As I write two buzzards are soaring steadily above the garden their big, broad wings riding the air with mastery. I love to watch them find the thermals and slowly get higher and higher until I can hardly see them. They have a nest in a tall ash tree in our meadow and at this time of year I have often seen five or six of them flying together which I’m guessing must be the parents and their fully grown babies flying as a family. I love to stand and listen to their instantly recognisable cry. Hew has named one ‘Buzzy’…..actually he calls them all ‘Buzzy’. The robin is called ‘Robbie’, the blackbird ‘Blackie’, the pigeons ‘Pidgie’, the ducks ‘Duckie’…..you’ll see there’s a theme here….
Because July was hot and dry it has also been wonderful to see lots more butterflies, moths and ladybirds in the garden.
The last couple of weeks have been very exciting as we have planted up our new Italianate style walled garden. We have planted climbing and rambling roses to clothe the walls plus honeysuckles and jasmines, so the scent in there will be incredible. In the beds we have gone for exuberant planting with lots of shrub roses and perennials all in pastel shades. And because the garden is a real sun trap we have included olive and lemon trees, a kiwi fruit and cypress trees in Italian terracotta pots. It has been a complete and utter joy to plan, create and plant this new garden and I can’t wait to watch it all grow and mature.
One of my favourite plants is at its best now. This is the giant tobacco plant Nicotiana sylvestris, which we have here at Columbine growing near the front door of the house. It will, with good soil and a few months growing, reach 6ft tall with huge sticky leaves. That makes it dramatic enough. But the flowers are even more stunning – long tubes of white petals hang off the flowerhead like dreadlocks. The flowers shrink and close in bright sunshine and then open in the cool of the evening, releasing their distinctive, musky fragrance. The hotter the sun during the day, the stronger the scent will be in the evening because the oils in the plant heat up and then slowly cool in the night air.
They are tricky to buy as plants – I don’t know why as I am sure they would sell like hot cakes – but easy to grow from seed. I sow the dust-like seed in March or April in a seed tray and provide some warmth. The seedlings grow slowly and are tiny and I prick them out into pots to develop good roots before planting out in early June. They will flower until the first frosts.
August is undoubtedly the best month for our vegetable garden. Next spring’s vegetables such as spring cabbage have been sown just as I gather this summer’s harvest. All fresh and seasonal – there is no better definition of good food.
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.