Gardening Chronicles with Travis Smith - Edition One

Gardening Chronicles with Travis Smith - Edition One
by Neil Bason

Welcome to the Tempest Blog's green-fingered new addition. Going by the jaunty name - Gardening Chronicles with Travis Smith, this fresh-faced blog does exactly what it says on the tin - goes deep into the magical Tempest grounds and woodland with our Head Gardener, Travis Smith as guide.

We are deeply fortunate to be blessed by spectacular green space around our HQ, and it's high time we shared some of the insights and experiences of our amazing grounds and gardens team.

So, without further ado, over to Travis…

As the grounds and gardens team we want to share what is happening on the site as it develops. Each month we will share developments in the gardens and grounds and also mention a few plants to look out for. We are a team with a wide breadth of knowledge and look forward to sharing it with you.

I imagine many of you have gardens at home, so we will also share our knowledge in this area, advising you about what you should be doing at home as the year progresses.

Plants to look out around Tempest HQ

Corylopsis pauciflora- This deciduous shrub has just come into flower producing these racemes that dangle away from their bare dark brown, glossy branches.

All manner of Camellias

Throughout the woodland are planted many varieties of Camellia that will all be on and off flowering throughout Autumn, Winter and Spring. There are three main types here at Tempest - Camellia japonica, Camellia x williamsii and Camellia reticulata.

First Major Project as a New Team

We are finalising a new planting scheme for it which we hope to have planted before the end of March.

The area was originally growing a lot of Laurel (Prunus laurocerus) which had to go in order for two dead trees to be removed. After the 1st week, the tree surgeons opened up this space. Once they had left and we had some dry weather, a digger was brought in to remove the dead tree stumps, hopefully preventing the spread of the potential disease that had killed them (Phytophthora). Now the area is completely bare, we will look to plant it.

To-Do List for the garden at home

March is one of the busiest times of year in the garden with everything springing back into life. The best resource that we can give you from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the following link Gardening in March – jobs to do this month / RHS Gardening. This gives you the top 10 jobs to be carrying out this month.

Things we suggest to do now:

  • Protect new Shoots from slugs and snails.
  • Weed and mulch flower beds.
  • Plant First Early Potatoes.
  • Prune back Hydrangeas.
  • Prune Roses if you haven’t done so already.
  • Take Salvia cuttings.
  • Start cutting the grass when it is dry, unless you are leaving it for the wildlife.
  • Cut Back Cornus sanguinea hard.
  • Hard Prune Buddleia's, if you haven’t done so already.
  • This is also your last chance to cut hedges before nesting season commences. If you do decide to do them, please take care before you start to take a good check of the hedge for any in-use nests, and ensure you do not disturb them.

Archive by Date