It’s been a busy few weeks. The builders have completed all the steel edging around the drive, Hew and I have had a site visit to see how our bespoke metal gates that we’re having made for the new walled garden are coming along – superbly is the answer, we’ve enjoyed giving lots of guided house and garden tours and I’ve been off to various shows including Helmingham Hall Plant and Craft Fair (yes I did come back with lots of plants!) and the Suffolk Show.
One of my favourite joys of this season is the range of scents and one of my favourites of all is honeysuckle. Walking through Columbine – especially at dusk – I can smell the honeysuckle before I see it, filling the garden with a sweet, fruity and warm fragrance. Yet it never becomes overpowering in the way that jasmine or even lilies can.
The botanical reason for this strength of smell is to attract the moths that pollinate it – hence its increased power at night. They can apparently detect it up to a quarter of a mile away. Our noses may not to be that sensitive but the lovely scent of honeysuckle is enough to draw anyone into the dusk of their garden on a summer’s evening and the lovely flowers earn their keep well enough in the brightness of the midday sun. A perfect plant – right around the clock.
We are planning to plant some in our new walled garden. It is wonderfully good for all wildlife. The flowers start white but turn yellow after they have been pollinated by bees and eventually bear round red fruits that are important food for songbirds. The tangle of stems makes excellent cover for nests.
Most honeysuckles flower on the previous year’s wood so I prune if necessary immediately after flowering. Nearly all honeysuckles will grow in shade but if the flowers can have sunshine for half the day so much the better – the fragrance will be noticeably stronger. So to keep our garden honeysuckle in tip top condition I provide the roots with rich soil and plenty of shade and the flowers with some sunshine – preferably in the evening.
There are many different varieties of honeysuckle but my all time favourite is the wild honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum. No garden should be without one – which has got me thinking……I rather fancy getting another one and twining it up an apple tree in our orchard here at Columbine.
I am giving a very special talk on the evening of Friday September 12th being held in our 18th century barn here at Columbine – all proceeds going to St. Elizabeth Hospice. In a very personal account I will be talking about my love of gardening and the part I’ve played in the development of Columbine’s gardens over the last 28 years. Drink on arrival and a chance to walk around the gardens after the talk. Places are limited so best to book early.
To book tickets for ‘Columbine Hall – A Garden Love Affair –- a talk by Kate Elliott’ call the hospice’s Great Garden Trail team on 01473 723600 or click to go to the website
Midsummer’s Day – June 24th – is the high point of the year. The most important thing is to enjoy your garden as much as possible in every way possible. Do not let a moment slip by.
Kate Elliott came to Columbine Hall in 1997 when she was sixteen. She is now head gardener but also helps with managing the property generally and in conducting guided tours.