Signs of spring on show as daffodils come into their own
It’s amazing to think that Arundel Castle and Gardens opens its gates to visitors on Friday, April 1. The signs of spring are already here, with the wonderful array of spring flowers, the daffodils are really coming into their own and the heavily scented hyacinths are beautiful.
Hyacinths originate from the Middle East and were said to have been introduced into Western Europe as early as 1573 by Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, an ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor to the Ottoman Empire.
The original hyacinth was ‘Hyacinthus orientalis’, a blueflowered bulb, but now and thanks to Dutch growers over the centuries, there are an amazing choice of cultivars such as vibrant ‘Blue Jackets’, pink ‘Anne Marie’ and ‘Purple sensation’ or ‘Woodstock’ and the very pretty ‘White Pearl’.
The Victorians planted theirs in rows using five different colours at 25cm apart, repeating the pattern every five rows ensuring that you never get the same colours next to each other. It must have been an amazingly colourful display, perhaps a thought for next year’s planting plan!
In the 1853 Clarke &
Hope Victorian Vine & Peach House our peaches are in full blossom, which is exquisite. Daniella and our British Bumble Bees are busy pollinating the peaches.
Also within this wonderful glasshouse we have our newly planted vines, our citrus trees and pelargonium collection.
Having just returned from an amazing trip to Valencia, southern Spain, with my wife, we found the orange and lemon groves being harvested; there was an abundance of fruit and going slightly further inland, there were stunning terraces of almond and peach orchards, all full of blossom – quite breathtaking at times! In the coastal town of Gandia some streets are lined with standard Orange trees, a dramatic contrast alongside the ancient historic walls. We were lucky enough to be able to stay in a wonderful guest house, Villa Florencia, just outside Gandia, that was located within a valley of citrus groves. Our hosts produced the most wonderful home-made marmalade and chutneys, all from their own trees, which are very popular with the local community as well as us; it did, however, result in a heavy suitcase full of marmalade on our return, but a wonderful breakfast reminder of our trip!
For the garden enthusiast, we returned to an exceptional Mediterranean garden called L’Arbarda at La Sella, just outside Pedreguer, it’s owned by the The Fundación Enrique Montoliu which is dedicated to the conservation of flora and fauna of the Mediterranean, well worth a visit. This visit has given me inspiration on how best to position some of our Mediterranean plants that we already grow here at Arundel Castle Gardens.
Within our Tropical House, Izzy has been busy seed sowing and propagating, with the help of Tilly the castle cat! A few tips from the team: ○ Hyacinths shouldn’t be indoors until their flowers are open, it is recommended; we grow ours in the polytunnels initially.
○ Start weeding in earnest! ○ Lawns – start mowing your lawns, if it’s not too wet
○ Lawns – if you have unsightly patches of grass or want a new lawn, prepare your soil ready for grass seed.
○ Sow, carrots, beetroots and most hardy vegetable crops outside once the weather is warm enough. ○ Plant early potatoes. ○ Sow sweet peas outside ○ Prune willows and dogwoods
○ Feed your fruit crops with potash
Happy gardening!