This was the year that we opened the garden for the first time under the National Gardens Scheme in a group with others locally.
We concentrated all our efforts on maintaining the garden and enjoying watching all the planting mature. Although there were always new ideas we didn’t undertake any changes to the garden at all.
The yew hedge planted in the back garden was starting to grow although it was still smaller than most of the herbaceous plants it was designed to protect! But patience has been rewarded and now in 2017 it is at the height we want, around 4 – 5 feet, and is clipped annually.
The one beehive in the orchard managed to multiply into three by the end of the summer, due to us catching a swarm that emerged from the original hive and another being brought to us specifically for our son to manage (with a little help from us).
Tales from a Country Garden 