Giant redwood struck by lightning

At the end of January, one of the giant redwood trees at Sheffield Park was struck by lightning, splitting it in two.
Rather than removing it immediately, the gardeners at the National Trust property decided to leave the tree - also known as a giant sequoia or sequoiadendron - in situ to allow visitors to see it.
The tree was the second largest at Sheffield Park at about 26m-high.
In these photos, taken by Sussex gardener and floral artist Sue Bobin, you can see the amazing colour of the red wood in the split trunk.
The tree is believed to be about 125 years old.
Photographs courtesy of Sue Bobin

Sparrowhawk drops by for breakfast

I opened the curtains this morning to find a sparrowhawk tucking into one of our garden birds on the corner of the compost heap frame.
By the time I saw it, the prey was pretty much unidentifiable but, from the colour of the feathers, I wondered whether it was a nuthatch.
I spent a good fifteen minutes watching the sparrowhawk tug and tear at its breakfast before it cleaned its beak on the wooden frame then flew away, leaving nothing but a pile of feathers.
Unsurprisingly, the nearby bird feeder is unusually quiet this rainy Sunday morning.

Garden visit: High Beeches autumn colour

The riot of colours at High Beeches gardens only got going in the final couple of weeks before the gardens closed at the end of October.
Here are a few photos I took on my last visit.

Garden visit: Bateman's

This wasn't really an official visit but I was lucky enough to get a late afternoon glimpse of the Bateman's gardens before they closed for the winter.
I love how the beauty of the house and garden are accentuated by the long shadows and the evening light.

Starting a wild flower meadow

The RSPB is urging people to plant a wild flower meadow in part of their garden to encourage wildlife.
This is the charity's recommended method...
1. Pick an area as large as possible and measure it to work out how much seed you will need.
2. If the top layer of soil is rich in nutrients, as most gardens are, remove the top 5-10 cm in August.
3. Let the bare ground rest for a few weeks, removing any weeds.
4. In September, sow a mixture of wildflower and meadow grass seeds evenly and rake them lightly into the soil. You can protect them from birds by hanging up shiny objects like CDs.
5. Mow your meadow the following spring with sharp blades to avoid uprooting the young plants, and then every 6-8 weeks during the first year.
6. In the second year, mow in early July to have a spring meadow, or in March and late September for a summer meadow.
7. Leave clippings on the ground for a few days to shed their seeds, and then remove and compost them.
I've missed the boat as far as clearing the ground in August, but I still plan to plant some seeds over the next weekend ready for the spring.

Garden visit: West Dean

This afternoon we made an unplanned visit to West Dean Gardens near Chichester.
Despite the cooler weather, we managed to see some late summer blooms in the walled garden, not to mention an unrivalled variety of pumpkins and squashes, peppers and chillis.
As it had been an unscheduled visit, I hadn't taken a camera, but here are a few pictures I took on my phone...

Spring bulbs

I've just made an impulsive purchase of spring bulbs.
I promised myself, after getting the veg plots going, I would turn my attention to the rest of the garden, which is currently one giant, bumpy lawn.
I have already planned a wild flower mini-meadow and I managed to pop in a few narcissus in time for last spring.
I'm not sure what anyone will think of my choice of bulbs but I was seduced partly by the colours.
I've bought some white 'Miss Vain' crocus, a black fritillaria persica, some white anenome, 10 black single tulips and some nectaroscordum siculum honey lily which, from the photo, look a beautiful creamy-white.
I'm excited to see the results.