An Alarming Mishap!

I nearly caused a security alert at Betley Court this week - all by accident, of course! I’d gone over the gardens to water all our containerised pots on the formal flowerbeds at the front of the house. It was a Sunday, so all our contractors were off site. To water the flowers, we currently have to enter the contractors’ compound, protected by six-foot-high Heras fencing. I filled a couple of watering cans and made my way to the fencing, and completely forgot that the security system was switched on. This is the system of infrared alarms and security cameras that keep an eye on Betley Court for us, out of hours. In a panic I reached for my mobile phone to called the security company to switch the alarms off, only to find I’d left my phone at home. Luckily, two of our residents, Annette and Phil, came to my rescue, and let me use their phone to call Nigel, who in turn, called the security firm to sort out the alarms. Thank goodness!

The builders'compound at the southern elevation

Summer has definitely arrived at Betley Court, and changing of season has brought a new palette of colour to the grounds. In the wilder areas of the gardens, purple-pink foxgloves, blue geraniums, feathery ferns and creamy frothy flowers of elder lend a pastel hue to the woodland margins.

Wildflowers outside the visitors hub

Purple-pink foxgloves and creamy-frothy elderflower

Up at the formal flowerbeds, the colours are much brighter. I’ve got pots of scarlet sweet Williams, and festive bi-coloured pansies arranged in front of the front steps, in a rather meagre attempt to cheer up the southern elevation of the house. And Tanya, our volunteer gardener helps with the watering and weeding now, a godsend as the summer season is fully in swing.

Bi-coloured pansies

A gathering of colourful pots

Hot weather under the temporary roof makes for a tough working environment. I don’t envy the scaffolders who were reconfiguring the scaffolding in the boiling sun the other day. They were constructing platforms so the roof of Royds House can be retiled. Although it was one part of the house that escaped the fire, it’s been agreed that it will be retiled to match the new sections of roof in smart Vermont green slates. The new tiles will hopefully give a uniform appearance.

Scaffolding going up around Royds House

Royds House from the southern elevation

It was almost a very different story. When the residents of that part of the house climbed into their loft space a few weeks ago, to clear boxes from where the work will take place, they found that despite a thick wall separating Royds House from the main house, the heat from the fire was sufficient to melt plastic storage boxes and singe other items. So, it seems that Staffordshire Fire Services efforts did, in fact prevent the fire from destroying even more than was lost!

Our next open garden weekend will be on 16^th and 17^th July 2022. Details to follow and tickets will be on sale soon.

All best wishes

Ladybird Su