Walking in Winter Wonderland

Christmas is nearly upon us and for one of the first times I am about ready. Last year we had 23 for Christmas dinner and not one of them went around the garden to get 'out of the way'. This year we only have 11 (thank goodness) so not so much cooking and washing up to be done, a more leisurely time can be had by all.

The garden is covered in snow at the moment but still looks beautiful - cold but elegant and I can not see the weeds, which never stop growing. Snowdrops will still be peeping through despite the weather at the moment. I can also see a new mole hill sprouting each morning in the middle of the lawn as of today their are 7 all in a line, so that is going to make an almighty mess to clear up.

Christmas Faire

Christmas is now coming up very rapidly and in the Goltho tearooms, Lesley has a special seasonal menu for December until we close on the 13th. I have had a sneeky try and it is absolutely delicious, so if you are thinking of going hurry up and get booked in!!

The garden is now so wet I am having difficulty finding anywhere to work on it, even the herbacous borders which are really free draining are sodden with all the rain we have had. It seems strange to think only a few weeks ago I was praying for rain, now as ever we have too much. We have snowdrops peeking through the soil, and even some early daffodils, everything is so early due I suppose to there being no frosts as such yet, but January is to come!!!!

Chain Saw Pruning

I am really busy at the moment with the HPS Seed distribution which does take up nearly every spare moment, but saying that I did get out into the garden on Sunday the weather was absolutely lovely and we got quite alot of 'pruning' with the chain saw done. It is a not a tool to be taken lightly as it can do enormous damage, but as we needed to take lop some branches off trees that were hanging down too low it was just the 'man for the job'. It was so good also to get out into the garden and the fresh air after being stuck inside for what seems like weeks but was infact only days.

Lesley in the vegetable garden has taken up all the raspberry canes as we had a bad attack of mosaic virus which affects them with a marbling of the leaves and a lack of raspberries. We have got a new variety that is supposed to be virtually disease resistant.

Festive Hedgerow Faire

On day last week on my morning walk with the dog I collected some hedgerow rosehips and sloes to make some Christmas Faire. I now have 'brewing' in the cupboard some rosehip vodka and some sloe gin. The recipes are easily found by looking on the internet and are very easy to do. The vodka at the moment looks like homemade tomato ketchup but closer to Christmas I will strain it through first some muslin then a coffee filter. I must confess that I have had a little 'try' and it is pretty good already. The sloe gin is in an old milk carton and I regularly shake them both to get the flavours mixed. Well I need something to look forward to at Christmas so it is not all cooking.

Autumn Colour

We are noticing that the nights are really starting to draw in now and after about 3.00 in the afternoon it is turning quite cool and together with the dry September that we have had this is whipping up the Autumn colours a treat.

I love this time of the year, looking back over what we have done in the garden and what, as always is still left to do. The good thing about gardening is that there is always another year to do what you missed, forgot or just did not have time!!

Michelmas Day

This weekend I escaped from Goltho and went to Worcestershire on a gardening weekend. I mainly wanted to go because one of the gardens to visit was Old Court nursery and garden and it holds the national collection of Michelmas Daisies or Asters and I wanted a few more for our Autumn border after its revamp earlier in the year. They were absolutely stunning and we were spoiled for choice, but as we got them out of the car when we arrived home we were really pleased with the ones we had chosen, they looked even better now they were away from all the others in the nursery, so look out for them in our nursery next year!!

Heroes & Roses

The rose garden has been a bit neglected over the last couple of years, so this week with a helping hand from Jason, we have been tackling it. Most of the roses needed an extensive 'prune' and now we can see right across, through the rose garden to the hazel walk. We also had to do a little arborial work as the plum tree in the middle has given up the ghost and is rotten, we have chain sawed the unsafe limbs off, as part of it fell off this morning, luckily Jason was underneath it to save the roses!!
We are praying for rain as it is so dry the garden is like dust, and some plants are certainly drooping. I suppose when it does eventually rain it will not stop. It certainly seems to be all or nothing these days.

Making Hay While the Sun Shines

Oops forgot to post a blog last week, we were busy cutting the Wild Flower Meadow, while the weather was still good. We were later than the usual August this year as we were waiting for the Purple Spotted Orchid to finally dropped its seed, it is really tiny and there are thousands of seeds on each one, so hopefully we will have alot more of them in years to come!
It is hard work cutting the meadow, it has to be scythed first by hand and then raked into piles to be picked up and taken away, then we get the mower out (we are getting to the easier bit) and mow it. We rake it again with the scarifier for the lawn this gets up a lot of the thatch from in the bottom, levels out any mole hills and other lumpy bits and then it is cut again really low, nearly scalping it. It looks really yellow and sickly but within two weeks it is green over and growing away like mad, we carry on mowing it as low as possible until the end of the season. In January the first signs of the early daffodil start to show so no more mowing then it is the Cammassias, the Fritilaria meleagris and then the grasses and wild flowers.

Team Goltho

This week we welcomed two new volunteers to the Goltho Gardens team. Sue Strickland who is from Lincoln, married and has two sons but is willing to give is half a day every other week and Jason Daff who has just finished horticultural college at Pershore who will be here every Wednesday, we are now a mighty team!!
In the garden we are waiting for the Purple Spotted orchid in the Wild Flower meadow to drop its seed and then we can get it cut, it is starting to look really messy and it will be good to get it tidied. The Cyclamen under the Silver Birches are now starting to flower and are again looking spectacular there are just more each year.

Misty Cuttings

One of the first photographs that was posted on here was of our new greenhouse, which at the time was filled with seedlings but its main purpose was to house our mist propagator. This is used to do all our cuttings. It is a wooden tray with sides that is lined first with sand and then has a heated cable laid on it and then that is covered with sand and then there is a layer of peat, the cuttings are placed in the peat and over the top is a mist sprayer which keeps the leaves moist and hopefully after two to three weeks we can take out rooted cuttings. I am please to say we have now got saleable plants in the nursery!!

Moth Trap

Courgette Cornucopia were the words on everyones lips this week, Lesley had mentioned it on Radio Lincolnshire last Sunday and an article in the Lincolnshire Echo on Saturday complete with photograph were all that were needed for people to come along and see what to do with them, we sold out of any spare courgettes everyday so it must have inspired customers to go home and have a go!!
We also had the Butterfly Conservation people back to put up a moth trap on Saturday night they arrived about 8.45pm and set it up, there was a really bright light and a box with a funnel that the moths fell into. My poor Dad was volunteered to get up at 3.00am to cover over the box (to stop the sun warming it up) and at 9.30am it was opened to find out what we had caught.
We recorded 30 different species amongst these were a Poplar Hawk Moth, Goldspot, Mother of Pearl and a Magpie just to name a few. I am now looking on the internet for instructions on how to make a 'Moth Trap' for myself.

Hedging our Bets

August is the month to cut your hedge if you want it to look good all winter, so here at Goltho Gardens we are busy doing just that. We have finished the yew hedges along the back of the herbacous borders and around the paeonia garden, it was the peony and iris garden but the irisies got shaded out and are in the process of being changed to clematis. We have four obelisks in there awaiting their climbers.
Do not forget that this week we have our courgette cornucopia in the teashop, with Lesley doing demonstrations and handing out gorgeous recipes to try at home.

Season of Mellow Fruitfulness

Autumn is on its way, we are now in August and it is starting to feel really 'backendish'. We have begun our own harvest, last week I said we were eating courgettes like mad but the fruit garden this year has so far been very prolific. The blackcurrents and the gooseberries were laden and Lesley has been busy making cakes and jams with alot of the produce, she has also made some piccalilli from our own vegetables so call in and buy some it will be ready in time for Christmas.
We have eaten our first apples this week, the Discovery are always the first to be ready and there is a steady stream into the orchard to 'scrump' one. The plums are just starting to turn dark pink instead of green, and the cherries have all been harvested. All the surfeit of fruit is going in the freezer ready for use during the Winter.

Jack and the Beanstalk

As promised here is a photograph of Jack the newest member of the Goltho Gardens team. Isn't he cute!!

The weather has been much better this week and this has made the vegetables come on like mad so we are eating runner beans and courgettes most days. Tomatoes are starting to ripen nicely also and we are all looking daily at the Discovery apples as they are the first to be ready.

In the garden the crocosmias are all starting to come out the first ones being C.'Lucifer' and the type C. masoniorum. the later one are starting to show colour, these are some of my favourite plants at this time of the year -they are so easy and no trouble.

All Quiet at Goltho

We have had a miserable week this week at Goltho with the weather being really overcast and raining at the most inconvenient times, and it was quiet in the garden and nursery also. This was most likely as the weathermen kept giving severe weather forcasts so nobody wanted to risk a soaking. Plenty of potting up has got done and general tidying up of old pots, we have sorted our bulb list for Autumn but not much happened on the gardening front

Today I had a new hat on as I had been asked to judge Wragby in Bloom - what an honour!! I found it very difficult as all the exhibitors were excellent, but after walking around Wragby several times I finally made my decision.

Cooking with Flowers

We have been really busy this last week, with only one day off - no rest for the wicked!! Our French student went home on Friday, so now I have to do all the potting up myself, but we send her all our best wishes and hope she succeeds with everything she wants to do.

The Teashop was bursting at the seams every 2.00 O clock this week when Lesley was putting on her 'Cooking with Flowers' demonstration, everyone had a sample of dandelion honey on some toast and Lesley also made some little scones flavoured with marigolds these all went down really well. Lavender cake and also orange and marigold cake were some of the delicious treats people could buy to have with their cup of tea or coffee during this week and I must say I never got a look in they sold out nearly quicker than Lesley could make them. Never mind maybe I will have better luck next time.

Oo La La

We have a temporary member to the Goltho Gardens team this week with the arrival of Julie Meynet-Meunier on Monday. She is a horticultural student from Bellevaux in France and just staying with us for two weeks, luckily for us, her English is very good as our French is awful. Julie has been helping with the weeding in the nursery and stock area and doing plenty of potting up. We are also going to interview her for our Sunday spot on BBC Radio Lincolnshire so listen out for that!

We have all just about gone into melt down this week with the really hot weather, which unfortunately has affected the roses - they have not lasted long and have now nearly finished. Such a shame, they were glorious. Once again we are praying for rain, we gardeners are never happy.

Champagne and Canapes

Early last week was all about getting ready for Wednesday night, our Charity 'do'. The weather all week had been hot and sunny but by 6.15pm the clouds came over and the temperature dropped. This did not put anyone off and about 40 people wandered around the garden with glasses of champagne, nibbling on canapes. The scent of the roses wafted gently around eveywhere you went creating a lovely atmosphere. A big thank you to everyone who came you were all very generous and we collected plenty for Help for Heroes.

Mass Exodus from Goltho

For several weeks we have been watching the tadpoles in the ponds at Goltho first hatching and then growing in size and shape until they were tiny little frogs. Then earlier this week we had a torrential down pour, the rain just bucketed down we had 19mm in an hour and when it had finished all the little frogs climbed out covering the ground all around the pond so you could not walk for fear of standing on them and disappeared.

The new arbour is now finished and the Wisteria now draped elegantly over it instead of on our blue builders tower. The block paving is to be started in the very near future. We are trying to get all little jobs finished for Wednesday night for our Mid Summer Madness evening. Fingers crossed for good weather!!

Butterfly Conservation Week

This week at Goltho, we had the local butterfly conservation volunteers here to chat to visitors about creating areas to attract butterflies into their own gardens. They brought several species of moths to observe and study, including different hawk moths amongst others. We also quizzed the volunteers on two types of resident caterpillars in the garden. These were identified as Mullein moth and a Vapourer moth.

We were at Petwood Hotel on Sunday 14 June for a plant fair, it was very pleasant to hear from new people that had heard about us. Our fame is spreading!

Roses, Butterflies & Bees

The whole garden at Goltho is looking good at the moment, most of the roses are out in full bloom and the scent as you wander around this romantic area nearly knocks you out, they are just dripping from the trees and arches. It has been an exceptional year for blossom even as you drive around the county the hedgerows are full of lovely flowers.

The wild flower meadow is also in its prime with the buttercups and dog daisies out, the hard-heads are coming up to flower and we also have a small group of naturalising orchids, it is great just strolling along the winding path. The meadow is an important part of the garden as it encourages butterflies and bees which seem to be in a decline at the moment and this week Wednesday June 10 to Sunday June 14 we are encouraging people to create their own butterfly haven so come along and have a chat with our local Butterfly Society who will be here to answer any questions.

Last days of May

Another busy week and no rest for the wicked here, as it was a Bank Holiday on Monday we were open and had a booking for a large party on Tuesday so there has been no days off for the Goltho team.

This last weekend we had a stall at the popular Market Rasen Plant Fair, there were plenty of other stalls to browse through and in the Festival Hall there were crafts and food vendors to look at. We were very busy selling plants that I have potted up through the Winter and early Spring so will have plenty of stocking up to do. I got to talk to alot of new customers and also plenty of 'old friends' which is always fun.

Tickets for our forthcoming event 'Midsummer Magic' on June 24 at 7.00pm are starting to sell like hot cakes this last couple of days further details of this can be found on the web site.

More Changes at Goltho

It has been a busy week this week, we have 'tidied' up the entrance area by putting down some more gravel and some pots. In September we will finish this off by continuing the gravel and putting in a Thyme area.

We had another Charity Day on Sunday for the National Garden Scheme, again it was a very successful day with about 100 visitors to the garden. The weather was perfect - warm, sunny and not a breathe of wind, the garden looked absolutely lovely.

We have started a new bed in the car park to put a tree and some shrubs in for shade and to break up the hugh area. We hired a mechanical breaker, but once we got started the concrete was so thick and hard it isnow smaller than we had first thought. Unfortunately we did not get it finished so had to 'park' our transit van in the hole to stop anybody driving in it.

As it is a Bank Holiday this week and then we have a coach party in Tuesday we have no days off - no rest for the wicked!!

Pots of Thyme

It has been a busy week here at Goltho, but not with visitors. The weather has been the main factor with gale force winds and lashings of rain so not even the keenest of gardeners wanted to come and look around the garden. I can not blame them!! We have been busy getting all the planters planted up ready to go out around the garden for the beginning of June after all possiblity of frosts has passed.

A new bed has also been planted up near the Tea Rooms, it is quite shady so good fun choosing a variety of shrubs to go in it, a few we chose were a varigated Sambucus, a lovely dark red Berberis and a new small growing green Cotinus called 'Young Lady' scattered amongst these are Hellebores for late winter interest.

We have a new comer to the Goltho team by the way of Jack a 9 week old poodle puppy - he is soooo cute. Photo to follow.

Chainsaw Sculpting at Goltho

It has been very noisy at Goltho Gardens this weekend as we had a woodturning and chain saw exhibition by local tree surgeon James Kendal and some of his team. This proved to be very popular, plenty of people came to watch and bought some of the products that they had turned or sculpted, we are already thinking of doing it again next year and maybe including some willow weaving and other relevant crafts.

Rachel from Oak PR has been this week to start the filming for the BBC, we are doing a weekly slot on local Radio Lincolnshire this is to compliment our slot on the Sunday Gardening Show with Sue Taylor so will soon be famous ha ha.

Charity Open Day

We had our first charity Open Day for this season on Sunday it was for St Johns Ambulance, but we woke that morning to a really windy and cold day so some disappointment after the lovely hot weather in April. It was a slow start in the morning but we eventually had 140 visitors to the garden and had alot of nice comments with people looking forward to coming back later in the season to see the garden in its full glory. May looks like being a very busy month as we have lots of bookings, but it is raining at this moment in time so can not get the grass cut - ahhh.

We are scouring books and magazines at the moment to get some ideas for the entrance into the garden as it is abit scruffy, so watch this space!!

Rain at last

I have just come in from the garden, I was chipping the last of the hedge trimmings and am absolutely drenched, but must not moan we have been praying for rain for about a month now. We will now be able to carry on with the weeding which had come to a halt last week as it was just too hard. I have to say that now we are open 5 days a week it is much more difficult to keep the garden in order and get everthing done, but the nursery is in much better order and potting up is nearly all finished.
The path that was started just before we open in February is now finished and goes all the way to the Tea Rooms now, the brick wall is going up nicely beside it, hoping to have something for the Wisteria to climb up soon instead of the blue scaffold tower it is on now!!
Our second lot of chicks all hatched safely, we have managed to put them under a silkie that had gone broody, they look really cute!!

Work progresses at Goltho

We have been so busy after the opening at Easter that we have missed a week on our blog spot. The garden is looking great, but could now do with at bit of rain here in Lincolnshire as we have unforgiving land, sodden in winter and now concrete hard as it has dried.
The chickens are laying like mad so it is boiled eggs for breakfast, poached for lunch and omlettes for tea at the moment, but if you are calling in to see us you can buy some in the Tea Rooms. We have been asked by Radio Lincolnshire to do a video link to their web site of ' Whats going on at Goltho' so look out for that, a nice companion to our Sunday spot on the Sue Taylor show. Well better get back to the weeding as it never stops.

Preperations for Easter opening

As the reopening at Easter is just round the corner, this week the team are weeding in the garden and potting up for the nursery. In the new greenhouse the seedlings and tomato plants are growing on well, within the next month they will be ready for potting on for selling.
This Easter Sunday will see Goltho's first Easter egg hunt, where children of all ages will find hidden items in the garden through a secret clue sheet. This is a great chance to mix our two favourite things, plants and chocolate!


Above you can see our new greenhouse and Raffy.

Autumn Garden

With the Autumn garden being one of the first borders planted up, after 10 years it was starting to look tired and needed refreshing.
So this week, the team has taken out all the herbaceous plants, manured and rotavated. We then split up and replanted them. This border will be looking it's best from September onwards. You see (from clockwise) Ken, Sean and Marie working.