Spring is Here...

As promised, here are some parting photos of Spring at Willowbrook. Peter and I are off to the UK for the month of October on an R&D Holiday, and have been asked to go to Rome to take the wedding of one of our close friends.

We shall probably share a few holiday posts whilst in Europe. Till then, I hope you enjoy the fruits of our labour as much as we do.

We will start with pictures of the park, and then some of the farm...

Above: The still bare Plane trees under planted with bulbs along either side of where the main drive will pass. The 2 urns in the background mark the entrance to the orchard.

Above: The Orchard Hedge in Spring

Below: The same view 3 months ago

A closer look at some of the bulbs under the plane trees...

Above: A Flaming Parrot Tulip, which starts budding as below...

and slowly progresses...

to a flower of striking colours...

Below: The more demure tulip 'Christmas' planted in lines around the potager. I wait patiently for the buxus to grow and hide the wooden edging...

The fantastic green and pink tulip 'air', growing in raised pots around the potager- Great for arrangements...

The subtle tulip 'spring green'...

Now some before and after pictures from behind the lake...

Above: Willoughby helping Jackie plant the Leiladii hedge 18 months ago.

Below: The same area now.

This area has also been planted with oaks, under-planted with the red tulip 'London'...





These are the Princess Irene Tulips, growing in pots in the Orangery area in the Orchard...




Then there are the Rococo Tulips in the Nymphaeum...





And the Spring Green Tulips planted between each of the Lime Trees in the Lime Walk...

For the last 2 weeks it has been mainly overcast a drizzling with strong equinoxual winds. Not the greatest days for photography, but I did catch this rainbow over the farm on my phone (2 photos poorly joined together)...

More before and after photos of the farm...

Above: Then

Below: Now

Although the grass is short and brownish now, by mid October it is usually luscious and green again.

The Orchard is starting to green up and come into blossom too...

And the veges in the potager beds are coming along nicely...

One last photo to finish - our Indian Runner ducks going AWOL! They frequently go through the fence, waddle off down the road for an hour or two, and then come back to their lake. I have no idea where they go - sometimes they disappear althogether!

The Wild Flower Project

This winter we will sow a strip of wild flowers along side the brook and under the willow trees. We have found inspiration for this in several places...

Above and Below: The famous wild flower meadow at Highgrove. The wild flower project there was started by the Prince in 1982, with the help of Miriam Rothschild. It was in response to the effect that modern farming techniques were having on native wild grasses and flowers due to spray drift and country road verges being mown before the flowers had flowered and hence seeded. It took several years for the 120 different varieties of flowers and grasses from 33 differing species to take a hold. The first couple of years were not so rewarding (so we shall know what to expect), but after they established themselves amongst the natural flora they found their stride.

Above: Painting by Jenny Causer.

Below: The great Southern Motorway idea of planting between the lanes of traffic south of Auckland with wild flowers. They have unfortunately not been replaced after 2 years, but they brought much pleasure while the project was running.

Below: Poppy Meadows

The strip of flowers will hopefully give some definition to the brook, as a temporary measure until we get our dry-stone wall built. Leigh at Brabourne Farm has some more stunning photos of meadow flowers here...