Egg Shells and Omlettes

Shane, our handyman often has to remind me that ‘there’s no making an omelette without breaking eggs’. Usually just after I’ve spotted some damage made by a contractor and am blanching at the prospect of using more of Shane and Melvyn’s valuable time putting it right. And Shane’s been saying it a lot since the fire. Last Friday was one of those occasions.

The logs, chopped and ready for collection

The leaning maple tree was felled, and our tree surgeon, Dave chopped it into smaller logs for removal. Although the tree had been growing out of our dam, the tree itself belonged to our neighbours, and workmen were duly dispatched to collect the wood, so they could make use of it. They backed a vehicle onto the dam and loaded up. Unfortunately, there’s been a lot of rain recently, and the soil is the consistency of margarine, so the area now resembles a dirt track rather than the grassy wildflower bank of the summer.

Tyre tracks in our mud-margerine bank

A couple of days repairs, some new grass seed, and a warm spring will get everything to grow back. You’ll never know they visited by next summer.

I’ll have to gird myself for more of this sort of thing when the reroofing starts. Our planning proposal requires a temporary builders’ compound to be built on the front lawn – oh the horror! My poor flowerbeds, those poor historic trees! They are going to have to reside in the midst of a full-blown construction site for quite some time. I wonder what affect this will have on future visitors to the gardens, but friends have reassured me that people will be fascinated to see the progress of both the gardens and the house, on the grounds it’s a bit different to your everyday National Trust property. What with the burned down house, and all. Time will tell.

Dave's van and wood chipper in action

Dave was back in the gardens with his chainsaw today, to fell a self-sown oak that grew through the potting shed. We call it the potting shed, but its probably a garage built at the dawn of the motoring era. Over the past 40 years, its been used primarily for storing spare doors and sinks. Ivy has threaded its way through the roof tiles, and this tenacious oak has quietly grown to a good size. It is a shame to fell this tree; I’m especially fond of oaks. However, as it grows, its gradually pulling the building apart. We always try to make amends and when we fell a tree, we plant a few more around the gardens. That way, in a hundred years’ time, there will be beautiful mature trees for future generations to enjoy.

All best wishes

Ladybird Su

A few photos from the pippin orchard in early winter:

In our pippin orchard, a pippin apple grown from a 'Red Devil' apple pip

'Golden Hornet' crab apple

Crab apples, left for birds and other critters.