Meet Nikki...our 'Real Bride' Blogger

I'd like to introduce you to Nikki Ward.....I have known Nikki for a couple of years through the wedding industry, as she produces some of the most beautiful wedding stationery you can imagine. I was so delighted when Nikki and fiancé Anthony decided that Coombe Trenchard would be their perfect wedding venue, and equally thrilled when Nikki agreed to be our first 'real bride' blogger. Nikki is getting married here in May 2017, and I am really looking forward to reading how she progresses with her wedding plans.... 

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Hi I’m Nikki and I have been working in the wedding industry for the last 6 years … gosh that makes me sound like I’m standing up at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting! I am also a bride to be after getting engaged on Boxing Day to my lovely other half Anthony, who got down and proposed in front of a camel on the edge of the Sahara desert whilst we were on a tour of Morocco. It was perfect … even though we both had stinking colds and felt really ill!

When we got back from Morocco I immediately jumped into wedding planning mode … we wanted to get married in 2017 and I knew that dates at really lovely venues would fill up quickly, especially in the post engagement frenzy following Christmas & New Year.

Having run my own business as a wedding stationer, over the years I have visited some really lovely venues for photo shoots and wedding fairs etc. so I had a fair idea of some of the venues I really loved in Devon and Cornwall. Ant was happy for me to show him some of my favourites and some of the most popular venues in the area so we could narrow it down to a shortlist to visit quite quickly.

We instantly knew we didn’t want something run of the mill and, as neither of us are religious, wanted a venue where we could hold both the ceremony and reception in one place. In fact it became clear very quickly that we also really wanted somewhere which we could have exclusive use of for the whole weekend. We only moved to Devon 3 years ago so nearly all our close friends and family are based in either London, Surrey or near Birmingham. So we decided that we didn’t want our guests to feel they were having to travel all the way down to Devon for just one day. 

We both love places with history and character and so the shortlist of 4 venues we looked at over one of the first weekends in January all were very individual and full of character for different reasons. We actually made a bit of a rod for our own backs as each one was ‘so’ different it was difficult to compare them!

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Coombe Trenchard won out though in an enormous part due, not only to its beauty and historic character, but because of the flexibility that it and Sarah offered us. It is also an Arts & Crafts House which has always been one of our favourite periods of architecture and although it has a definite ‘wow’ feeling it also felt loved and relaxed and like the family home that it is. We didn’t want our day to feel in anyway stuffy or formal so Coombe Trenchard was perfect!

Sarah has been so helpful and accommodating in our booking of the venue and I’m really looking forward to organising our wedding with her.

Our plans and ideas for the day are already starting to come together and we are currently finalising evening catering and music and entertainment, which are the couple of things other than the venue which we are anxious to book well in advance to secure the date of the suppliers we really love.

Plus as Sarah has already discovered I’m a stupidly organised person and as we are also moving house this year I wanted to get on top of the wedding planning straight away!

I’m looking forward to writing future blog posts for the Coombe Trenchard blog and keeping you updated to our progress.

Nikki

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Nikki will be back again soon, keeping us up to date with here wedding plans.

To see some of Nikki's lovely stationery designs, on the Knots & Kisses logo above.

May in the gardens

This months blog from Ben Probert looks not only at how the gardens are bursting into life, but also the impact that garden sculpture has on the gardens. 

May is a month of contrasts; at the beginning of the month it is still decidedly spring, with frost a real risk, but by the end of the month it's all but summer and plants are growing at incredible speed. It's a busy month for gardeners as lawns and borders grow quickly, and it's easy for them to get out of hand it they're not monitored carefully. May brings warmer temperatures but usually lots of rain (certainly here in Devon!), so mowing goes from being an occasional job to being a regular part of a gardener's routine in a matter of a week!

May brings the highlight of the the horticultural year; the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show attracts interest from all over the world, with nurseries, designers and other garden companies come together for a horticultural extravaganza on the lawns of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. Actually getting to Chelsea can prove quite expensive, so most people take in the sights and sounds by watching the BBC's coverage. Whether you can be at Chelsea in person or in spirit, Chelsea week is also the time to do a very important garden job; the 'Chelsea chop'! Certain plants might flower earlier than wanted, so these plants are sheared back during Chelsea week, causing them to regrow and then flower a few weeks later. Certain Geraniums, Salvias, Asters and several other plants are perfect for the Chelsea chop, and it's a great way to make sure that you get a big display in your borders from June onwards, instead of having a few plants flowering at a time.

 The borders at Coombe Trenchard are certainly very healthy, and I put this down to a combination of the use of the right plants and a liberal dose of 'Coombe Trenchard gold', the fantastic home-brewed compost made from manure, green-waste and woody material. Most gardeners know about composting but a surprising number don't do it. Reasons include lack of space, lack of time (because composting does take a degree of time and effort) and the convenience of being able to buy a bag or two of compost as and when it's needed. A garden like the one at Coombe Trenchard generates a large amount of organic matter, and this is definitely not wasted! By the time the manure and organic matter has composted properly it's turned into a wonderfully rich, nutritious and bulky material, and this home made compost is absolutely fantastic for getting plants growing at their very best

The borders and Wisteria bursting into life

A nice billowy mass of fresh growth and flowers is always a delight to see, but gardens are often left lacking... something. It can be hard to put your finger on it, but all too often what's needed is a man-made element to anchor and balance the exuberant planting. Installing something like a bench, a sculpture or even a bird bath can really change a garden; you put a feature into a planted area and the feature somehow manages to make the planting seem more rich and vibrant, while the planting also frames and shows off your feature. It's a strange illusion, but somehow the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.

The right choice of a garden feature is critical, and it's a decision that is best thought about before taking the plunge. What colour? What would look right? How tall? How wide...? Time and time again I've seen gardens where budget has been a constraint, but the garden has been filled (and sometimes I mean filled) with smaller, cheaper sculptures and statues that just don't suit the space, and I'm left wondering if the money had been saved and spent on something more appropriate.

Coombe Trenchard is currently hosting its sculpture exhibition, and I would strongly advise that gardeners take a look. Although the exhibits are most definitely works of art in their own right, displayed using the garden as a 'green gallery', their placement in the garden really shows the importance of 'right sculpture, right place'. Take, for example, this piece below...

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Pelham System by Julian Wild

 This sculpture is made of rusting pipes, but this is not simply a pile of rusty old metal! The shapes, scale and colour of this piece look very industrial and unashamedly man-made, but sitting in a sea of wildflowers it looks fantastic. This sculpture would, certainly to my eyes, look rather drab in surrounded by concrete or indoors, but surrounded by the wildflowers it sits comfortably in its surroundings. Although surprisingly big it's not bulky, and is in fact the perfect size and scale for this part of the garden. A smaller piece here in the woodland would simply look small and out of place, and something big and bulky would dominate the wildflowers. It's a balancing act to get the right proportions, but it's definitely something worth the effort of getting right.

We come from Heaven, I from Hell 2012 by Robert Philips

This example above works on a smaller scale; this tall sculpture acts as a perfect accent to the Cordyline australis behind, while low planting around its base acts to balance the height and wide of the piece itself. The sculpture and the planting both compliment each other perfectly. I don't want to spoil the fun of seeing these sculptures for yourself, so this is my final example. The Irish yews (Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata') in the yew avenue are tall and upright, and in the fairly long and narrow space between them a low and wide sculpture would have the wrong proportions. Take a small sculpture and put it on a nice tall plinth and you have a piece that sits comfortably in its surroundings.

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You can combine art and comfort and go for a nice garden bench.... This bench is in Coombe Trenchard's woodland garden and is certainly not the kind of thing you see in your local garden centre or DIY store! It has to be big because it's in a big space, so a smaller bench would just get lost in this part of the garden. A high back allows this bench to be seen but also makes a sitting place into a visually striking feature. There's something very appealing about this bench; it's solid but also looks incredibly inviting. Where space and budget allow, a bench with character and substance could act as your principle seating and also as an artistic focal point.

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Big Bench by Chris Amey

You can use plants themselves as sculptures; gardeners have been using plants to create topiary sculptures for centuries! You don't have to be wild and outrageous with your topiary, even something as simple as a shape made from box (Buxus sempervirens) can be the perfect sculptural element for your garden. The rule of thumb here is the same as with sculptures made of any other material; be bold! A small clipped shape in a big space will disappear as quickly as a small statue would, so plan for your masterpiece to grow to a reasonable size. You might have to plant several of one thing to get you the effect in a sensible time, and your living sculpture will need clipping and shaping regularly to keep it looking good. It's important to bear in mind that, even if you buy fairly large plants to grow and clip, creating your own topiary sculpture of any meaningful size takes time, so if you want something big and bold now you might be better finding yourself an artist...!

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These shapes look great in long grass but have taken a long time to get this big!

By Ben Probert Penandtrowel.co.uk

Sculptural15 runs until June 20th, opening from Wednesday - Saturday 11am-5pm (closed June 6th for private event)

Hydrangeas & Headaches

Hydrangeas & Headaches by Ben Probert

Charles Dickens summed up the weather of early March so well in 'Great Expectations'; “it was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade”. The trade-off for the glorious views at Coombe Trenchard is that when the wind is in the right direction it can bring quite a chill, but it's amazing just how much everything is springing into life.

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Even through the rain and cold winds of the last few weeks the garden has stirred; perennial plants in the border are peeping up from the ground, buds are swelling on the shrubs and trees, and all around the birds are starting to think about nesting. With each day that passes we move closer to the warmer days and to the point where spring has truly arrived.

Coombe Trenchard has an extensive area planted up with Hydrangeas; these once unfashionable plants have been seeing a return to popularity in recent years, especially with the introduction of so many excellent new varieties. During the summer the Hydrangeas make an impressive display along the banks of the stream that runs through the garden, but to get this display right they all need a little early spring tidy.

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Gardeners are often scared of pruning Hydrangeas, but the process really is usually fairly simple. For 'mophead' and 'lacecap' varieties pruning is simply a matter of cutting off last year's flower heads to just above the next pair of buds down. While most if not all 'lacecap' Hydrangeas flower on the current season's wood, traditional 'mophead' Hydrangeas often bloom on old wood (stems from last year), with newer varieties flower on both old wood and new stems. Not knowing precisely which varieties are growing at Coombe Trenchard introduces an element of risk; from the remains of last year's amazing display it looks as though nearly every stem has bloomed, so if these are varieties that only bloom on the previous season's wood then we're going to be very disappointed this summer! Looking at the stems it looks as though the varieties did flower on current season's wood, so disaster should be averted, but with much resting on these blooms for this year I'll be nervously biting my nails until I see the flower buds!

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Last year the group of Hydrangea 'Annabelle' near the stream flopped and looked untidy, so this year we've pruned them back much harder. This form of the American Hydrangea arborescens has become very popular in the last few years and has been joined by several different new forms, all of which are superb. Hydrangea 'Annabelle' was planted among the other Hydrangeas so that the big balls of white flowers would combine well with the more conventional Hydrangeas in the display. As Hydrangea arborescens flowers on new wood (stems produced the same year) it can be pruned fairly hard back, and with a good season these plants should reward us all with beautiful flowers.

In an ordinary garden a Hydrangea that is alive but not blooming would just be an irritation, but at Coombe Trenchard the Hydrangea blooms are often used in flower arrangements for the weddings that take place at the house. With an eye toward sustainability, flowers picked from the garden are a very important part of Coombe Trenchard weddings so getting things right is critical!

The Hydrangeas aren't the only things that cause headaches in the garden at Coombe Trenchard! Given that the house and its garden are over 100 years old there are several old trees and shrubs in the garden that need care. While most are looking great and need minimal intervention, such as the magnificent gnarled old Wisteria growing along the house, others might not be doing quite so well. The tree that's causing me the most concern now is an old evergreen Magnolia grandiflora growing against a wall. Magnolia grandiflora is a characterful species; native to parts of the USA, it is easily recognised by its large leathery leaves and huge scented cream flowers in summer. Magnolia grandiflora is naturally a large tree, although it can be pruned and trained fairly easily and kept under control. When I was asked to look at the Coombe Trenchard Magnolia I started thinking about ways to prune it and revitalise it, but then I saw it wasn't in good health. Looking at the stem I would say that some disaster has hit this plant; maybe a hard frost when it was young caused severe damage, maybe disease...? We will never know for certain what happened to this tree but that's not really important; now it's a matter of seeing what can be done to protect it.

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Seeing a plant of any decent size with only half of its trunk is a testament to just how tough so many garden plants actually are! After whatever caused the damage had gone the plant repaired itself as best it could and carried on growing. The problem that we now face with this tree is that it's growing very one-sided, which would make any tree a little more unstable but with the trunk so badly compromised the question is whether it has any future. I'm told that this Magnolia flowers so late each year that the buds and emerging blooms are destroyed by frost, so this is certainly not a plant to keep for flower either, and it's plain to see that the tree isn't in good health. It's likely that the tree will have to go, but there is an enormous degree of apprehension. This is clearly an old tree and has been a part of the garden at Coombe Trenchard for many decades, and if and when the decision is made to remove it that decision will certainly not be made lightly.

Death and rebirth are a part of any garden. Each February and March, Coombe Trenchard plays host to a fascinating reminder of its past. Many years ago a magnificent beech tree (Fagus sylvatica) grew on the lawn, surrounded by a carpet of Crocuses. The tree eventually died, was felled and the ground was returned to grass, but every spring the Crocuses still appear and carpet the ground in a ring of purple and white, a testament to the tree that once stood there and an annual reminder of the garden's rich history.

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Ben Probert Penandtrowel.co.uk

Winter Pruning in the Gardens

I am delighted that as from this month Ben Probert from Pen and Trowel will be working with us at Coombe Trenchard on and advisory basis. Ben will be compiling an annual diary of the restoration work needed here in the gardens, and helping Graeme, our gardener plan this work.

Ben has always been fascinated by plants and gardens. With over 10 years providing advice and growing plants commercially, he now works as a gardener and consultant based near Launceston. His blog, 'Pots and Polytunnels', is a great read, and you can find out about the plants that he loves by searching online for 'Ben's Botanics'. If you would like Ben to be involved with your garden then visit www.penandtrowel.co.uk.

So over to you Ben.....

It would be very easy to think that gardens are completely asleep in winter. Without the colours of summer everything can look a little lifeless in its dormant state, but let me assure you that this is far from true!

For gardeners the winter is a useful time; it's said that January and February are the only times the gardener is ahead of the garden, and when spring and summer arrive it's easy to see how that would be true. The winter is a busy enough time at Coombe Trenchard, with plenty of pruning to be done.

 Home to many heritage apple varieties, the orchard was planted to provide fresh apples for eating and cooking. Growing in one of the sunniest parts of the garden, the fruit trees have grown incredibly well, and have now reached the point where they need a little shaping as well as pruning. As they haven't been shaped before this has been a little scary in places; the first step is to remove unwanted branches, and on a few trees this certainly made alarmingly large piles of prunings! There is a lot of in-depth information around about apple pruning, so I'll just give an overview of the process here.

The aim of the pruning process is to have an apple tree with a nice open goblet-shaped crown, with an open centre. The first priority is to cut out any branches that face inward, any damaged shoots and any shoots that cross each other. Once any of these shoots (that might sometimes be thick branches!) have been removed, the aim then is to produce a 'balanced' tree, that is to say that you don't want all of the branches on one side of the tree! Prune out branches that are too close together, and try to produce a tree that is equal all the way round. Most apple varieties fruit on short side shoots called 'spurs'; to encourage these side shoots you must prune the long shoots made last year to around four buds up from the previous year's growth. This sounds quite complicated but is pretty much the same process that you would use to make Fuchsia or Pelargonium cuttings into bushy plants. The thing to remember is that, within reason, if you get it wrong you will affect the fruiting of the tree but you're unlikely to do long lasting damage.

As I say, there are plenty of resources out there on how to prune apples. One thing is almost certain though; once you start pruning your fruit trees someone will come and give you the benefit of their wisdom!

Some pruning jobs bring far greater headaches. In the yard at Coombe Trenchard there is an old fig. Sarah tells me that when they first moved to Coombe Trenchard the fig had fallen flat against the floor and was growing horizontally, and has since been patiently winched back into an upright position with rope. It's a beautiful tree and is laden with young fruits that will ripen next year, but being supported with rope is far from ideal, and has simply bought the fig some time. Something must be done.

When you look at a tree like this it's easy to get scared by it. Your mind races between thoughts of how to give it the best chance and what happens if it all goes wrong. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and take action, but with older plants you must be patient; the more drastic the action the more likely it is to lead to the death of the tree.

The best way for this fig to thrive would be as a wall trained plant, but given that the trunk is pretty thick already we must rely on young shoots coming from ground level to make the structure of the future plant. In the meantime we need to reduce the weight of the plant so it doesn't strain too much on its rope. I'll admit I got a bit nervous suggesting removing a large chunk of the plant, but I'm confident that as well as lightening the load of the tree it will divert the energy of the plant into the new shoots that will make the wall trained plant.

The Wisteria against the wall of the house is already pretty well wall trained! My suspicion is that this plant is contemporary with the house (1906) or was planted soon afterwards. This plant is magnificent; stems climb the walls like intertwined snakes and the plant curves along the wall like a tree in traditional Japanese art. This plant is spectacular in spring, but as with the apples and the figs it needs to be pruned to keep it at its best. Winter Wisteria pruning is actually incredibly simple but again people get scared by what can sound complicated. All you need to know is that Wisterias flower on short side shoots (like apples do), and that your job as gardener is to encourage those shoots.

Removing clearly unwanted growth is the first job; anything heading off to somewhere it's not wanted should be removed. The next stage is to shorten side shoots to between three and four buds. Don't worry, plants can't count! You won't do any damage if you prune to five buds, or even don't prune to the exact same number each time- providing you leave two or more buds on each 'spur' you will be fine.

The quiet of winter is a great time to plan for the next year. The cutting garden is an important area at Coombe Trenchard, and is where flowers are grown for weddings that take place at the house, as well as for the house itself. The majority of flowers used for cutting are annuals, so every year the beds need to be prepared in anticipation of the coming season.

Coombe Trenchard has an impressive compost heap (which I am almost certainly going to write about more in due course!), and the compost from the heap is used widely in the garden as a mulch and soil improver. Whatever you grow, soil quality is crucial; if your soil gets tired and thin then your plants will struggle. Annuals really want to perform, so giving them good soil means better crops of better flowers!

 I'm not a big fan of using chemicals in gardens. I'm not anti-chemicals on principle, but I do feel strongly that the best products for plants to use are the ones they are already adapted to take up. Good quality home made compost in the soil is full of nutrients and helps to keep a good soil structure. To feed the cutting beds and the borders at Coombe Trenchard with bonemeal or other 'manufactured' products would lead to lots of lush growth, but much of the growth would be unsustainable and would flop, soft growth would encourage pests and diseases and the soil wouldn't be able to keep its good structure.

It's funny how what goes around, comes around. When the first gardeners took up their posts at Coombe Trenchard in the early 20th century they were on the very edge of the 'chemical revolution' in gardening, and over the decades many of the old gardening wisdom will have been replaced by new chemical products such as fertilisers and sprays. Now, a century later, we are more enlightened about things like organic practices, and have now rediscovered what those early gardeners knew all along.

Ben.

Ben Probert has always been fascinated by plants and gardens. With over 10 years providing advice and growing plants commercially, he now works as a gardener and consultant based near Launceston. His blog, 'Pots and Polytunnels', is a great read, and you can find out about the plants that he loves by searching online for 'Ben's Botanics'. If you would like Ben to be involved with your garden then visit www.penandtrowel.co.uk.