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June 2008

We had a lovely group of children from the Lowerhouses J & I school for a visit to the garden and a short talk on local history. We didn't plan an agenda, which was just as well for they set their own after the first few minutes of shyness had passed. The most important questions we were asked were:

    May we play with the gravel?
    Are you married or do you live together?
    How much did you pay for the house?

July 2008

After much consideration we bit the bullet and cleared out the ground floor of the barn. The staircase to the loft was positioned in the centre and we have removed this and installed a new one in an end bay. The extra space inspired us to carry on with the cleaning and during the month we cleared the cobwebs and remaining detritus and painted the walls and ceiling. Chairs and tables now provide a covered area for displays, refreshments and talks. 

August 2008

The new plaster in the back part of the former cross passage (the downstairs lavatory) is now drying  and the new boards on the ceiling have covered up the oak floor joists once again. Archaeologists believe this room contains timber dating to the late 14th C. We hope to have the room fettled and painted by the end of the month.

We always seem to moan about the weather delaying work on the Elizabethan garden. Well, it has happened again. The rain at the beginning of the month made a real mess of some plants in the knot so we shall be out snipping to try and re-establish some structure.

We had a visit from an assessor of the National Garden Scheme. We failed the test as the garden is still under development and is not mature enough. Unofficially we were advised to learn to love the garden as much as we do the house - that was good advice.

September 2008

We seem to have spent the month laying white gravel over the hardcore. The effort was worth it as it reflects light and made the paths more attractive.

The garden opens for Heritage Open Days and we always get one or two eccentric visitors - this year was no exception. The woman in question was a knowledgeable plant person and she added to our knowledge of the use of the plants; here are a few examples:
        She found an ointment made from the leaves of pot marigolds eased the soreness of her nipples whilst breast feeding~
        The "pint" in cuckoo pint (lords and ladies) comes from the Latin for penis
        She identified nipplewort from the shape of its flowers

The mother of a 10 year girl in the group must have wondered what she would set her eyes on next!

After clearing away tangled bushes of philadelphus, I planted a bank in the wood with wild heather.

November 2008

The two 18th C weavers' cottages at the end of the lane have changed hands and we hope the long needed restoration has started. We had thought of bidding for them, but the idea of starting a big new project put us off. The new owner employed a dry stone waller to rebuild the wall on the lane and he made an excellent job of the work. As a result we have now used him to build a 20 feet long wall in the wood as part of our plan to make it more accessible.

December 2008

Some years ago we visited a garden at the Dower House at Morville Hall, Bridgnorth, Shropshire. The garden was created by Dr Katherine Swift and earlier this year she published her book "The Morville Hours" in which she describes her experiences over the 15 years the task took. The book contains a great amount of other detail and comes with our recommendation as a good and interesting read.

The work on the new wall in the wood has finished. We hope to receive some inspiration that will guide to the next phase. A number of oak saplings have appeared in the last few years and we have thought of removing the ageing sycamore trees in the next few years and allow the oak to grow with established beech trees.

Thinking back over the year we have not seen any blackcaps or goldfinches and few nuthatches. Greater spotted woodpeckers have appeared on the feeders a few times, but not as regularly as last year and even the ubiquitous blue and great tits and the robins seem reduced in numbers. The bobbing pied wagtails seemed to have a forsaken us, but a few greys arrived in early December to amuse us. We wonder whether the invasion of grey squirrels and magpies is the cause - we have not seen so many since we moved here 10 years ago.

February 2009

We have completed the clearing out of the barn and the painting of the walls and floor. This has provided us with a weatherproof area for visitors to sit down and have refreshments and for us to display items for sale and historical items.

April 2009

The knot garden suffered badly from the cold weather. In the SW corner the winter savory all but disappeared. The cotton lavender fared better, but gaps have appeared in some places. The box was not damaged. One lesson we have learnt is that the plants need regular renewing so that weak growth is removed before the frost gets to the plants. 

9 July 2009

Whilst in Huddersfield to attend the re-opening of the Ramsden Building at the University, the Duke of Somerset asked if he could visit the hall. In 1883 the then duke opened the building that was then called the Huddersfield Technical School and Mechanics Institution. Sir John William Ramsden, the fifth baronet and a previous owner of the hall, married Guendolen the daughter of the duke and the connection is recorded in Somerset Road, Somerset Bridge and the Somerset Arms. We attended the ceremony and also had the opportunity to meet the Sir John Ramsden, the ninth baronet.

15 July 2009

Work starts on replacing damaged stone slates on the front of the roof and replacing rotten timber on the gable of the dormer window at the rear.

27 July 2009

Work has finished on the main roof and the dormer at the rear of the house. We took the opportunity to replace the dickey finial on the gable and repainted all of the dormer. The 160 replacements for the frost damaged plants in the knot garden have arrived and so far we have made slow progress with the replanting. And at long last we have bedded in the posts for the carvings of heraldic lion and dragon and these will be on display for the first during the August Open Days.

16 September 2009

This evening we gave an illustrated talk on the hall to the members of the Wentworth Castle Garden Society. This was our first such talk and we felt a bit nervous speaking to a society of knowledgeable gardeners. However, the evening went very well. When I listed some of the plants having aphrodisiac qualities, a person in the audience asked if they did any good. I was a bit miffed when Christine said "No".

Following the success of the evening and an invitation to talk to National Trust members at East Riddlesden Hall in March, we decided to offer to give talks to more groups.

October 2009

One matter has annoyed us more than any other over the last 11 years, and that is the state of the wooden gate at the end of the private drive on to Wood Lane. Climbing over it had become a challenge for some of the local children and eventually weather and ill use brought its life to an end. This month we had a pair of taller metal gates fitted that should prevent the high jumping. We took the opportunity to dig up the rough hardcore on the Wood Lane side of the gate and had new stones re-laid with a two coverings of tarmac.

Hardly any wind-blown rubbish lands in front of or comes though the new gate - a great advantage compared with the old one. However, we have to keep on our toes, for people coming down the hill on Longley Lane can now see through the gate onto the green lane beyond.

November 2009

 We do complain about the weather a great deal, but the last few weeks have caused a great deal of frustration. The rain and high winds brought the leaves down a couple of weeks earlier than last year and this needed concentrated attention. The beech trees have deposited an enormous amount of seed shells on to the gravel and getting these up when they are wet causes back ache.

The wet and high winds have prevented further work on the path into the wood, although we made good progress in October. We have started to cut steps into the steep bank on the N boundary with the idea of completing a circular path. We found some 17th C pottery and oyster and limpet shells, so maybe this was the area of an old rubbish tip.

March 2010

After suffering the coldest night of the winter at the beginning of March the weather has improved slowly and we have spent a few days outside doing work we usually do at the beginning of February. It is too early to say whether the knot garden suffered with the frosts, but we have a few spare plants to use as replacements. We have started again on the path in the wood and secured some of the fencing along the boundary. The house smells of new paint after we had not re-painted some rooms since shortly after we moved here in 1998.

We had an interesting afternoon giving an illustrated talk to the members of the Friend of East Riddlesden Hall - it was a pleasant experience. Whilst Spring has come late we have had the first evening group - the earliest so far.

May 2010

The knot suffered badly in the cold spell in February and March. The cotton lavender suffered the most and the all the new plants I put in in the Autumn died. There is a little consolation as small shoots have appeared from the bases of the older plants so all is not lost, but we expect to have to replant all the outer border later in the year.

We have made great strides (pun) with the path up the north bank of the wood, and one can now do a short and energetic circular walk; until we have fixed the final steps it is not safe for visitors to use, but by August we hope to have the these completed and gravel laid. We have made progress in clearing the N and W banks of all manner of weeds and bushes (particularly philadelphus) that sprouted up over the last 10 years and intend to move self seeded plants from the front garden here to stabilise the soil and provide colour and food for insects. Sitting on the bench in the wood is a delight on a warm day, and with the sounds of the birds one can imagine being deep in the countryside, even though a road is 20 yards away. After leaving the most of the banks fallow for the next four or five months we shall seed them with wildflowers in the Autumn.

One action we are proud of is the successful removal and replanting of two oak saplings from the line of the new pathway. Because they appeared in 2005 we have given them names of Mars and Neptune, two of Nelson's fleet at Trafalgar. Mars was six feet tall with a deep root, which we managed to dig out undamaged; it is now in the border hedge and looks to have settled in. Neptune was smaller and easier to move and its leaves have just opened.

June 2010

We have started what we hope is the last dirty and dusty job - the removal of the modern plaster from the front wall of the former dining room. We had hoped to find earlier plaster underneath (as with the rest of the room), but the modern stuff goes straight onto the stones. By the end of the month we hope to have this roomed cleared and the remaining bits from the guest bedroom, then we can start on re-plastering with lime plaster.

September 2010

Work started on the next phase of the wall in the wood - taking up it part of the bank. After a couple days we decided it looked so good we would have it extended along the new path to the top. Other commitments means the waller had to finish and will start again in the Spring. The amount of stone recovered from the bank surprised us. It looks as if the builders of the barn in the 1970s dumped excess stone to get rid of it.

Mires Beck Nursery at North Cave supplied many of the ancient variety of flowers planted in the front garden. We had a visit from Judy Burrows, a wild flower specialist at the nursery, to show her what we had done. She kindly brought some more flowers for us. She gave us ideas for the remaining plantings in the wood.

The search for the remaining flowers continued. Quite by chance we called into Golden Garden Nursery in Todmorden and Peter Golden proved to be a gem. He located all the flowers and promised to get for us by November.

A kind visitor gave us a medallion she found in her garden. It celebrates the 21st birthday of Sir John William Ramsden (5th baronet) on 14th September 1952. The reverse shows the Ramsden arms.

October 2010

This month brought a rare opportunity to look back 45 years. In the 1960s I was part of a group that stopped Manchester City Council demolishing Baguley Hall and ownership passed to English Heritage. This month we had an invitation to visit the building, which is listed Grade I and not open to the public. To my surprise it did not look much different from what I remembered all those years ago. The guide told us English Heritage had spent a large amount of money stabilising the structure, but did not intend to renovate the building. It is now for sale with an obligation on the buyer to restore it. Any takers? 

November 2010

I had an interesting few days splitting plants in the front garden and planting them in both parts of the wood. The bit on the W side of Wood lane produces problems due its steepness. But it also a couple of slow springs and some rock outcrops, so provides interesting features for planting.

The plants arrived from Golden Nursery, but bad weather prevented planting.

January 2011

I know - you've read it before. The appalling weather prevented any planting in the garden. It got so cold that part of the fountain bowl broke off, which we shall try and put back with some sticky stuff.

Work started on re-pointing the wall in the back hall.

February 2011

The remaining ancient varieties of roses arrived from Peter Beales Roses. Quite surprisingly, the ground defrosted for a couple days and I have now planted them all - mainly by the barn, but some in the wood.

April 2011

The milder weather has allowed safe access to the wood again and our dry stone waller has continued where he left off in the autumn. It is amazing how quickly he works. He has finished much of the wall up the steep path at the north end and will come back next month when we have decided whether to have it in a continuous slope or stepped.

May 2011

We decided to have the wood wall stepped and it is now complete and looks imposing. In order to complete the path and the wall we had to cut into the bank, and although it is strong enough to retain the slope the waller advised us to place large stones behind the wall to give it extra body.  We have now done this. Rummaging in the stables we found some heavy gauge wire mesh which we buried buried the wall to provide greater strength. We have used large stones recovered from the bank to give more weight and also provide niches for wild flowers.

June 2011

A large supply of cotton lavender arrived from PB Horticulture at Shelley to replace the plants lost over the winter. We paid a visit to Mire Beck Nursery at North Cave to collect a large supply of wild and early flowers for the wood and to fill gaps in the front garden. We had not completed the planting by the end of the month, but should do by mid-July.

A group visit at the end of the month and a garden party in early July provided a great incentive to finish the minor niggling jobs in the house and the wood. We completed the pointing in the rear hall, the remaining steps in the wood path and laid over a ton of gravel at the back of the house (the sycamore trees at the back look beautiful, but they drop a sticky liquid that stains everything underneath them).

July 2011

Robin had his 70th birthday in April, but we delayed the garden party until 2nd July in the hope of better weather, to show off the garden to advantage and to allow his elder daughter to come back from abroad. Gimbals Restaurant of Sowerby Bridge did the catering. Everything went perfectly and the weather gave us one of the sunniest days for some weeks.