Hedge Archways...

Having been very taken with the shaped hedges at Highgrove, we decided when we planted our leiland hedges, we would add some interest by having archways and castellations in them.

Above and below: The shaped hedges at Highgrove. 

The archways line up with vistas inside the house, so that from certain French windows you can see through the hedges to focal points, such as a bench under the copse of Oaks in Spencer's corner...

The hedge has made reasonable progress since a year ago...

In time the arch will become higher and acuter, resembling more the sort of arch below...

The arch above looks as if it is fashioned out of a Hornbeam or Beech hedge, whereas the more traditional choice for a clipped hedge would be Yew, like the arch below...

There are many things that you can do with hedges to add interest (other than clip them into waves). Here are some more examples I found on Pinterest, which I rather like...

I really like these topiary obelisks which 'book-end' the hedge nicely and again frame a vista in the garden. 

More hedged pillars...

Niches in a hedge with recessed busts are also a dramatic way to add interest to an otherwise green wall, and give people the joy of discovering things as they journey through the grounds...

Life In The Sloe Lane...

This week we have six sloe trees arriving to be planted in Badger’s Wood. We have waited patiently for several years to get our hands on some of these. There is only one nursery in NZ which grafts them, and for the last few years there has been a waiting list which outstripped supply due to a poor rate of the grafts taking. However, this year we were top of the list and have secured enough to grow our own little Blackthorn spinney within the woods.

Sloes (Prunus spinosa) are a member of the plum family, which grow wild in many places throughout Europe (and supposedly, according to Wikipedia, many places in New Zealand, although with years of searching we have not been able to find them growing in any of the hedgerows!).

Their common name of Blackthorn derives from the dark bark of the tree, which has large spikey spurs protruding from it. In the spring it blossoms with creamy white flowers which develop into a small highly astringent dark purple berry, known as a sloe. It is similar I guess to a Damson. 

The fruit is used for preserves and for fillings (once combined with an unhealthy amount of sugar to make it palatable); and also for making sloe gin, which is a liqueur made by steeping the sloes in large jars heaped with sugar and then topped with plain gin and left for 6 months.

Traditionally the fruits are picking after the first frost of autumn. The frost allows the fruits to start to bletch a little (although these days one could pick them any time and put them in the freezer to achieve this). I like the tradition of picking them after the first frost, it seems so much more in-tuned with the passing of the seasons and leaves one something to look forward to. 

Sloe Gin

Once picked, the fruits are then pricked several times piercing the skin. It is traditional to do this with one of the thorns from the bush itself. Once pricked one puts them in a wide necked jar or demijohn and for each pint of sloes (570 mls) one adds 4 Oz (110g) of sugar. The jar is then filled up with gin and left in a cool dark place for a minimum of 3 months, but much better 6 months (as when made sufficiently slowly the liqueur starts to take on a slightly almond-like taste as well, from the berry pips). 

Above photo from London Eats Blog

The sugar is vital not just to humour the bitterness of the berries, but to help draw the flavour out of them into the gin. Turn the jars every day for the first week, and then every week for the remaining time. The gin will take on a lovely deep crimson hue. At the end of this time carefully decant the gin into display bottles and label. Be careful not to discard the sloes as these will now make a nice filling for a pie, perhaps mixed with strewed apple to make them go further, or for creating sloe truffles!

 Sloe Truffles

To make sloe truffles put the left over fruit into a pan and gently simmer until there is minimal liquid left in the mixture and the fruit has softened well. Rub the sloes through a sieve to separate the pulp from the stones. Weigh the pulp, and then add the same weight again in sugar (would make a great treat for the festive season due to both timing of completing the gin and in not caring about what one's waistline does for that month). Simmer again until all the sugar has fully dissolved (one does not want a crystalline filling). Scrape into a jar and leave to set. At this point you can also use this sloe mixture on biscuits with cheese, like quince paste).  To make truffles blend the mixture with an equal amount of dark chocolate (or milk if you prefer), roll into little balls. Allow to set and then dust with cocoa powder and enjoy.

A Grand Entrance 3 - Paint's on, Gates on, Anybody Home?

The gates have finally been hung. They were a long time in the making but we are pleased with the finished product. The leaves have been gilded after the wrought iron was powder coated, so everything should be well weather proofed.

Probably the last photos we shared of the entrance were almost a year ago, when it looked something like this...

It had only just been rendered, and not painted (as we had not chosen a colour at that stage)...

Below: The finished paint colour, compared to the exterior render for the manor house (plaster tile) and the stone dentils..

But now the walls are almost finished (we just need to have the brass plaques mounted, the carriage lights hung, the lions fixed atop the gate pillars, and the security cameras installed).

Above: One of the two stone lions for atop the gate pillars.

Below: The original design for the gates, showing lights and lions.

Above: The left hand side of the entrance.

Below: Looking back down the drive towards the entrance from the inside.

Below: The right hand half of the entrance before the gates were hung or the pedestrian gate gilded.

Below: The team from Iron Design, Tauranga, who manufactured the gates and hung them.

Some of the interim photos as they were being forged...

 Above and Below: The main scroll for the top, with and without leaves.

 Above and Below: The individually made leaves.

The gate before the leaves were gilded:

The closed gates from the inside...

Views from the outside...  

You may notice in the last shot we are missing 10 buxus plants from the sides of the entrance. Some thief with OCD decided to steal the plants symmetrically from either end during the night! Please leave our hedge alone, so that everyone who drives by can enjoy it. 

Blushing Brides and Bouquets...

For added depth and colour to the entrance of Willowbrook we've decided to plant a low hydrangea hedge in front of the Leylandii Hedge (on the exterior side). We picked up the hydrangeas at the weekend, which were a gift from Peter's mother, Marie. 

 

Above: Hydrangea 'Bridal Bouquet'

Peter at Ngaroto Nurseries ordered in the hydrangeas specially. He knew we wanted stunning white ones, which would not fade to brown as the season progressed, and when he came across Bridal Bouquet he thought they would be most appropriate. 

It is also that time of year again when the frosts start to come. We covered all our citrus in The Orangery area with frost cloth, which Willoughby found most amusing...

Farm Update... Barberry Hedging and Cold Animals.

Well, we are on to about our 7th week of continuous rain. Disastrous as it has been for our orchard (our Walnuts, Almonds and Figs have turned up their roots with disgust and new ones need to be planted elsewhere), it did wonders for the pasture, that was until it started to pool over the paddocks. I took some photos on the one morning it didn't rain....

With the fencing all finished, we turned our hands to planting Barberry hedging along the borders of the major paddocks. Barberry, Berberris, is a genus of about 450-500 species of shrubs from 1-5 m tall with thorny shoots, native to the temperate and subtropical regions around the world. The most common species in Europe is Berberris vulgaris, which is the species we have planted.

Some species, such as B. darwinii (below) are banned in New Zealand, due to their invasive nature.

Barberry is to be found in abundance in the English countryside, along with Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) in the many hedgerows and spinnies which pepper the rural landscape. With its sharp thorns it makes a good, dense stock barrier, whilst at the same time providing shelter and protection for wild game, birdlife and other wildlife such as Hedgepigs/Hedgehogs.

Above and below: Hedgehogs and Finches (we have a lot of both on the farm).

Here are some of the 500 Barberry seedlings we planted. We plan to trim them heavily and keep them as a dense hedge. By the time they start to short out the electric fences, they should be thick enough to be a barrier of their own.



Here's a round up of the rest of the farm's inhabitants (excluding the goats, who are down grazing along the brook preparing it for the planting of a row of Alders) ...

First up we have Bella and Edward. They are doing well, although a little on the thin side. They will start to get some silage soon. Bella (bottom) is the intelligent one, who runs over to check out whether you have an apple for her every time you visit. Edward, although a little slower, has the more doleful eyes. It will be a sad day when they 'go on holiday'....

Then there are the pigs - Captain Jack and the girls - who are as happy as, well, pigs in mud!

They have turned half of their paddock into a well cultivated mud pit. At least the higher, dryer end of their paddock is where their sty is.

A picture of a lily on the banks of the brook...

Then there are our horses, Sir Rawdon and Zeus.

Our Dorset Horned Ram, Mr Bingley, and his Girls...

His horns have grown from 1 inch nubbins over the past 9 months...

He was not very impressed at Lord Willoughby wanting to play...

Our Suffolk Ram, Mr Darcy and his Girls...

The lake is finally being lined this Friday (having been post-poned several times due to the rain), and we completed the jetty last weekend. We should have some photos of both next week.