July came at NGS Garden Ferns Lodge, and with it Dan and his crew, who set to work cutting down the scrub in the centre of the big garden, armed with all manner of chainsaws, diggers, and the inevitable chipper – of which we now have many tons! Next came a digger, which I was informed was a six-tonner – whatever that may mean, it was VERY big. In the seat, the wonderful gardener Simon toiled for a week, removing tree roots and making sense of what was left behind after the chainsaws had departed. Lastly, a digger wizard from Mr Keffen’s stable spread the thirty tons of soil that had been delivered, creating three large humps, a hollow, and some flat areas. Most impressive of all, we buried the bulk of the tree roots to rot down naturally.
My mound never materialised – the cleared area seemed to demand something more interesting, and so what remains now is dust, earth piles, and my imagination!
All the while, it has failed to rain. The grass has gone from green and not growing, to faded green and still not growing, and finally to brown and unhappy. Watering the vegetable garden involves countless watering cans each day, and so both Simon and I have developed arm muscles like Atlas! Worse still, all the planting in the big garden is parched, so there are endless days of watering with a can, in the hope that relief will come soon. It is now two months since it last rained, and in the meantime the hot sun beats down and we have had no shortage of breeze. To add insult to injury, a doe has moved in and eaten whatever hasn’t wilted. C’est la vie – and gardening!
My plan to fence the big garden has not progressed much! We can’t plant in the new area if our new deer-footed friend and her chums are going to drop by for a feed whenever they feel like it.
Also having a reasonably tough time of it, like their cohorts elsewhere in the UK, are the Ferns Lodge Team Bees. The dry weather and desiccated plants mean little feed. That said, they are in good heart and buzzing around, and last weekend the first Ferns Lodge honey went into the spinner – and I can’t tell you how exciting that is! Not masses, as we need to leave the bees plenty of food for winter, but just enough to show how amazing it looks and tastes. Ghillie had the very first spoonful from the spinner and pronounced it good before wandering off to his usual spot in the shade for another snooze.
Contact sue.grant@fernslodge.co.uk.
