Annual Bedding Plants
6 months ago
Sorry for the lack of blogs, we had a delivery last week of over 7000 bedding plants as well as our own home grown annuals to get in the ground so it has been a busy couple of weeks
Speed planting is definitely a required skill at this time of year and all us gardeners have to quickly find our second gear
- there has also been a lot of early mornings and late nights to help get the job done (many thanks to all who helped). The annuals that we put in arrive in small module trays. In warm weather these dry out incredibly quickly so the ideal solution is to get them in the ground asap and water them in so they can start to survive on their own. So that was our plan.
Last Tuesday all of the winter/spring bedding was taken out and the beds were dug over ready for the delivery from Mousehole Nurseries. We have saved some of the winter bedding
- mainly Polyanthus, but the rest became a very beautiful compost heap
In such huge numbers the Bellis and Pansy aren't worth keeping as they are very susceptible to rust and fungal diseases and you run the risk of spreading that around the glasshouse if we were to pot them up. Although it sounds awfully wasteful these bedding plugs are incredibly cheap to buy compared to the cost of labour, compost and pots if we pot them on.
The new summer display is a colourful affair with bright red Cannas in the middle, surrounded by Scenesio cineraria, Echevaria and Ageratum, which is then surrounded by some stunning pink snapdragons with yellow centres (and you know how much I love pink and yellow together
- so wrong and yet so right) and finished with royal blue lobelias
- fabulous..
The ribbon border is no less colourful with a mix of Verbena venosa (purple). Echevaria (glaucous leaves with pink flowers), Ageratum (blue flowers) and Alternanthera (red leaved ground cover)
- looks like a psychedelic 60's party
The Alternanthera is quite an unusual looking plant and not readily available in many places anymore but we do have some spares that are on sale in plant sales. So come and see what we have been up to and then take a little piece of Hestercombe home with you.
Around the rest of the garden we have added lots of home grown annuals to make the garden as full as possible over the summer. We have grown Ammi majus, Salvia horminum, Nicotiana 'Lime Green', Matthiola bicornis, Gaura, Gypsophila
and my new favourite
- Nemophila menziesii (see below)
- what a stunner, I'll definitely grow this one again
So thanks to our new glasshouses we have had the ability to grow so much more. We have succession sown too so hopefully we should be able to keep the garden in flower a bit longer.
The only downside is that it is obviously very time consuming at the point where we are at our busiest, so for a few months it has almost been like having a 2nd job so I must give a big thank you to Pete and Gracie (partner and daughter) for putting up with me being shattered for 2 months
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Gardener Blogs: Starting New Flower Beds
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time**Have you ever been scared to start a project in the garden because of the enormity of it? It happens to all of us, especially when deciding on the size of the flower beds.**: - By _Claire Greenslade_, Head Gardener_ "Have you ever been scared to start a project in the garden because of the enormity of it? It happens to all of us, especially when deciding...
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Speed Planting and The Importance of Caffeine
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timethis week we had 7270 annuals and bedding plants delivered and we have been desperately trying to get them in the ground before the weekend.... hence the lack of garden blogs.... we will be back blogging next week...!
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Preserving Water at Hestercombe
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time**Head Gardener, Claire Greenslade, shares tips on how we’re saving water at Hestercombe**: As you can imagine in the high temperatures we’ve experienced recently the gardens are beginning to suffer from heat exhaustion - just like the rest of us! At Hestercombe we are very conscious of our water consumption and use. We recognise that water is such a...
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Hazel Plant Supports
7 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timeRegular visitors to Hestercombe may have noticed some hazel structures popping up around the Formal Garden. These are actually our way of staking some of the herbaceous plants that are likely to flop over if not supported. Hazel staking offers an attractive alternative to metal link stakes, plus it is also a lot of fun to do! The hazel (_Corylus avellana_)...
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Planting for Drought Tolerance
7 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time**Head Gardener, Claire Greenslade, on how we can adjust our garden planting to better suit long, dry spells**: The recent heatwave and ongoing extreme weather is very hard for our garden plants to respond to. Most plants like consistency and are adapted to specific climates, temperatures, topography, soil types and weather types. They respond to circadian...
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September Plant Heroes
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timeI have mixed emotions about September. I love the light. I love the warm weather. But I cant shake off that feeling of impending doom as the nights draw in and the temperature drops - I have absolutely no love for winter! It is just too cold, and I can't even get excited about the prospect of snow. I've tried to enjoy sledging but frankly it's cold and wet...
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Preparing for Winter
8 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time**Over the last couple of weeks the weather has been wet and wild! The gardens and car park especially have suffered from flooding and water damage meaning that all the gardeners have been busy cleaning up! In the Formal Gardens we have been lifting the cannas from the Great Plat. We have two types, the Canna musifolia are the tall ones on the outside beds...
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Fasciation
8 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timeThis is a Bellis perennis which forms part of the spring bedding scheme on the Victorian terrace. BUT... it has this strange mutation known as FASCIATION. When plants have fasciation the stems and flowerheads appear flattened and elongated. This can be caused by genetic mutation, viral infection or as a reaction to damage from frost, animals or...
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Winter Gardening Ideas
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time**Winter Gardening Ideas: How To Look After Your Garden**: As the chilly nights draw-in make sure you follow these top tips on how to look after your garden over the winter with winter gardening ideas from Head Gardener **Claire Greenslade**. Cannas looking totally tropical on the Great Plat this summer **1. Lift tender plants**: Many tender species need...
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New Gardening Blog!
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time**With autumn in full swing now we are certainly finding plenty to do in the gardens! Apart from the seemingly never ending task of leaf blowing and raking we have been chopping back all the Mexican daisies that grow in the walls. This reveals the beautiful stone work underneath and shows off the intricate structure of the Formal Garden. We also have some...
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Drought
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timeIt is HOT, HOT, HOT. The gardens team are wilting as quickly as the plants and my gentle coaxing and reminders about the how awful it was working in the rain last year are not helping! But we wouldn't be true Brits if we weren't moaning about the weather. All weather and climates come with their own set of problems, but, come on, this is a proper summer!! A...
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Renewable Energy Power Plant Engineer
4 weeks ago
Taunton, Somerset, United Kingdom Innotech Partners Full timeEstablished in the renewable energy sector, Innotech Partners is a leading provider of CHP power units.We are seeking a highly skilled Renewable Energy Power Plant Engineer to join our team and be responsible for the service, maintenance and repair of CHP Power Units across multiple sites in Minehead & Bridgewater.The ideal candidate will have experience...
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Grounds Operative
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom TEAM CONTINUITY SOLUTIONS LTD Full timeWe now have a fantastic opportunity to recruit **Grounds Operative ** **in the Somerset Area** **Shift Available**: - Monday to Friday - 730-1600 **Hourly pay rate - **£11.98 **You will need**: - Full UK Driving Licence - Level 2 certificate of competency in the safe use of lawnmowers - NVQ level 2 in horticulture ( Desirable ) - Be prepared to work...
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5 Ways You Can Try Wildlife Gardening at Home
7 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timeThere’s little better than a butterfly fluttering past, a bee buzzing by or a dragonfly darting through when you’re pottering in the garden. You can make those chance encounters more likely by embracing wildlife gardening. Luckily, finding the balance between a wildlife garden and beautiful planting is easier than you might think. Here, we suggest five...
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Garden Update From Our Head Gardener, Claire
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full time**What a summer! I have never known such a prolonged drought in my 15 years of working at Hestercombe. I’m surprised, and pleased, that not only have the plants survived, but the team has too.**: **Very early on we took the decision not to water the lawns. Water is such a valuable commodity and as a public garden it’s important that we show a different...
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Autumn Activities
7 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timeMy apologies for the lack of blog posts lately, but the more observant among you may notice that I am now publishing under a different name! My time and focus over this last summer has been taken up with organising my wedding, but now I am free to concentrate on writing blogs again! Last week we began the autumn chop back, which is a job I love because you...
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How to Manage a Large Garden During a Lockdown
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timeby Claire Greenslade, Hestercombe’s Head Gardener_ **How do you manage a large garden with a furloughed team and locked down volunteers?!** Who knew that this would ever be a question I would have to ask myself. This virus is something that none of us had been able to prepare for. Since March 23rd 2020 Hestercombe has had to close its gates. Really big...
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Pot Plea!
8 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timehi all this is just a quick plea.... as you know we are trying to run a new glasshouse at Hestercombe and things are really coming on well. We have been able to sow lots of annuals for the garden as well as to propagate stock plants such as Rosemary and lavender, and we also have a 'plants from the garden' section in plant sales. As a charity we are trying...
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Growing Your Own Cut Flowers
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timeA bunch of homegrown flowers is hard to beat **In the run up to our new event: Spring bouquet workshop (24 April), local grower and florist, JW Blooms, gives some top tips on growing your own...** With spring in the air, now is the perfect time to think about growing some flowers for the house. It doesn’t matter if you have enough space for a dedicated...
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Vertical Gardening
6 months ago
Taunton, United Kingdom Hestercombe Gardens Full timeThis week I have been getting quite strange looks from visitors. After a year or two of propagating plants we are ready to start following Jekyll's plan of planting up the walls around the plat. Lutyens and Jekyll had such a strong working relationship that Lutyens has built the walls and left gaps specifically for Jekyll to plant into. So the vertical...