SPECIAL GIFTS
HIGHGROVE GARDEN: THE GARDEN NOW
SEPTEMBER
Colours in the Garden have changed dramatically over the past month, with the soft autumnal hues of burnt orange, russet, deep purples and burgundy reds predominating. These have been accentuated by the lushness of the lawns and meadows in their verdant green tones. In weather terms this is saying that we’ve had cool temperatures (bringing on the autumn colour) and a fair amount of rain (to keep the grass growing). Generally we’ve needed that extra layer of clothing when stepping out into the Garden, although members of the Garden team do persevere with wearing shorts as long as the season permits!
With the recent windy weather picking apples and windfalls has taken precedence each week; many have gone straight into storage, but many more have gone for sale fresh in the Highgrove shop or to be made into juice. The pigs and horses at Home Farm are enjoying those that don’t make the grade for uses above.
The crab-apples which are so enjoyed in the Spring in flower are now gleaming with their own bumper crop of fruit. Three varieties that stand out in the Garden are:
Malus ‘Evereste’ – this medium size tree with a conical shape has beautiful red flower buds which open to relatively large white flowers.
It is striking to be seen and requires little maintenance.
The red-orange fruit seem to be one of the first to be enjoyed by the resident bird population.
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Malus ‘Golden Hornet’ – this is a favourite variety for many people and is readily available commercially.
It flowers well in the Spring and is covered with golden crab-apples from August onward which last well into the winter. These can be seen in the Walled Garden where they are trained into coronets and are quite literally “bejeweled” with fruit. -
Malus hupehensis – this is a beautiful spreading tree which again flowers well in the Spring, and from late summer is covered with cherry-like fruit in abundance. These are cropped (as high as we can reach) in October to be made into Crab-apple Jelly which is absolutely delicious!
Any of the fruit on the crab-apples which is not picked makes an excellent source of food for over-wintering birds with the trees also providing good cover against predators.
Yew hedge cutting and topiary trimming continues at a steady pace. The sharp lines of the formal hedging surrounding the Sundial and the Lily Pool Gardens show the skill of the Garden team and compliment the soft billowy plantings in the beds they surround.
It is the time in the gardening year when it is easy to take a brutal approach to cutting herbaceous plants down as they are seemingly “finished”. We actually try to be more selective, and tidy only where it is necessary leaving standing stems which have seed heads for structure in the border and to again provide natural food for our bird life. Some of the best autumn cameos can be those plantings where nature provides the dew laden spider web or vole eating the last seed head.
One of our seasonal projects this year is to start the rejuvenation of the old Cottage Garden; this area was initially planned and laid out by HRH and the late Rosemary Verey. We will over the next few years be removing sections of this area, providing temporary displays with bulbs and annuals, tackling a persistent ground elder and bindweed problem and replanting when the area is ready. This will be an interesting view into organic gardening for the visitors coming to Highgrove to see.
And the bulbs start arriving next week for planting! Mostly these are extending the Crocus and Narcissi into existing displays but also planting good, relatively inexpensive bulbs that naturalise well by self-seeding such as Scilla, Chionodoxa, Muscari and Winter Aconite.
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