Fungi and Leaf Fall

The autumn weather has been rather changeable here at Betley Court Gardens this week. Its been a case of fitting tasks in around the weather. Melvyn has started the massive annual task of collecting fallen leaves to put in the leaf mould pit. However, it all became somewhat comical yesterday, as the wind started whipping up, and redistributed the carefully gathered piles of leaves back onto the paths almost as fast as Melvyn could blow them off.

Maple leaves in autumn colour

While Melvyn battled with the leaf-blower, I was busy using up the leaf mould made with last year’s autumn fall, freeing up space in the leaf pit. It’s all going to good use, to mulch the formal flowerbeds at the front of the house with thick layers of leaf mould. This not only smothers weeds by blocking out light, but also helps nourish our very sandy, thin soil, adding much needed organic matter. We’ve noticed an increase of worm activity in the beds as a result, and the worms help nourish the soil in turn, aerating and digging leaf material into the soil.

Mulching the flowerbeds

Its been a particularly good autumn for fungi this year. I had the chance to photograph some of them whilst showing a prospective work experience student around. He showed me a phone app that can identify plants and fungi from a huge database at the touch of a screen. Unfortunately, any internet coverage is non-existent in the garden, but I hope to learn more about these curious fungi before their fruiting season ends.

Fungi amonst the leave fall

Fungi on the lawn, betraying the site of a long-since fallen tree

As we approach November, we’re planning to resurrect a little corner of the Peace Garden in time for Remembrance Sunday. The Peace Garden was repurposed as a contractors’ compound during the demolition phase of the work, and currently houses 3 grey site huts. Regular readers will remember that our ‘Tommy’, one of the soldiers made for the There But Not There WW1 commemorative event, was recovered from the debris of the cellar in the house after the fire.

Our 'Tommy' lovingly repaired by Charis and Shane

Our blacksmith friend, Charis Jones of Sculpted Steel was able to repair the sculpture, and Shane has given Tommy a nice new coat of paint. You can barely see the fire damage now, and it is remarkable that the sculpture, made from aluminium, avoided melting during the intense fire. Tommy will be mounted on the side of the dovecote, and will be visible from Court Walk, allowing Betley Court residents and the Brown family to mark the 11^th November.

Contractors on the 'grand tour' 

We are making some progress on the project to restore the house.  Nigel gave another building contractor the ‘grand tour’ of the ruins of the house, and in the not too distant future, we should receive quotes for the roof reinstatement, so we can decide who to use for the rebuild. This week, a conservation joiner fitted two new windows, to give us some idea of how the replacements will look.

One of the new windows

We’ve got two colour finishes to compare; brilliant white, and pearl, an off-white, and three different glass options, which we’ll run by the relevant conservation bodies for consideration and approval. Its slow progress, and always in baby steps, but they are at least steps in the right direction.

All best wishes

Ladybird Su

Autumnal sunset, over the paddock