Head Gardener’s Notes - January

As February quickly approaches there is a hive of activity throughout the gardens and estate. After what seems a very mild and quick winter thus far, we begin busying ourselves with all the tasks in preparation for spring.

Our Rhododendrons and Camellias have been forced forward by the milder weather and more blooms appear daily. It would be quite nice to see a few more colder days to hold things back a little. Around the gardens various plants are still flowering out of sequence with Acacias,Brugmansias and Bechsonarias all flowering in the Jungle!

The Heligan Estate team have carried out some long overdue rejuvenative works on certain historic Rhododendrons and Camellias along Western Ride and Sikkim. This is part of our long term plan to rejuvenate areas over a 7 year cycle meaning that these great specimens have another chance at showing their wares for another century. It also gives us a chance to look at disease and to make the best horticultural decisions. We have also been dealing with the out of control Laurel hedge behind the Scented Garden so that we can form a thicker, lower and more manageable hedge. All of these processes have an initial look of bareness but I can assure you that they will form wonderful, romantic parts of the garden again within a couple of years.

Our preparations in the Kitchen Garden are frantic as we grab every dry moment to get on the soil to complete all the preparations. The seed potatoes are now well chitted and our autumn sown broad beans beginning to get away well.

Unfortunately we are having real issues this year with mice, nibbling away at the Apple trees on the Apple Arch. We are humanely trapping and move the critters to further parts of the estate on a daily basis!

I do hope that you are able to visit us in February to see how our plans are progressing!

Iain