Posted at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Signs that spring is here: You WANT to get up in the morning. You open the curtains to see that the sun is shining AGAIN. The dogs find a sunny place to lie OUTSIDE instead of inside on the heated kitchen floor. You take your coat off whilst gardening. The crows are nesting in the Scotts Pines (but pinching the tops off the fruit trees to do so!). The pond is noisy with the sound of geese, ducks and moorhens jostling for position. Some crocuses came up through a cluster of fallen leaves that somehow escaped the autumn tidy up. You end the day with a bad back and dirty fingernails but finally some colour in your cheeks!
Posted at 09:21 AM in In the garden | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The amazingly talented artist Julieann Worrall Hood is going to be spending two days in the garden here at North End Place next year on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th April. She will be taking a small group of not more than 10 people on each day and guiding them through the process of wire & willow weaving. You can make a heart or a hen during the day to take home and learn a technique which you can use to make any shape you like in the future. Julieann will bring examples of her work along to inspire you.
The course will run from 10am till 3pm and includes all equipment, materials, lunch and a chance to have a look around the garden before it opens to the public on Sunday 25th April.
The price is £120 per person but if you book before the end of December and pay by cheque (payable to The Country Gardner) you can secure your place for just £100. Hurry though as places are limited. A place cannot be reserved without payment.
Posted at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Whenever a magazine features an item from our website I buy in extra stock to make sure we have enough to cover the increased demand. Sometimes the expected demand doesn't materialise and we're left with too much stock. This is the case at the moment with our hand held bulb planters. I thought sales would rocket after a feature in Gardens Illustrated last year, but I was a little too optimistic and now have lots of these lovely bulb planters waiting to go to good homes.
Posted at 11:24 AM in Offers | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Sunday was the last of our open gardens here for this year. I hope to open again next spring for those who missed it this time round.
Posted at 11:46 AM in In the garden | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The postman brought only one letter yesterday. "It's from the queen" he exclaimed looking at the bright coloured crest on the thick white envelope. "Oh just another party invite" I replied as if I received them regularly! I had a feeling what it might be and hurried inside to open it. The first line made my day. "His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales would be delighted for you and five guests to tour the garden at Highgrove on ....(I can't reveal the exact date but it's in September). Only question now is who the lucky five will be (I'm open to bribes)?!
Posted at 06:31 PM in In the garden | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The reason we holiday in Miami so often is not just because it's the coolest place on Earth, or the amazing weather, but we have some great family friends over there, The Masons. They are little B's godparents and one of the nicest families you could ever meet. Whenever we have spent time with the Masons over the past 12 years their daughter Jeanine has always been coming or going to dance lessons or staying up late into the night to study. We always knew she was going to make it big one day, and now at just 18 she has become the name everyone is talking about in America.
Posted at 11:15 PM in Friends | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Whilst searching for a supplier of a tree I saw in Lord Heseltines garden recently (Pterocarya insignis) I stumbled across an amazing little nursery called Pan - Global plants. Nick Macer the owner spends the winter months traveling to remote far away places to bring back new and exciting plants. I can't wait to get to his nursery and garden to have a look (and bring back some plants of course). You must check out this website too where Nick has posted some stunning photos from his last trip to Mexico.
Posted at 09:08 AM in Plants | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
On Sunday we opened the garden here for the third time this year. While numbers were slightly down on our spring opening it was still busy enough! The weather was quite hot so I think lots of people would have been in their pool or BBQing instead. Our visitors made themselves at home though having a nap in the sleeping garden and taking a swim! Everyone I spoke to commented on the view from the garden to Felsted. By pure coincidence this field was ablaze with poppies. It belongs to a local farmer who has a reputation for not being able to grow anything successfully - maybe he should try wildflowers.
Posted at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Another busy weekend out of the way. On Saturday I trekked (not literally) across the country to visit Lord Heseltines garden on the Oxfordshire / Northamptonshire border. It took a lot longer than anticipated to get there after the Sat. Nav. decided it wasn't going to help and the absence of any kind of road map in the car! We had to rely on the old fashioned method of reading road signs, sitting in traffic jams and screaming at each other! After a lovely lunch we had calmed down and enjoyed a nice stroll around the gardens.
Posted at 03:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted at 09:52 AM in Running the business | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)