{"version":"https:\/\/jsonfeed.org\/version\/1","title":"My Feed Title","home_page_url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news.html","feed_url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news.json","description":"Langdale News Feed","author":{"name":"Adrian James"},"items":[{"title":"Succulent collection for sale","date_published":"2023-09-24T19:41:55+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/succulent-collection-for-sale.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/succulent-collection-for-sale.html","content_html":"
Succulents for sale<\/p>\n\n
I want to sell the majority of my succulent collection.<\/p>\n
If anyone out there is interested, or knows someone who might be, please get in touch using the Contact page.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/21.succulent-collection-for-sale\/Sep230586.jpg"},{"title":"Bluebells in August?","date_published":"2023-08-15T19:45:19+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/bluebells-in-august.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/bluebells-in-august.html","content_html":"
Celebrating our latest glass garden sculpture<\/p>\n\n
Our latest acquisition in the garden created by the amazing Wendy Stafford at The Art Pad.<\/p>\n
No watering or feeding, repotting or deadheading required, and they will flower all year round!<\/p>\n
You can enjoy these bluebells at any time of the year!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/20.bluebells-in-august\/Aug230149.jpg"},{"title":"Garden Open Event","date_published":"2023-03-25T18:19:14+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/garden-open-event.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/garden-open-event.html","content_html":"
One-off opening in July<\/p>\n\n
This is a combined event with Offenham Flower Club, of which Sheila is a member.<\/p>\n
Admission is by ticket, details on the poster below.<\/p>\n
Refreshments at the hall 11am - 1.30pm.\u00a0 Refreshments at the garden and the Art Pad 11am - 4pm.<\/p>\n
If you need any further information, get in touch through the Contact section of the web site.<\/p>\n
Hopefully you can make it, and we look forward to seeing you then.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/19.garden-open-event\/Oct220107.jpg"},{"title":"Woodland Walk","date_published":"2023-02-24T20:54:31+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/woodland-walk.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/woodland-walk.html","content_html":"
Making change is a funny old thing...<\/p>\n\n
Making changes in a garden is a funny old thing.\u00a0 There are times when you do something that either costs lots of money or takes lots of effort (or both) and you hardly notice the change that has been made.\u00a0 At the other end of the scale, you can do something that costs a modest amount and really doesn't take much effort, and the effect is huge.\u00a0 Case in point, from time to time (probably about every 2 - 3 years) we freshen up the path in the Woodland Walk.\u00a0 In keeping with the context, we have always used chipped bark to do this, but the problem with chipped bark is that it does rot down very quickly and isn't very pleasant to walk on once it has done so.\u00a0 Last year while visiting Batsford Arboretum, we noticed they put wood chips as opposed to chipped bark down on their woodland paths, and it looked very smart.\u00a0 So this year we have done the same.\u00a0 Instead of buying in many bags of chipped bark from the local DIY, we bought a large dumpy bag (one tonne builders merchants bag?) of wood chips, at considerably less cost.\u00a0 It was easy to wheelbarrow round and spread over the path in the Woodland Walk, and the transformation is amazing - we too now have very smart paths, we think it will last much longer, and it has just lifted that whole area of the garden wonderfully.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/18.woodland-walk\/Feb230491.png"},{"title":"Happy New Year","date_published":"2023-01-02T20:12:39+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/happy-new-year.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/happy-new-year.html","content_html":"
And off we go again...<\/p>\n\n
Christmas is behind us and we're already into the first days of January. The seasonal wheel has turned once more and slowly slowly the days are lengthening. It was not possible to garden during that snowy and bitterly cold week just before Christmas, and I'm guessing few of us were thinking of doing so over Christmas period itself. But now it is time to shrug off that gardening inactivity and get cracking out in the garden once more, because the turning of the seasons waits for no-one.<\/p>\n
Our first job is to carefully and sensitively deal with any plants that suffered during those frosts. Over the years we have come to the conclusion that many mature plants are actually hardier than you might think, especially if they are planted in free-draining soil like we garden on here at Langdale, and after a bad frost the best thing to do is to leave them to their own devices until you can see if they are going to come back or not, but clearly a little tidying up can be necessary - for example Agapanthus will not thank you for leaving mushy foliage lying around over their crowns.<\/p>\n
As many of you will know, when it comes to hardiness we garden with essentially three types of plants here - (1) those that you would consider completely hardy in even the coldest of UK winters, (2) those that are completely tender and will stand no frost at all so they go into a frost-free greenhouse for the winter, and (3) those that we might refer to as borderline hardy in that they will survive some frost, say down to -5C, but it is pretty touch and go if it drops lower than that, but they do have to stay out in the garden all the year round and take their chances. So we are well and truly into touch and go territory now, and for sure we will have losses, but for now we are leaving them be to see what they do and we are keeping our fingers crossed. We always say of ourselves that we garden with borderline hardy plants knowingly, and accept that on occasions we will lose some, but the risks are worth it because in general they are some of the most exciting plants we have in the garden. This year is that \"once in a while year\" where we get to put our words into practice!<\/p>\n
I suppose it is a question of outlook. You can let your day be spoiled by what the frost has done to for example Aloe striatula (picture left), or you can enjoy the many things out there which are just getting on with it such as the newly emerging shoots of the lovely Crocus olivieri 'Orange Monarch' (picture right) one of many bulbs we have planted up in terracotta pots so they can be brought out onto the patio where we can enjoy their bright flowers...<\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/17.happy-new-year\/HNY1.jpg"},{"title":"Autumn Bounty","date_published":"2022-11-16T12:17:16+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/autumn-bounty.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/autumn-bounty.html","content_html":"
Autumn Bounty - a display from the garden<\/p>\n\n
On a recent episode of BBC2 Gardeners' World they showed an amazing autumn display from the garden at National Trust's Tyntesfield.\u00a0 We decided we would create a mini display along the same lines using dried seedheads & grasses, fresh flowers, fruit and vegetables from our garden here at Langdale.<\/p>\n
<\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/16.autumn-bounty\/Nov220003.jpg"},{"title":"Picking Pears","date_published":"2022-09-12T20:33:00+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/picking-pears.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/picking-pears.html","content_html":"
Mellow fruitfulness...<\/p>\n\n
Where has the year gone?\u00a0 How can it be time to pick the pears already?\u00a0 Incredible though it seems, it is time.<\/p>\n
This year our still quite small pear tree, Pyrus communis<\/em> 'Concorde' (conference pear), has been absolutely laden with fruit.\u00a0 A month or so ago we became concerned that the weight of the fruit would break the branches, so we supported the branches with a couple of props.\u00a0 All decidedly \"Heath Robinson\", but the props did the trick.\u00a0 Although the pears aren't completely ripe yet, several of them had suffered bird or squirrel damage, so we decided to pick them now and let them finish ripening off the tree (something we have seen recommended irrespective of squirrel damage).\u00a0 You could almost hear the little tree breathing a sigh of relief as the weight of fruit was removed.\u00a0 And it certainly was a very satisfying job to do in the sunshine of an early autumn day, and a huge crop from such a small tree!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/picking-pears\/Sep221050.jpg"},{"title":"What's taters... ?","date_published":"2022-07-09T17:30:40+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/whats-taters.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/whats-taters.html","content_html":" The answer to that much quoted question is \"These are taters!\"<\/p>\n\n Surely one of the great joys of growing your own vegetables, apart from knowing that they haven't had any chemicals sprayed on them and they haven't done any miles, is the taste of the first of the new crop. That handful of new peas straight from the pod, a tomato that is still warm from being in the greenhouse, tender young broad beans, the list is endless - and of course, right up there at the top of the list has to be the taste of the first root of potatoes. The variety is Nichola, and they are a nice waxy potato.\u00a0 These are definitely not going to be \"mashed or made into big golden chips to be had with a nice piece of fried fish\", nor are we going to \"stick 'em in a stew\", no these are going to be boiled, probably with some freshly picked leaves of mint and served with a little butter. Absolutely delicious!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/15.whats-taters\/Jun220656.jpg"},{"title":"Summer celebration!","date_published":"2022-06-29T21:37:25+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/summer-is-here.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/summer-is-here.html","content_html":" All change, it's time for summer...<\/p>\n\n We have two planting schemes per year for the patio - a winter scheme and a summer scheme. The winter scheme is based around dwarf shrubs for winter colour and successional bulbs, which give us continuity through winter and spring. The summer scheme is hot and vibrant, using red flowered fuchsias & begonias to give us an exotic feel through summer and autumn. In particular, the summer planting scheme demands your attention as soon as you walk onto the patio - it is centre stage and star of the show. We enjoy planting up both schemes, but of course when we are doing the summer one we know we have the summer to look forward to!<\/p>\n A job associated with both times of year concerns our little collection of pots - terracotta pots we have collected literally from all over the world. When we plant up the winter scheme it is time for the terracotta pots to go away into their winter quarters (aka the outside loo) to keep them frost free over the winter months. A much more enjoyable task is that of bringing them back out onto the patio as we plant up the summer scheme.<\/p>\n However you celebrate it, enjoy your summer garden!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/14.summer-is-here\/Jun220220.jpg"},{"title":"First cut of the year for Sally's Patch","date_published":"2022-06-29T21:29:53+00:00","id":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/first-cut-of-the-year-for-sallys-patch.html","url":"https:\/\/cdn.langdalegarden.uk\/news\/first-cut-of-the-year-for-sallys-patch.html","content_html":" June is the month in which we give Sally's Patch its first cut of the year.<\/p>\n\n Sally's Patch is an area of grass to the side of the raised vegetable beds in which we have planted a small number of trees & shrubs, and where each year we pop in a few more bulbs. Amongst others, the trees include two crab apples, Malus<\/em> 'Red Sentinel' which in spring is covered in white blossom and by autumn is laden with bright red crabs and the fastigiate Malus toringo<\/em> 'Aros' with handsome deep red foliage.\u00a0 Also the delightful rowan Sorbus vilmorinii<\/em> which has white fruit ageing to pink through summer and outstanding foliage colour in autumn. The shrubs include a couple of small acers and the striking Edgworthia chrysantha<\/em> 'Red Dragon' which puts on showy bright orange flowers on bare stems in March before the foliage arrives. Generally things suitable for smaller garden spaces. The bulbs are crocus, followed by daffodils (mostly small one like Narcissus<\/em> 'Tete a Tete', and a few fritillaries (our soil is really too free draining for them but we just about get away with it), and they have all naturalized in the grass. The planting scheme is completed by a plant that may strike fear into some people, namely cow parsley with its lovely airy umbels of white flowers.<\/p>\n To enable the bulbs and wild flowers to grow, we give the grass a really close cut as near to the mid-winter solstice as the weather will allow (but absolutely before any of the crocus foliage starts to show through). Then we leave it alone to do its successional thing until all of the bulbs have finished and hopefully set & dropped seed but just before the cow parsley is about to go over and drop its seed, usually around the mid-summer solstice, then we cut back & dispose of the cow parsley (to prevent it seeding) before giving the by now rather long and unkempt grass a really good cut. It is very satisfying to do as it rapidly tidies the area up. This year we then planted some corn cockles that a friend had kindly given to us. For the rest of the year we keep the grass short & tidy before the whole process starts again mid December.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>","image":"\/user\/pages\/news\/13.first-cut-of-the-year-for-sallys-patch\/Jun220218.jpg"}]}