We started the month off with the yearly grape harvest on a glorious early autumn sunny morning. The grapes are all picked by hand by an enthusiastic group of volunteers. It was a good harvest not a bumper crop, but still respectable and clean – we should be sampling the results in 18 months.
The grass has continued to grow so we have been mowing and strimming to keep it all in check – if somebody could develop a grass that stops growing when we go home that would be great!
We were busy planting bulbs this month and will see the results next year. We have planted out lots more of the wild daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) through the woodlands which will naturalize and carpet the floor over the coming years.
As part of our autumn tidy up of the Landscape we have cut and cleared the herbaceous borders at the Walled Gardens, the Chinese Bridge Peninsula and the large border adjacent to the Temple of Bacchus. All the debris is shredded up and added to our compost heaps, to be re-used around the Landscape.
Autumn arrived at Painshill towards the end of the month, with the colours blazing away in reds and golds mixed up with all manner of browns from natures extensive painting box. The colours will only improve over the next few weeks, with the Swamp Cypress (Taxodium distichum), in front of the Mausoleum, changing from bright green through to a rich cinnamon brown reflecting in the lake.
Towards the end of the month we spent a little time setting up for “Celebrate Trees”. We constructed wooden cars, xylophones, nests and a balance walk in different locations around the Landscape. In addition, we also installed a very popular fairy house at the east end of the lake and a swing opposite the Grotto. Most of these structures will stay in place until the end of November, so come and have a look.
Best wishes The Landscape Team
