Abbey Garden Diaries Sept 2024
It is a beautifully still September afternoon when we decide to cycle down to the gardens and see what the team have been up to...
It is a beautifully still September afternoon when we decide to cycle down to the gardens and see what the team have been up to. Every time you visit, there is something new to see, to smell, to experience. Although September might be deemed a quiet time of year, there is plenty of fruit and veg to harvest as well as making plans for the winter ahead - there is no such thing as quiet.
As is normal with island life, we bump into Head Gardener Andrew Lawson on the cycle along the Abbey drive and - in what I deem full Sound of Music style - we whizz along the tree lined road to the gardens. We follow Andrew over the blue bridge and wave to Kate in the veg patch. The Sparrows are picking the seeds off the sunflowers, the Katy apples are shining in espalier style and Hummingbird hawk moths hover around the Verbena.
We should also mention Kates's new sidekicks Demelza the Red Squirrel (who visits each morning for his hazelnuts) and Steve the chicken (who was thought to be a hen but is in fact a fast growing cockerel!) - ever present figures in the Tresco Abbey Garden veg garden.
Kate has been as busy as ever and the veg patch is testament to that. The pumpkins have been harvested and are in prime position ready to be distributed to the island school children and Tresco stores, the beetroot are coming up and tomatoes and runner beans are still in full swing. Kate will soon be digging the beds up, mulching and composting to get the soil ready for next year. She is always planning and looking forward to the next challenge.
One new endeavour is in partnership with St Agnes fisherman Joff Hicks. In striving for sustainable lobster fishing, he plans to make plastic free equipment. As such, he asked Kate if she could grow Bottle Gourds as an alternative to plastic floats for his pots. Although our island may be small in stature, it is big in ambition! Kate will pass them onto Joff soon for testing and we shall see if they sink or float...
Just over from the vegetable garden, you'll find an ominous looking green giant. This machine is responsible for the garden's compost and it is where the broken down food waste from the bio-digester goes to be further broken down. It is combined with garden waste and left for over 6 months before being spread on beds across the garden.
To the terraces
It is after this that we meander into the main garden and end up on the top terrace. Andrew points out the beautiful pink flowers of the Erica baueri that has just begun to flower and will continue to do so for the next 10 months.
The Proteas are beginning to bud and some are in full flower already - earlier than normal - including the Oleander leaf species: a mesmerising plant with feather like petals.
As we continue along, the terrace is lit up by brightly coloured flowers. Most memorable is Red swamp bottlebrush (growing rather ironically in the driest part of the garden): an eye catching flower that does what it says on the tin!
Also rather eye catching is the orange Gazania and the pretty blue Thunbergia natalensis - a relative of Black eyed Susan, seen by Andrew in Melbourne but originally from South Africa. As we wander down to the middle terrace we're then struck by the bright pink Banana passion flower.
Next up, Andrew points out the biggest honeysuckle we've ever seen - and it turns out it is the largest one in the world! - and then when you think you've seen it all, the species, facts and fascination keep on coming.
We smell the citrusy scent of the Tagetes lemmonii from North East Mexico, and in the darker, cooler parts of the garden we admire the yellow tree daisy originally from the Mexican cloud forests.
Finally, we stumble across the Nikau palms from the North West corner of South Island NZ. This huge tree grows 4 leaves a year and when they drop to the ground it is best to get out of the way as each leaf weighs 10kg!
An hour or two around the garden honestly feels like an escape to an oasis. The peace and tranquillity that can be found amongst the flora and fauna on a September afternoon is second to none and - if you find yourself on Tresco at this time of year or are considering a break - I can't recommend it enough.
