On the way to a record!
A seaside garden in East Sussex that opens for charity, featuring sculpture and reclaimed objects.
Ican honestly say this is the most demanding summer season I’ve had in 10 years of opening the garden to the public! While I might moan about the wind and the rain in previous years, this year it has to be the heat. To make matters worse, we had a water meter fitted in February. I’ve not dared to look at the volume of water used as the hose has been on almost every day for several hours trying to keep the display looking its best.
We’ve already had more than 700 visitors this season and are well on our way to beating the total amount we raised last season. Fingers crossed!
Our third coach trip of the summer was from Hampstead Garden Suburb Horticultural Society. A fellow contributor to Over the Fence, Caroline Broome and her husband David, were on the trip so got to see Driftwood first hand. I’m very pleased to say that she thought the garden was so much better than any of the pictures she’d seen!
The beautiful Aloe striatula were in full bloom for their visit and are still looking quite stunning, set off by the lovely wooden sculpture in the background. It’s such a hardy plant and takes what the weather throws at it. It’s also called the stripedstemmed aloe, and is a sturdy succulent plant that naturally occurs on the summits of mountains along the south of the Karoo region of South Africa. I’d recommend it highly. I’ve two fine specimens in the beach garden at the back.
Last summer I bought three small trifolium, which didn’t seem to do well. This year, however, it’s another story, with all three plants thriving and producing multiple flower heads around the garden. They look particularly nice in among the mass planting of colour surrounding the pond area.
Another winning colour combination – well, I think so – is the striking mix of both nigella and the erigeron ‘Pink Jewel’ just outside the house. They each seem to be endeavouring to outshine the other!
One area of the garden many visitors seem to be slightly envious of is the plentiful array of succulents on show outside the summer house at the top of the garden. Even I have to admit they probably look the best ever this year.
Alongside the Adirondack chair is a fairly new plant for me, ballota. It’s spreading profusely but that suits me in this part of the garden. The tamarisk behind is doing really well too, even though the tiny petals from the flyers create the look of confetti everywhere! l Read more of the garden at www.driftwoodbysea.co.uk.