Digger Days
So I thought it high time I shared with you a little of what has been happening since the big move from the Farm. Before I do that though, I want to thank you for all the lovely messages you have sent to Mum and Chris, wishing them a happy retirement. The gardening and floral community is just so lovely!
Now, cast your mind back to earlier this season and John from Holes in the World popped up to our new site and captured a few ‘before’ shots for us. This image shows the new area where we will grow the roses and picking shrubs.
Image by John from Holes in the World - before all the work on the new rose bed.
The major ground work was completed last week with the digger creating two long trenches for new bare root roses and flowering shrubs. I can’t be the only one that loves a digger? I really wish I owned one but I’m not sure I’ve got the right skills for the job….Nelly made it look easy! We weren’t entirely sure what the soil condition would be like as the terraces have been left for a long time but it’s good to see that the trench closest to the hornbeam hedge has got a good soil depth. The second trench is a bit more clay in it’s structure so we will need to work some good stuff into it. We decided to go with narrow, long beds again similar to the farm as we found this worked well in keeping many weeds at bay. The whole area will be mypexed so that will help with the weed management too.
Growing In Raised Beds
A new challenge from leaving the farm is growing some of our stock in raised beds - I call this area our ‘front of house’ garden as it will be visible from within the Duchy Nursery. I’m hoping that these beds will be a nice view for Duchy customers to peer over the low fence and see what they can achieve in their own garden….no pressure on keeping them tidy!
We have created five 2.5 by 2.5 meter raised beds which will be be home to the annuals and perennials. Leaving plenty of wheelbarrow space between each bed so that access isn’t an issue.
Image by John - Holes in the World - ‘Before’ Image of the Raised Bed Area!
‘After’ Image of the Raised Flower Beds at Duchy of Cornwall Nursery - Cornwall Wedding Florist
A big thank you to Roberta of The Good Florist and Jennifer of A Cornish Cat Gardener for all their help in getting the top soil into the raised beds. It was bucketing down on the day and and these images were the best I could take with mud clad hands!
Tunnel Love - Phase 2
We have gone super sized at the Duchy with a tunnel so big I actually might get lost in it! (sorry I’ll share an image of the tunnel when I can find it on my phone!). Our tunnel at the farm was small, not heated and only really served a purpose for shoulder seasons and a bit of protection. Plans will evolve for this one but for now we have one raised bed in it…….don’t laugh! I can confirm I will have ample space for the 170 new bearded iris - phew!
Image by John of Holes in the World - Bearded Iris - British Flowers
The lovely Geoff from Grow Park Nursery, is storing all my early spring plants in warm tunnels, allowing this part of project to be phase two, whilst we concentrate on phase one, the outside. It’s harder to get machinery in this tunnel so we will have to do a lot of it by hand - I shall be living on a diet of spinach so as to bulk up over winter!
Capsule Wardrobe / Capsule Garden
So in a world where fashion is fast moving, cheap and not great on the environment I’ve always strived to own a capsule wardrobe. Beautiful, classic, timeless pieces that last longer and don't end up in landfill. I then thought this is a great way to describe my new garden! We will be creating a capsule garden of all the key ingredients I can’t buy, ensuring we have the compulsory bends and curves in flowers that add that touch of homegrown. Colour palettes and tones will be carefully considered through the growing season and it should go without saying that we will continue with our British Flowers mantra as that’s the way we roll!
Home Grown Flowers - Cornwall Florist. Image by John of Holes in the World
Workshops
Next year I will run a handful of relaxed floral classes inside the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery Glasshouse. These will be two hour classes on varying topics dependant on the season. Groups will be kept at 6 - 8 people and each class will finish in time for you to feast in the cafe after.
I will also be designing a new garden workshop next year, watch this space for its launch!
Looking up to the new Garden Gate garden. Image by John of Holes in the World.
Your thoughts?
In an industry that is ever evolving and changing I’m always keen to hear from you guys as to what you might like to see here on the blog, or perhaps courses you are interested in taking? Please do feel free to email me if you have any suggestions.
Thanks. x
