Grass isn’t always greener
THE grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side, but it might looka little better.
So this is the time of year to make sure your lawns don’t let you down and everything is in trim.
At Arley there’s a lot of lawn to look after in the Walled Garden and if it isn’t pristine it can detract from everything else that is on display.
So right now we are scarifying the grass. The immediate effect is not great, in fact it can make things look a little scruffy.
However, we hope to reap the benefits of this effort next year when our visitors will appreciate the quality of the turf under their feet.
You can use a rake at home to scarify your lawns.
Basically you are aiming to remove the moss and other unnecessary material that gathers over time.
Our next treatment will be to hollow core the turf. This involves removing cores of soil, which allows the earth to breathe.
You can get tools of varying size to suit the size of your garden when you complete this task.
Herbaceous border lives on
Visitors are always surprised at this time of year to discover the Herbaceous Border is still stunning. It has a few more weeks of life left in it before the colours start to fade and the plants die back. So enjoy it while it lasts.
We really do get so much worth out of this historic part of the garden, which is believed to be the first double herbaceous border planted in England.
Other highlights include the planting in the centre of the Kitchen Garden.The Arbour Walk is lined with colour so if you spot a particular plant that you would like to identify do stop one of our gardeners and ask them for their advice.
Unwelcome visitor gets pasted
Visitors to Arley this month will notice a paste on some unwanted growth in the gardens.
We are having to treat some bindweed, which has wrapped itself around more welcome plants in the Walled Garden and elsewhere.
To treat it we have to paste Roundup Gel onto the weed’s leaves, we can’t spray it as it would be impossible to miss the plants we want to retain.
Listen out for the wildlife
Listen out for the wildlife in your gardens this month.
The robins have started declaring their territories and it really adds to the atmosphere.
Obviously their song gives you an indication of their whereabouts and we are regularly seeing the males fighting off intruders.
Over Arley there are still house martins grouping in big numbers so make sure you look up and admire their aerial displays.