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March 2006
Wednesday 1st
The weather is causing us serious problems and later this week temperatures of minus 8 have been forecast. Minus 3, minus 4 tonight, so I have had to go out and buy some Agrifleece to protect all the plants outside from these severe frosts. It takes a while to chop the material into lengths and tuck it around the plants, and to add to our problems we are trying to do this in a force six gale! This evening I have to write an essay for our PR people on why our garden is good for wildlife. Thinking about it, I believe this is one of the best wildlife gardens I have ever been involved in. We have all the habitats, hedgerow, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and lots of shelter.
Friday 3rd
We have been working in the polytunnel all day, potting on plants that we pricked out in January. It is still so cold, hardly anything is moving.
Thursday 9th
We are running out of space and are going to have to take some of the plants across to Heather. Heather has lots of space in a fairly sheltered spot behind her outbuildings (although it's exposed to Northerly winds). I have sorted out about 600 plants that should be resilient with watering, feeding and some TLC.
Friday 10th
We spend the day filling the space we have made by taking the plants to Heather's. The cold weather continues but things are gradually moving. The cold weather is actually in our favour with regard to the woodland plants, which I am normally holding back by now. The plants for some of the borders are just not moving at all; even the poppies seem to look exactly the same as they did two months ago.
13th/14th/15th
Continued to work in the tunnel potting on plants. Happily some of them are actually starting to make some growth. The Jacob's Ladder flowerspikes are starting to run up and the Cowslips are having to be de-budded in order to stop them from going to seed. Once the plant has produced viable seed they will stop producing flower heads. Hopefully we will still have some plants flowering in May.
Tuesday 21st
Philip and I go down to Weybridge to meet Kevin White and sort out the final itinerary for the garden construction. It is extremely complex this year as our site on Main Avenue generates problems with deliveries of plants, and the use of heavy machinery is extremely difficult. We have to crane our trees into place and the RHS are having to close Main Avenue at Chelsea on the first weekend of build, to allow us to get our trees and the stumpery into position. It takes all day to go through all the elements of the build to ensure that, at the end of the day, it is possible to create this garden in the allotted time. I finish the day feeling quite relieved but still have the plant delivery itinerary to do. I will do this nearer to build time when I know exactly what plants we have to play with.
Wednesday 22nd
My main concern now is that the turf we were growing from seed for the scented lawn hasn't even germinated yet. It has been standing still for weeks and weeks. Consequently I have decided to lay some very fine turf in the greenhouse, where the hedgeboxes are at Sandy. David, from King's Landscapes, has found a source of beautiful turf, which we are going to lay on a thin layer of sharp sand to see if we can't get something that looks like grass by May 21st.
Thursday 23rd
I spend the day at Sandy with Colin, Darren and Kerry, laying the turf at Sandy and checking that all our hedgeboxes and the water plants are in good health. Everything seems fine; I'm just hoping that this turf will do its stuff in the allotted time.
Friday 24th
Heather and Linda have come to see the hedgeboxes etc at Sandy, the stumpery at Fenstanton and our nursery efforts at Longstanton. Heather, as co-designer, needs to be conversant with all that is happening at the various sites and she hasn't yet seen the completed stumpery. The stumpery was the star of the day. Heather, who had the initial idea of constructing a stumpery, was delighted with the finished results.
While Heather and Linda are at the nursery we finally remove the Agrifleece. This has been on for nearly a month, but the plants underneath look perfect and have not suffered from the adverse weather we have been subjected to.
Every spare day now is spent in the tunnel looking after the plants and we are starting to water inside. Fortunately Cambridge Water Co does not have a hosepipe ban yet! I can't imagine watering 6,000 plants with a watering can.
Tuesday 28th
We visit TenderCare, a nursery that specialises in large trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, down at Denham at the bottom of the M40. I still need one or two specimen plants, in particular ferns, and I have yet to find my big climbers, Jasmine, Passion Flower and Honeyscuckle. TenderCare come up trumps with everything I need and I also buy some lovely specimen grasses, including some Stipa Tenuissima, which will be used for the hair on our green lady sculpture.
Friday 31st
We spend the day in the tunnel. It's quite amazing how much growth some of the plants have now put on. The foxgloves are starting to make their flowerspikes and the Jacob's Ladder are now four or five inches high. Poppies, which haven't moved for three months are now filling their pots. There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel ... or am I tempting fate!? Today, Heather and Linda will be at Grove House Hospice in St Albans, where 4head are sponsoring their work rebuilding a herbal garden. Bonnie and Nicky will also be there to deal with any PR, press and photo activity. Hard to believe tomorrow is the start of April. Things are hotting up (except for the weather!).
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