Nottinghamshire &amp; Derbyshire


<p>If you’ve ever seen the glorious roses and neat borders at <a href="https://www.belvoircastle.com/">Belvoir Castle</a>, you’ll know that head gardener Tom Webster knows how to nail a showstopper of a garden. Fancy a slice of that in your own backyard this summer? Well, May is the time to get busy. Tom talks us through the jobs he’s focused on at Belvoir this month.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-weed-patrol">1. WEED PATROL</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-weeding-Tom.jpg" alt="Gardener in flat cap kneeling down to weed garden" class="wp-image-4300" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-weeding-Tom.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-weeding-Tom-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-weeding-Tom-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-weeding-Tom-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-weeding-Tom-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-weeding-Tom-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>&#8216;Whereas we were able to compliment ourselves on having prepared the gardens neat and tidy for Easter, by May everything will be bursting through at a pleasing/alarming rate,&#8217; says Tom &#8216;I refer in the latter case to weeds, otherwise known as wildflowers, depending on your point of view, but we have not yet given over to rewilding so our intrepid volunteers will be patrolling the formal gardens ‘tooled up’.&nbsp;&#8216;</p>



<p><strong>TOM&#8217;S TIP:</strong> Try to keep on top of weeds as soon as you spot them this month, either using a hoe, fork or by hand. ‘I have a little tool (don’t snigger) that I noticed one of our volunteers using several years ago – a long handled razor hoe, like a small sickle on a long handle,’ explains Tom. ‘I can get through the rose garden very quickly with this; accurate, and strangely satisfying.’</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-got-my-eyes-on-yew">2. GOT MY EYES ON YEW</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens.jpg" alt="Blue agapanthus flowers with castle behind" class="wp-image-4301" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>‘Although our larger Yew hedges have already been meticulously trimmed, the smaller parterres and box balls will all need attention to keep them tight now that the threat of frost is over (a good excuse to procrastinate),’ says Tom. ‘We’ve considered replacing the box balls in urns in anticipation of another period of drought this year, when one only has to miss watering for them to brown irrevocably.’ The most resilient to go for? Euonymus.</p>



<p><strong>TOM’S TIP:</strong> The groundsmen use heavy petrol trimmers, although Tom prefers a lighter battery-powered one, but for small back garden jobs use a pair of manual shears with curved blades. The curved blades prevent the branches moving away from you and give a cleaner cut. Just wait until the risk of frost is over.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-don-t-forget-to-deadhead">3. DON’T FORGET TO DEADHEAD</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens-rose.jpg" alt="the rose garden with Belvoir Castle in background" class="wp-image-4304" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens-rose.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens-rose-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens-rose-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardens-rose-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>‘The Rose Garden has been newly planted with David Austin roses, so the young plants need only encouragement,’ says Tom. ‘As we suffered with blackspot last year, I may have to consider a spraying programme. Also, as my hosepipe is only so long, I will have to lay perforated hoses through all the beds, as the new roses will need watering until they get their roots down into the clay. A fortnightly feed with Vitax Q4 will keep them going.’</p>



<p><strong>TOM’S TIP:</strong> Once roses start flowering, keep deadheading. Don’t just nip the flowers off, go down a couple of leaves to keep the stem strong. Mulch early – try growing Comfrey in an out of the way corner &#8211; the wonder compost. Keep cutting the leaves and lay them around the roses, they’ll dry, break down and enrich the soil.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-no-mow-may">4. NO-MOW MAY?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardener-Tom.jpg" alt="Male gardener in flat cap with gloves and wheelbarrow in garden" class="wp-image-4303" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardener-Tom.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardener-Tom-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardener-Tom-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardener-Tom-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardener-Tom-525x525.jpg 525w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/nottsderbyshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2023/04/Belvoir-gardener-Tom-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>‘Lawns and woodland areas will now be growing almost as fast as we can keep up. We could rewild, but many visitors would complain that the gardens are overgrown so our team will be fully occupied on the mowers and strimmers trying to get everything done for the weekend, only to start all over again the following Monday,’ explains Tom. ‘In addition, we now have a new orchard to mow, and turning this into a ‘wildflower’ orchard with less mowing needed is a serious consideration, as with other steep banks.’</p>



<p><strong>TOM’S TIP: </strong>Tempted to experiment with a wildflower garden or lawn? Make sure you use the right seed mix. It’ll start off fine and pretty, then the dominant plants take over and you end up with a patch of tall ‘weeds’ which flatten with the wind and rain and look a mess. Be very selective about what’s in the seed packet, look up the plants, you could even make it up yourself.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-keep-on-top-of-climbers">5. KEEP ON TOP OF CLIMBERS</h2>



<p>‘Climbers will be getting out of hand by now if I haven’t already had a go at them,’ says Tom. ‘I give the wisterias on the castle wall a good belting in the Autumn but they will be running away with themselves now – some of ours sneaked right up to the castle roof last year and we needed a cherry picker to reach them. Alright, not everyone has a castle, but I bet that anyone with a Wisteria Sinensis has had the tedious job of having to pull it out of the roof.’</p>



<p><strong>TOM’S TIP</strong>: Buy a Grandiflora, it’s better behaved and the racemes of flowers are longer. And catch those log tendrils before they take over the house.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-from-garden-to-table">6. FROM GARDEN TO TABLE</h2>



<p>‘We have some raised vegetable beds to provide the tearoom kitchens with fresh produce,’ says Tom. ‘Anyone growing vegetables seriously would say that doing so is quite enough to keep anyone busy to the exclusion of all else. They need constant attention, like toddlers but less irritating.’</p>



<p><strong>TOM’S TIP:</strong> Tagetes – fragrant and decorative – is useful in keeping unwelcome visitors at bay. Sow between lines of carrots. I also have Pot Marigolds self-seeding; they pop up everywhere.</p>



<p><strong>A final word from Tom:</strong> ‘Having done all this I shall sit back in a shady spot with a martini and start planning for next year – a jaw dropping display of tulips in the rose garden. Oooh! I’m already thumbing through the catalogues.’</p>


Six gardening jobs for May (if only!)

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