
black Cornish bee and I hope that in a few years the apiary will
contain a few hives from this source. The Cornish bee is not
necessarily superior in honey production but is more suited to
the climate and able to work longer hours. Honey production in
the garden has been somewhat disappointing for the last three
years, mainly due to the excessively wet weather in July. The
abundance of nectar produced by white clover and blackberry
flowers during the hot weather in July provides much of the
surplus in this area. By July I aim to have 50-60,000 bees in
each hive. The bees cannot fly in very wet weather and the
clover does not produce nectar unless the temperature is 72ºF or
higher. This year there was a week of typical July weather
before the rains came and so some local honey was obtained. I
must allow the bees 35-40lb of honey to take them through the
winter and can only take the surplus. Under "normal" conditions
a hive of bees which has been brought on for July will provide
about 40lb of surplus honey. There are three colonies in the
apiary at present and three waiting to be moved there. Colonies
from unknown sources are kept in a home apiary until I am sure
that they are not diseased. The apiary will be up to its quota
of six colonies by the spring.” I hope this information from
Louis answers some of the questions about the bees I am
frequently asked.
I am now looking forward to seeing my snowdrops and hellebores
in January and February. The spring comes early in Cornwall and
soon our lanes will be filled with primroses and I will be
enjoying the new garden year at Hidden Valley. With best wishes
for Christmas and the New Year.
Best wishes of the season
Tricia Howard
Click here for
our 2009 plant sales list
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