Today has been a tidying up day after I got all my chores done, on this day the chores were seeing to the sheep and the greenhouses as is usual and then as there was a shooting party at the weekend I had to go and fill up the log box and bucket in the hall.
After tea break I cleared some stray leaves that were hanging around the potting shed area and also cut back some branches on a Fig tree. After lunch me and Tom made a start on tidying the old conservatory which as you will see from the pictures was in need of a tidy. It sits right under a very big Beech tree so it is always filling with rubbish of some kind. Anyway we still have some work left to do in there some time.
After tea break I cleared some stray leaves that were hanging around the potting shed area and also cut back some branches on a Fig tree. After lunch me and Tom made a start on tidying the old conservatory which as you will see from the pictures was in need of a tidy. It sits right under a very big Beech tree so it is always filling with rubbish of some kind. Anyway we still have some work left to do in there some time.
Hi Pam, Thank you for the comment on my blog concerning lifting the Dahlia's. You are of course right to question me about leaving them in the ground over winter and I must stress that the ones I left in are there to take their chance so to speak are just ones that I'm not really bothered about. I did make a point of lifting and storing safely two of each variety. Any that are left are ones that I have an abundance of. However having said that there is a good chance that most of them will survive as they're in a pretty sheltered position. Some have already survived two winters without being lifted. I recorded a temperature of minus five last winter and I only lost half a dozen or so. So really the thing is that if you have Dahlia's that you value in the slightest don't take the chance but if you have some that you are prepared to lose then take a chance with them. If you want to give them a bit of an extra chance pile some compost or soil over them and then in spring level it off over the border. I hope this is of some help to you. I think we are in Hardiness Zone 8b
Hi Sara, I actually preferred the breakfast party as it was more relaxed and also it didn’t mean turning out on a cold winters night – I didn’t even have to get dressed up either LOL!
Hi Weaver , Yes I’ve always lived in Yorkshire while I’ve been doing this job, in fact all the time I’ve been blogging. The farm I managed was in Derbyshire and when I left that job I came here, that was four years ago now. Yes it is South Yorkshire where I live now. I much prefer North Yorkshire which is where my family are from on my mum’s side but South York’s is where the work is so that’s where I am. Actually when the rain came that you mentioned I was back home in Rowsley and although it did rain it wasn’t so bad as in other places further north.
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My grandfather was the gardner to The Big House, but it was on Bushey Heath (Herts). The big house was where Sir David Rutherford lived. He was also the chauffeur and during WW1 was batman to Sir David Rutherford.
We moved up to Yorkshire (Flamborough Head) when I was six, after WW2. I attended Thornbridge Hall Teacher Training College outside of Bakewell in the late 50's. It was your mention of Castleton that made me look up your blog. I love Yorkshire and Flamborough but Derbyshire is next on my list.
Now I'm a converted Californian, mainly because of the weather and my patio which is seclude from the rushing madness of people and cars. The sea is nice to look at too -- but I can't see it from my patio.
P.S. Could that be Haddon Hall on your banner?
That is exactly what I do with dahlias Bob - leave them in the ground to take their chance - it is the survival of the fittest I am afraid - and some of them come up year after year. I never lift lilies either - some I threw out years ago the farmer rescued and put in the veggi garden and each year they give a magnificent show.
There is an interactive UK version of the USDA hardiness zone map at http://www.plantmaps.com/uk_plant_hardiness_zone_map.php
Pam
You’re welcome for to the info Pam.
Thanks for sharing the hardiness zone with us Peter, I’m sure some people will find it useful.
The Weaver of Grass
That is exactly what I do with dahlias Bob - leave them in the ground to take their chance - it is the survival of the fittest I am afraid - and some of them come up year after year. I never lift lilies either - some I threw out years ago the farmer rescued and put in the veggi garden and each year they give a magnificent show.
Hi ChrisJ, I think when your grandfather was at the big house before world war one was a good time to be at a big house, except I don’t suppose the working conditions were as good as now but I think the big house would be running as it was intended and not as now in terminal decline. I do know of Thornbridge Hall and my home is/was just three mails south of Bakewell. I should imagine that California is a big improvement on Bakewell at this time of year. The picture on my banner is of Lanhydrock Hall in Cornwall, I took the picture during a visit three years ago. It had the best kept garden I ever saw and is a real inspiration.
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