Trelissick, standing on a promontory at the head of the Fal estuary, is a 1750′s house surrounded by parkland and a 20th Century garden. The 375 acres of parkland offer truly extensive walking trails and absolutely stunning waterside views.

The gardens comprise mainly woodland with an extensive collection of camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas, photinia and hydrangeas.  At its heart is a relatively small area of lawn and herbaceous planting, but nonetheless full of vivid colour and interest.  A new orchard, featuring local varieties, was planted recently, and there is also a “sensory garden” near the entrance and ubiquitous shop.  However, this is perhaps a garden where size, rather than interest, is its main claim to fame. (The house isn’t open to visitors.)

Trebah, near Falmouth, manages to achieve an entirely different feel.  The main garden runs down a valley, leading down from the house to a secluded beach on the Helford river.  The plantings are truly varied, and very extensive.  Near to the house are mainly Mediterranean plants, leading succssively past the stumpery (really a fernery) and cascade, “bamboozle”, gunnera passage (where you can walk under their giant leaves), rhododendron valley, various ponds, the hydrangea valley, before arriving at the little beach at Polgwiddon Cove where they even offer complimentary loan of bucket and spade, in case you’ve forgotten yours (well, I did say it was a busman’s holiday ).

Trebah – bronze fountain | Hydrangeas beside Mallard Pond
(Click To Enlarge)

(If you’re interested, I’ve posted some more photos on Flickr and our Facebook page.)

Duncan Heather

Elspeth Briscoe

My Garden School is the world’s first online school for gardeners, and it went live yesterday 3rd April 2011.  A whole host of short courses are available, and – perhaps this is what’s so special – course assignments are actually marked by the tutors, so you get real feedback from the experts.  Check back as the year progresses, as more courses are being added all the time.

MyGardenSchool Introduction from MyGardenSchool on Vimeo.

I can’t help thinking this is a really great idea. After all, how else could you access expert tuition wherever you are in the world? And you can even ask specific questions and get expert replies, too.

….and Good Luck to Duncan and Elspeth

I was going to post something about planting for spring interest, but that will have to wait as my thoughts drifted to spring of last year, when I kept finding dead bumble bees on my daily dog walking route, through fields of oilseed rape.  I found so many dead bees, day after day, that on one walk I collected them all up – over 30 in less than an hour!   The explanation offered by the “experts” I contacted was that the bees had probably died of cold.  But I have my doubts.

Today the UN published a report on the decline of bee populations around the world.  The significance of bees to human survival can hardly be overstated: of the crops that provide 90% of our food, 71% are polinated by bees.  The report’s findings indicate the problem is widespread, and the causes are complex.  However, pesticides are one of the key suspects.

Apis mellifera on Cephalaria gigantea

Italy, Germany, France and Slovenia have all banned certain pesticides because of their deadly effect on bees.  Sadly, despite some compelling evidence, both new disclosures (check out this Independent article) as well as older news (e.g this  soil association briefing), the UK Government doesn’t seem ready to act.  Perhaps the lobbying has been a bit half-hearted – it emerged in January that the British Beekeepers’ Association had been receiving money from the pesticide manufacturers.

So, what can you do?  Well, today the British Beekeepers’ Association issued an invitation to a debate at the House of Commons, so if you’re in town why not pop along and have your say?  Meanwhile, back home in the garden we can steer clear of bee-deadly chemicals:  complimentary planting is always a good idea, there’s a list of pesticides to avoid here, and a free download from www.biobees.com here.

Please also join the AVAAZ Petition to get neonicotinoides banned in the EU and US – as I write this over 1.2 million people have already signed up!

Lets hope it isn’t too late for our familiar honey bee Apis mellifera……..

Update 20 June 2011: Slovenia confirms neonicotinides caused bee deaths, and announce lawsuit against manufacturers.

A well maintained hedge is a smart looking boundary, and provides both privacy for humans and shelter for wildlife.  A neglected hedge can inhibit access, cause problems with the neighbours, excessive shade etc..  So best to keep it trimmed and tidy.

Song Thrush Nest (photo: Rob Wolton www.hedgelink.org.uk)

Prunus spinosa (photo Rob Wolton www.hedgelink.org.uk)

Many deciduous hedge plants, such as Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) and Prunus spinosa (blackthorn), flower and fruit from the previous year’s growth.  Hence, if you want a good crop of berries you should prune alternate sides each year.  Ideally, wait until after the birds have eaten most of the berries – typically, around now.  I think its best to prune a few centimeters above the previous year’s growth, to encourage vigorous fruiting, and then cut back more severely every few years.

Try to achieve a slight taper from bottom to top, as this allows more light to reach the base of the hedge, and helps prevent gaps at the bottom.  If its a formal hedge it’s worth using a taut string as a guide, to ensure the top is absolutely flat and level.  Formal evergreens – Taxus baccata (yew) and Buxus sempervirens (box)  – are best lightly trimmed two or three times in mid and late summer (nesting birds permitting).  Don’t forget to remove the trimmings, to minimise the potential for disease.

Remember that confiers won’t regrow from old wood, so don’t be overenthusiastic with the hedge trimmer if you don’t want brown patches.  I was once told that if you trim conifers in November or February you can get away with cutting into old wood, but I’ve never put it to the test. (Let me know if you try it and it works, but don’t blame me if it doesn’t!)   Best to keep fast growing conifers well under control from the outset.  I have to confess that we inherited our towering leylandii with the house, and it’s larger than I can reach with a long reach trimmer and step ladder: today involved bribing a chap in a huge John Deere tractor with £20 and a bottle of wine, which was a much better deal than two days of hard graft with the petrol trimmer .

forget the petrol hedge trimmer....... (photo: Rob Wolton www.hedgelink.org.uk)