April in the Garden 

Actually, April has brought a lot of Galium aparine, commonly known as sticky willy or cleavers to the Borderers, here in the Walled Garden so our volunteers have been helping us to clear them before they become too invasive!  We have had a lovely few weeks of weather which has resulted in the garden springing into life – plants seem larger every day now.  The dry weather has also allowed us to complete a lot of jobs before the season gets extra busy.  

The nets have been put on the Peony and Delphinium beds and they have had their annual feeds, so we hope for a great display later in the year.  The Tulips are blooming, and the Spring Border, in particular, is beginning to put on a show.  It really does look quite lovely with Hyacinth, Narcissi, Tulips and fresh green leaves of Irises appearing.  The regeneration of the Roses on chains is clear to see this year and we hope that by next year we will have the chains completely covered in roses again every summer with the arches across the paths close behind. 

The borders are being weeded on a daily basis now and the marvellous Foamanator (a great piece of kit from WeedTech) has made such a difference to our weeding regime.  It is totally organic and allows us to remove large amounts of weeds safely so we can focus on the pernicious blighters hiding in the plants themselves!  

Seedlings are coming along nicely, and we have prepped all the vegetable beds in the Kitchen Garden ready for sowing at the end of the month.  Look out for our Broad Beans and the first of the Peas soon!   The Cutting Garden is having a makeover, and we hope you like the results.  We are also in the process of restocking our Glasshouses and are delighted to be able to reopen these to the public again.  Our Tomato House has been made ready for the new season with the Tomatoes planted out.  The plants grow up and along the canes (see picture) which form a tunnel of tomatoes in the summer which is a sight to behold (and smell!) 

The fine weather allowed us to get our wildflowers and bee friendly seed mixes sown in the Millenium Parterre and in the Walled Garden,  we are trying to add more diverse planting into the borders and Tapestry Garden also to encourage a wide range of butterflies and pollinators.   

The Castle reopens on April 12th so we hope you enjoy the wider grounds as well as the Gardens themselves. Please check out our Garden Events which also start soon, we would be delighted to welcome you to one of these through the Season ahead.