Over the last week, work at Rydal has been moving on in leaps and bounds.

The good weather meant, that by Wednesday, we had cleared the site for the new lean-to glasshouse. It will sit on the reconstructed site of the original vine house.

At one time, four separate glasshouses were in use growing peaches, grapes and apricots against the lime rendered walls. Today these are long gone. I do however, intend to get such fruit and vegetables growing at Rydal once again as part of the gardens long-term restoration.

It's remarkable to think of the Cumbrian climate capable of producing such choice fruits that today we take for granted. This was, and still is, largely down to the skill of the head gardener.

Growing fruit and vegetables and being sustainable is something I passionately believe in. In the near future we will supply the hall and caf with fresh ingredients giving visitors, guests and staff the pleasure of good fresh seasonal food throughout the year; a practice so neglected in our modern' lifestyles.

Groundwork will begin this Monday on the foundations and base for the glasshouse.

As the work is going to involve a digger, we will create to the front of the original vine house beds a series of small terraces. Once dug and manured, these south-facing beds will be used to grow various sun loving crops.

Rabbit proofing will have to be re-instated prior to any planting to avoid any significant loss and potential headaches The second half of the week was spent clearing the first of the four large herbaceous borders. The soil hasn't been turned over let alone weeded for some years. This has resulted in a dense mat of soil clinging moss and reed with vast quantities of Crocosmia scattered throughout. Progress is slow and at times tedious but with two, the steady plod method always works well.

The gardens soil ranges from thin, cloggy and extremely stony to rich, deep and free draining, often in the space of a few spade widths. Lots of organic matter and well-rotted horse manure will be incorporated during the coming months to feed what must be a hungry soil.

I'm relieved at what we've achieved this week, especially in the herbaceous border. I had envisaged it taking far longer. The impact of clearing and turning the soil has already made a huge impact improving the appearance and giving a sense of structure to the garden.

This coming week, work on the glasshouse will begin up in the walled garden, and weather permitting, we will continue with our industrious improvements to the herbaceous borders.

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