Our work in the garden at Shaw's Corner

A year in the garden

October 2024

A month of transformation! As the public season comes to a close, this month marks the garden's busiest time. 

This October, we:

• Refreshed the entrance borders through lifting and dividing. To simplify next year’s display, we reduced the variety of plants, creating deliberate clumps of the same species to better fill the space. Surplus plants were saved for potting and selling in 2025. We also removed overcrowded shrubs and mulched the refreshed beds while the soil temperatures were still warm, giving the borders a fresh start 
• Begun transforming the mirror beds, which hadn’t been renovated since they were planted in 1996. Overrun with weeds like enchanter’s nightshade and ground elder, they required extensive care: the plants were dug out and their roots were cleaned, invasive weed roots were removed, the soil was consolitated and single-dug. 
• Cleared the leaves!

November 2024

The garden during November is a lovely place to admire nature. The trees are alive with colour, the skies emit a golden glow morning and night, and the lawn gets painted with fungi. 2024 also brought a icy blast and named storm to challenge us!

Here's what our Senior Garderner was up to:

• Historic hedging plants were bought to be stored in our brand new quarantine area.
• Perennials in the mirror beds were lifted and divided to give them a chance to root before Spring. Some gaps were left to plant some choice delphiniums that we know Shaw was a fan of. 
• Historic tulips were planted, some sourced from invoices dating back to 1921-1930. By planting when the soil cooled to 8°C, we’re protecting the bulbs from fungal disease and giving them the best start. This is sure to be a spectacualr spring-time display that is similar to what the Shaw's would have seen.

December 2024

December is a hit and miss month, with this year proving ultra tricky! Though mild, heavy rain and storms dampened the spirits.

This month, our Senior Gardener and his team of volunteers worked on:

• The second year of our historic hedge renovations, which sees them revert back to their historic dimensions and shaping. 
• Ordering of bareroot hedging plants to fill gaps, create privacy and support wildlife, These bareroot hedging plants will fill gaps, enhance privacy, and support wildlife. This step has been years in the making—ensuring we only introduce historically authentic, peat-free, responsibly sourced plants to preserve the garden's heritage and ecosystem for everyone forever.

As we look towards 2025, we thank our volunteers who support our Senior Gardener. This yeat they dedicated an incredible 2,232 hours between them to transform the garden, and bring history back to life. 

January 2025

It was cold and windy this month, but luckily the garden remained relatively unscathed. As a result, lots of progress was achieved, especially on moving forwards with some of our larger projects (more on these another time..!)

• The overgrown Dell Bank was cleared, ready for replanting. A path was made out of the chipped woody waste from the clearance.
• The orchard had its annual prune: at Shaw's Corner, this isn’t just about the fruit as our orchard is a haven for biodiversity, evidenced by the amazing lichen and vapourer moth eggs we found this year. That’s why tree health and habitats are our top priority, and some branches are left unpruned! Each tree is unique, so careful assessment comes first. Dead, diseased, or damaged wood is removed, followed by strategic pruning to improve light and airflow. To keep the trees strong and healthy, no more than 20% is taken annually, ensuring a balanced cycle of 1–4 year old wood. 
• The snowdrops and hellebores bloomed, giving us a taste of what is to come as the garden awakes from its winter slumber

February 2025

A mild month, Matt and the volunteers didn't let the rain get in the way of ticking their to-do list off. Here's how they spent their time:

• As part of our hedge renovations that will help bring the garden in line with what Bernard and Charlotte would have known, the yew hedge had its yearly trim! 
• Known for our displays and varitey of daffodils, this month we reloacted some of them to brighten up new areas of the garden. We had our first daffodil sighting on February 24! 
• Plenty of weeding and mulching

March 2025

The driest March for over 60 years! Alongside 18 frosts, some flurries of snow and temperatures ranging from -2 to 18 degrees celcius,  it was certainly an interesting month to be working outside. However, this didn't stop Matt and his team of volunteers, and the garden's annual spring into bloom is well and truly underway: 

• Our beautiful display of 12 daffodil varieties is underway. They have been a seasonal spectacle in the garden since 1938, when Charlotte Shaw planted them, and they will now flower until May. 
• The orchard is beginning to bloom with blossom. Join Matt on April 26 for an out-of-hours tour. 
• Our historic tulips are starting to bloom along the front border though Matt has had to put deer fences up to stop the cheeky muntjac deer from eating them...
• 7 March marked the first grass cut of the year!
• And whilst seed sowing got off to a slower start, the team were busy watering newly divided borders, potted plants, and recently replanted roses. New plants have also been purchased for the ongoing border renovations. More on this in April!

 

Conservation work

The gardens at Shaw's Corner are managed by a Lead Gardener and a dedicated group of volunteers.

As more information comes to light, a long-term project is underway to historically restore the garden back to how Bernard and Charlotte would have known it.

As they progress, you can read about the work here, and on our social channels. Keep checking back for more!