The algae is here…

Picture taken 01072009, at least it's not this bad yet...

This is not what we wanted to happen… The lack of rainfall (which adds movement and oxygen) and high water temperatures has caused the algae to finally take hold. Barley straw is not effective in deoxygenised water, which is now occuring around the straw due to poor movement and heat. So, what we’re seeing is mass reproduction on the lake surface and green water. I’ll keep you updated on algae progression. There’s a lot happening at Stourhead now, the estate bike ride the other day was sucessful and we held a tour of the waterwheel and Apollo for the locals. I strongly recommend the ‘Attics and Cellars’ tour in August, where you’re shown rooms that are normally closed to the public. Penny is selling a lot of veg (with no food miles) to the restaurant and farm shop, as well as producing quality plants for the plant centre. John, our careership student,

Rhododendron 'Polar Bear' flowering as we speak.

graduates tomorrow but will stay with us for a while yet. Mark and Alan are doing tree work, I can hear them in the stable yard as we speak. We are hoping to recieve and install our first nucleus of  bees next thursday, they will live in a hive in the nuttery next to the Walled Garden. The July flowering Rhododendrons are coming out filling the garden with a sweet scent. There’s a mass emigration of frogs across the path between Lily Lake and Diana’s Basin, so please be careful! I’ve taken the last few photos of Pelargoniums for the database today and went out mapping yesterday. The government has issued further warnings about Phytophthora ramorum since it has been found causing enormous damage to Japanese Larch forests in the area. In other news, crop circles have emerged in the fields below Whitesheet Hill – very impressive!

Bye for now, Em.