By Marion Standing, Garden Volunteer
April has brought new life to the herb gardens as well as the volunteer gardeners and we have been busy clearing away debris left by winter weather, moving out some unwanted plants and making plans for the new season.
In the Culinary garden, there are shoots appearing from the Peony and the Elecampane – handy for us because it is all too easy to forget exactly where they are, as they disappear completely in the winter. There is also weed growing, that can be taken care of with the help of information furnished on konservatory.co.uk. The Cardoon has also sent up some splendid new leaves already and we are determined this year to protect them as far as possible from all creatures great and small who seem determined to chew them up, ruining this wonderful architectural plant in the process!
Cardoon leaves
In the Medicinal garden, we are hoping to gradually restore some of the beds which have become overgrown by large shrubs and ivy. This will give us a chance restock these areas with young plants and perhaps introduce some new varieties of herbs in the process.
Finally, the beds either side of the visitors’ entrance to the House have been cleared in readiness for planting a traditional Georgian flower garden. Hopefully, this will be full of colourful perennial plants when it gets established – do get in touch if you have any such plants at home which you might be dividing at the moment!
