May in the Garden 

April has been the driest month in the garden and the combined rainfall in March and April has been the lowest for over 10 years.  Contrast this with last year, when it felt like it never stopped raining!! May was a glorious month in 2024, but the rain started in June and lasted the whole Summer??  Plants respond to a lack of water by growing more slowly to conserve resources and we can certainly see the difference from last year when everything was so lush!  

Recently, we have been undergoing some improvements, with a bore hole being installed which will provide water to the garden and this should make a real difference to our irrigation. 

Despite the lack of rain, May is such a busy time for us.  We have lots of planting out to do and the final seed sowing of half-hardy annuals to complete along with the vegetables and fruit in the Kitchen Garden to sow.   

The Walled Garden is really starting to come to life.  The most exciting part for us is seeing the wonderful Peonies appear again – the first Peony to appear is the delightful “Molly the Witch” – Paeonia daurica subsp. Mlokosewitschii – a beautiful lemon coloured flower with a gorgeous scent.  You can see her right now in the Tapestry Garden.  Following on, the later Peonies in the borders and in the Peony Bed itself are due to burst into flower very soon.  They are at their peak in May and June so do try to see them soon. Also looking and smelling amazing just now is the Wisteria, this climber has been flowering here each Spring for over 150 years! 

We are at full tilt in the Kitchen Garden although still a bit wary of planting out in case of frost (which is still a distinct possibility) but over the month of May most of our Brassicas will be in and the Beans will be out by the end of May/beginning of June. 

Our seedlings have done well this year, and the sweet peas and containers are all ready to be planted up for a great Summer display.  Visitors to the garden may notice that we have an additional pair of helpers! We are delighted to be working with Meeting of Minds, a local charity who supports ASN families, and have two extra volunteers, Charlie and Darren, on Mondays. They have been learning all about the garden and helping us to plant up the large containers. They are doing a great job and please do help support this fantastic charity which does so much for the local ASN community. The Duchess of Roxburghe has been a patron of Meeting of Minds since 2023, and we are delighted to continue the relationship into another Summer.  

 Don’t forget our Exclusive Garden Tours begin next month and will run once a month throughout the Summer and take place before our Garden opens to the public, so please do come along and get an insight into the gardens history, design, planning and sources of inspiration when there is no one else around, it’s a beautiful time of day to see them.