Gardeners’ Corner

This Week in The Garden…… 19th February 2021 The Gardens have emerged from last week’s snow and freezing conditions relatively unscathed. The new planting appears to have coped with the deluge and hopefully with the milder weather will recover from the shock. Snowdrops have emerged along the base of the Lovelace Wall, looking delicate and […]

This Week in The Garden…… 29th January 2021 The focus this week has been winter pruning. We started with the leviathan that is the wisteria. Last summer, after flowering, we took back all the new growth and long whippy strands and now, for the winter prune, the aim is to reduce all this new growth […]

It was good to get back into the Gardens after a month-long break over Christmas. The hard frosts, high winds and heavy rain don’t seem to have done any damage and everything is looking much as we left it. Some early daffodils are already out in bloom along the Lovelace Wall and many more clumps […]

This Week in The Garden…… 15th January 2021   It was good to get back into the Gardens after a month-long break over Christmas. The hard frosts, high winds and heavy rain don’t seem to have done any damage and everything is looking much as we left it. Some early daffodils are already out in […]

One of our very talented Indwellers has made this wonderful wreath for Eastbridge.  All the materials are foraged from the Franciscan Gardens.

This Week in The Garden…… 8th December 2020 After all the preparation of the last few weeks a lorry load of plants arrived from the wholesaler and we have been busy planting following designer Sarah Morgan’s plan.   The new entrance courtyard has old roses and honeysuckles to climb and cover the walls and ferns, […]

This Week in The Garden…… 6th November 2020 The very rainy weather has been a challenge over the past couple of weeks but did provide us with the perfect  conditions to lay wildflower turf along the waterside, extending the meadow area. Timing is everything, as they say, and the landscapers chose exactly the right week […]

This Week in The Garden…… 4th September 2020 There has been an unmistakably autumnal feel in the air over the last few early mornings in the Gardens. Chilly at first until the sun warms up and with a heavy dew on the grass. Last week’s rain has done wonders for the lawns, the grass has […]

This Week in The Garden…… 14th August 2020 The heatwave and very dry weather has taken its toll in the Gardens. The grass areas are parched and many of the established plants (including the meadow) are fading early to save energy and preserve themselves. Being in the garden during our first summer we can see […]

We found it a novelty, now that the world outside the Gardens is getting back to normal, to share the gardens with the rowing boats and punts on the river. After having the place entirely to ourselves for so many months it was a real shock to hear voices and laughter coming up from the […]