Tag Archives: trees

Not to be Sneezed At

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The gardeners are planting like mad at the moment and the Italian Garden and the Sunk Garden beds are as full as a Chelsea Show Garden. Look out for blue plumbago and standard scarlet geraniums amongst others – this is going to be one colourful summer season!

But, while we wait, some of our most interesting plants are in flower just now. A favourite of our visitors is the Handkerchief Tree, the first one is in full bract at the moment on the Drive.

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And a close-up…..

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Davidia involucrata was named after French priest and naturalist Father Armand David who was also the first westerner to describe the giant panda, ‘a most excellent black and white bear’.

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Echium pininana, or giant viper’s-bugloss, from the Canary Islands – see lots of these statuesque flower spikes along the approach path to the house and in the Lily Wood. NB: The viper’s bugloss (Hadena irregularis), a noctuid moth in the tribe Hadenini, whose caterpillar feeds on viper’s bugloss and related plants – thank you Wikipedia!

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Many visitors are fans of the beautiful blue poppy, Meconopsis, blooming just now in the Lily Wood.

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The Mexican Orange Blossom Choisya ternata shrubs are scenting the air at the north front of the house.

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Our stunning Aeonium Voodoo plant, a native of the Canary Islands, stands guard in the Courtyard, with its yellow pyramidal panicles of flowers growing high on the stem.

Ellen

Spooky happenings in the gardens

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Wednesday 31 October 2012


The Cemetery Bride. (I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but it is really Rachel Hart, Events Manager)

Hallowe’en Enchanted Garden in Mount Stewart. Lots a scary fun, illuminated gardens, an enchanted tree trail with skeletons and ghosts (we were scared even during the day), dancing to the stilt walking Skeleton Samba Band, bodies hanging from trees, bonfires and braziers. A lot of screaming, this was from the visitors.

Work today – autumn clearing along the path to Reception, dead heading, weeding, sweeping leaves, this is never ending in the autumn and will probably have to be done again next week. Lots of work done in the nursery, pricking out Delphinium elatum Major Crombies strain (these were put on the heated bench), potting on Amicia zygomestris, Hydrangea Renee Steineger, Lavender Munstead, Tradescantia Purple Sabre, and Salvia Blepharophylla. I think we are expected to remember all these names. A lot of sorting out was done in the heated glass house – some plants put on the heated bench, others on a bench to be kept quite dry, more on a bench that would need to be kept quite damp, we were learning a lot from Alan (Propagator). This glass house has been fitted completely with bubble wrap, walls and roof and a heater kept on permanently, a lovely place to work.

Jill

There’s some serious planting going on in the Italian Garden

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Wednesday 18 April 2012


Trillium grandiflorum. Lily Wood.
I go looking for this every year and only once was disappointed when it had been completely blackened by an overnight frost.

Today was serious planting day in the Italian Garden. First of all we dug up hundreds of Hermodactylus tuberosus (Widow iris) which had been planted randomly around the yew trees about five years ago. We gathered some of them into groups of about ten and replanted them. Dianthus Barbatus ‘albus’, Dianthus Barbatus ‘deschberg’ and Antirrhinum majus ‘flavee’ were also planted around the two yew trees. On the raised beds we planted Gaillardia ‘Mesa yellow’, Eryngium planum ‘blue glitter’, Rudbeckia hirta and Correopsis presto. Hundreds of plants went in so hopefully it will be amazing.

Jill

Welcoming in the new arrivals

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Wednesday 28 March 2012

Some of the new stock that Neil and Lisa collected from Wales a couple of weeks ago are being brought down from the nursery. There is nothing more exciting than seeing a truck-load of goodies trundling down the path. Moths to a flame we were all over to have a look. Planting of these unusual trees and shrubs has already started and someone is going to be busy watering them in this dry weather.

Paul and Neil unloading the precious new stock

We were working in the nursery planting on plugs of Dahlia Bishop of Oxford and Salvia patens Cambridge Blue into 4inch pots. These were being planted in organic multi purpose compost with approx. 10% added vermiculite. This was being done in the polytunnel and naturally it was the hottest day of the year so we had to keep going outside to cool off. We worked in a conveyor belt system, one cleaning the pots, one filling them, one putting the plants in and another doing the labeling. We got hundreds done so no wonder we had to keep going out for air.

Jill

Sourcing new plants for our gardens

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Wednesday 7 March 2012

Some of the new 2,000 plants brought over from Wales last week

This may not look all that exciting but it is an amazing collection of trees, shrubs and plants that Neil and Lisa went over to Wales to collect last week. Wonderful names such as Ampelopsis megalophylla to Maianthemum flexuosum and Schefflera aff.brevipedicelleta to Tripterygium regelii v. occidentale. Will we ever learn the names? Patricia had spent nearly two days moving them all into the polytunnel and was fussing around them like a mother hen, worrying because a very cold night has been forecast. The planting of these will start quite soon in all areas. We, the volunteers, hope that we will be part of this.

The Gardens open to the public at the end of this week so there was great activity everywhere. We were working in the pergola area making it all look pretty good. The re-turfing in the Sunk Garden has been finished and looks wonderful. Re-planting the Mairi Garden and the Italian Garden is continuing. Bad patches on the lawns have been temporarily re-turfed. Spring flowers, shrubs and trees bursting out everywhere. What a wonderful time of the year at Mount Stewart.

Jill

Doreen taking the challenge

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Wednesday 14 December 2011

Only two volunteers on duty today, doing something different. Jonathan’s aim in life is to keep the volunteers from getting bored. So there we were cutting down trees in the area behind the pump house, beside the lake. At least, Doreen was doing all the sawing while I leaned on the trees with one hand, pointed them in the right direction and pretended I was helping. Doreen is amazing at rising to a challenge and will do anything that is suggested to her, while I just whimper and flap my hands a bit. Oh to be young.

Exciting plans are being made for this area behind the pump house (details about these plans to come later). A very large expanse is being cleared and as well as cutting down some trees we were cutting out dead branches, pulling out ivy, cutting away the lower two feet of foliage from the shrubs that are staying in place (to help prevent the spread of Phytophthora ramorum if it ever hits Mount Stewart, see Diary 5th Oct), and clearing away all the debris. A lot of work in this area has already been done over the last few weeks so our bit was just a drop in the ocean. But it was a very satisfying day so thank you, Jonathan, we were most definitely not bored.

Jill

There’s lots happening on Rhododendron Hill

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Wednesday 5 October 2011

There is a lot happening on Rhododendron Hill. There is concern about the spread of Phytophthora ramorum, or sudden oak death, in Northern Ireland. This is a fungus-like organism closely related to the organism that causes potato blight. In the UK it is found most commonly on shrubs such as Rhododendron, Viburnum and Camellia and Larch trees. Luckily there is no sign of it at Mount Stewart.

Norma and Wilf. I think it must have been the altitude on Rhododendron Hill that went to their heads!

Obviously everything is closely monitored and one of the things that Ian Marshall (Lead Gardener) is doing to help prevent the spread, if it does ever hit Mount Stewart, is to cut away the bottom two feet of foliage and remove leaf litter from all the rhododendrons on Rhododendron Hill. This is a high priority and a lot of volunteers have been helping Ian with this massive task in this very wide area. This is what some of us were doing today, very different from our usual jobs and very rewarding when we saw the piles of foliage we had dealt with.

Jill