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.