Gardening Group

4th April 2025

As the weather warms we are filled with joy to watch the newly planted Jackwood House Garden come back to life. Whilst we deliberately planted some winter bloomers for interest and wildlife food source, we couldn't know for certain how many of the spring and summer plants would survive their first winter.

Jackwood House Garden with spring bulbs enjoying the April sunshine

It's a pleasure and a relief to see so many bulbs coming into flower and other plants showing fresh new growth. But of course, the weeds have also woken up - especially grass seeds. Our volunteers are now working carefully to remove the weeds, which could outcompete the varied planting we have introduced.

We're not all experts, some times we use apps to ensure we are removing and leaving the right combination of plants!

Now the soil is warm, still a little moist and freshly tilled we are adding a layer of bark chippings to the cleared areas. This will help to moderate the soil temperature, protect from late frosts and hold in moisture during the summer. As well as acting as a weed deterrent. We have to be careful not to submerge the plants we want to grow!

Up on the terrace we have one last area that is still dominated by brambles and bind weed. This area was previously planted with lavender and creeping rosemary but it quickly became overwhelmed by the dominant invasive species due to lack of maintenance. We have worked hard to dig out as many roots as possible. When we return next week we will give it another dig over and then cover the area with the remaining wood chip.

Viola growing in the new sunlight where we have pruned back the wisteria and virginia creeper this winter.