The Genus Garden - Musings From Joff, Our Head Gardener

Getting up high

Lovely weather for the last few days has given us a great opportunity to get to work pruning the apple and pear trees in our orchard.  We deal with each...
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Bean busy

Back in early December, 10:35 am on the 8th to be precise, we sowed four rows of broad beans in the Genus vegetable garden.  Through all the recent cold, freezing,...
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Quartermaster stores

Recent mulching activity at Genus HQ has left the compost heaps empty and ready to receive more material to use later this year.  One bay containing recently cut-back and uncomposted...
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Getting nosey

Searching for interest in the garden at this time of year can often be a challenge.  The early bulbs may be starting to show, the wonderful range of coloured and...
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Duvet Day

Last month we were busy weeding, cutting back perennials, and planting tulip bulbs in the flower garden.  With that work completed, the beds were ready for a mulch to be...
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New Year Entertainment

We recently started to fill the bird feeders that sit just outside the French doors at Genus HQ.  It didn’t take long for the local population to discover what we’d...
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Secret Stash

As gardeners we love it when plants behave, flower well, and appear to have read the book on good behaviour.  Maybe that salvia hard-pruned in late spring has flowered non-stop...
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Crown and Thorns

As you enter into the flower garden at Genus HQ you pass under a metal arch planted with a rose, clematis, and honeysuckle; a beautiful combination, scented, and often providing...
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Tulip Planting

With a day of dry weather and our borders cut back, we found time to plant the tulip bulbs that had been awaiting this moment for over a month.  Robust...
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A Taste of Summer

Several freezing days made clearing the last remaining fallen leaves hard work.  Some were stuck together with the frost while others protected by hedging or evergreen shrubs were easy to...
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Winter Beauty

For several days our mornings have been initiated by beautiful sunrises making early starts a joy.  The low sun casts long shadows across the orchard and the local dog fox...
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Fruit Circles

Previously we’ve extolled the virtues of keeping circles clear of grass underneath our fruit trees in the orchard.  Without competition from grass the trees establish quickly and the clear area...
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Cut backs

After several hours collecting fallen leaves we found time to get onto the borders and start cutting back the withered annuals and perennials.  Plant supports we hadn’t seen for six...
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Flowers and Fishnets

With guests imminent this week we spent some time putting together a vase for the Genus dining table.  Despite being so late in the season and with frosts not far...
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October Sun

There was a change in the air this week with cold starts and artful spider webs adorned with pearls of dew.  The low morning sun often above the trees in...
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A Bright Future

The two greenhouses at Genus HQ received a bit of much needed attention this week. Due to their location next to a small copse, several sycamore branches overhang them and...
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Ants in our pants

Our raised vegetable beds have served us well this year and with a number of them now empty we took the opportunity to carry out repairs.  Nearly ten years old,...
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About five years ago we planted a hornbeam hedge on the front boundary that faces the lane and our neighbours opposite.  Regular mulching and irrigation in the early years meant...
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A new leaf bin

With the imminent arrival of autumn we thought we’d better construct a new bin for the abundance of fallen leaves that we get here at Genus HQ.  The upright wooden posts...
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At busy times of the year it’s easy for us to forget to enjoy our gardens and spend time simply sitting and looking.  Having done just that, we're happy to...
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Ode to summer

Was it just us or did the subtle scent of mists and mellow fruitfulness pervade the Genus garden a few days ago?  A cooler start to the day, a few...
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