The Garden Year at GRC
Within the ‘pleasure grounds’ of the Global Retreat Centre (Nuneham House) there are, astonishingly, almost one hundred different species of trees. Mighty oaks and towering London planes are perhaps the most obvious of these. At the right time, you can appreciate the smaller trees as well: the golden rain of the Laburnums, the pink or white candelabras of the Magnolias or the remarkable icing-clad
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Continuing with the mini-theme of virtues within gardening, (although this article goes far beyond just gardening) did you see that Alain de Botton, the writer, has recently created a new set of ten commandments for atheists? He said that he came up with the idea in response to a growing sense that being virtuous had become “a strange and depressing notion,” while wickedness and
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Now April has arrived, I am drawn again and again to check out the Great Crested Newts. Generally, they are very elusive. I have tended to find them between October and March when they are overwintering. For the most part, this has been under slabs and stones or within log piles whilst doing some garden refurbishment. But March and April is when they migrate
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Ask 100 people what the qualities of a good gardener are and, with a little thought, they will probably produce a substantial list: patient, tolerant, determined, attentive to detail, creative, to name but a few. What about ‘accommodation’: that ability to accept whatever happens? Or ‘dignity’: the conscious choice to live and work according to my values? Were they on your list? So
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I have, for nearly two decades, worked with both offenders and offender management staff. As a result, rather like when you by a new car you increasingly begin to notice that make, I notice articles or snippets related to criminal justice. Looking back through an old gardening magazine last night, both my areas of interest were stimulated. What I saw were a couple of
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As we move further through February, the garden catalogues continue to thump onto the porch mat with the rest of the mail. As spring throws open its windows to welcome us to another fulfilling season of planting, nurturing, sustaining and appreciating, in a myriad of ways, the garden suppliers make their last attempts to take our attention with their various special offers. All good
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Early to mid summer offers a plethora of heavenly scents wafting on the warm breeze: Jasmine, mock orange, lilac, Mexican orange blossom, honeysuckle, roses. Judicious planting can mean that, as we wander through the gardens, each turn brings us a new fragrance. Add to that the herbs along side the path, with which we may brush against as we pass and summer offers us
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Believe it or not there was a honey bee visiting the early spring flowers the other day when the sun was shining. Honey bees are prestigious workers, visiting up to 2000 flowers a day in their search for nectar and, in so doing, pollinating our crops and flowers. As a result of infection by the Veroa mite, their populations have been significantly reduced. Their
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So here I am blogging away over the last few months, with a view to conveying information and stimulating interest in the wonderful landscape and gardens here in Nuneham. Then today, I suddenly realised that I haven’t let anyone know that the grounds are actually open to the public throughout the year and not just for the ‘Peace in the Park’ Festival. Whatever month
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