When garden teams escape…

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Written 28th July 2011: Welcome to Portland House! Slide show above and text below. The whole garden team travelled to Portland House opposite Portland yesterday. Teams from Knigthshays, Hardy’s Cottage and Lytes Cary also piled in for the 8 hour makeover. Portland House was donated to the National Trust with the understanding that it should make money for the charity in some way, be it as a leasehold, short term let or simply sold off. A long-term leasehold is about to come to a close when we plan to let it as luxury holiday accommodation. I was unfortunately not on the trip but Penny and Penny tell me that it was a really hard day’s work labouring and the view was beautiful. Once the gardener and gardens advisor (Alan) have made a planting plan and we’ve got the plants together we may be lucky enough to return to finish the job! We aim to open the house and gardens to the public on changeover days in future.

You will be glad to know that the Picnic and Fireworks night went very well and I’m told that the sun set was particularly beautiful. We have just bought more christmas tree netting to make further barley straw sausages for the lake. I might even make a little one for the dipping pond in the bottom walled garden!

Today most of us are out mowing in the top garden, this is the first cut of the long grass, or meadow areas. All orchids and other wildflowers present have set seed, but the areas either side of the path before shade’s gate contain a bedstraw we’re looking to identify. This hopefully explains why some areas of grass remain uncut.

Thanks, Em.

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