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| Autumn 2006 |
House and Garden |
From Garden to Kitchen The garden supplies fresh herbs - and fresh air - to the chefs and waiters who come and pick what they need, whether it's Sorrel for the soup or Fresh Mint for the Pimms. From Angelica to Wild Rocket, it's amazing what you can find amongst the ornamental shrubs and flowers. |
Team Effort It's not only the gardeners who play an active part in the garden, it's a team effort. Cardoons grown from seed by one of the hotel owners in his greenhouse were planted out in the garden in August. Rose-bushes from our first wedding party are also planted in the garden, both to celebrate their wedding and their first anniversary. With the dry, sweltering heat of June and July, the lawns were in need of a good drink. We didn't have to water our lawns under cover of night - no hose-pipe bans here - but we did anyway, with the help of our night porters. |
What Next? We'll assess the successes and failures in the vegetable patch and introduce some different varieties for next year. September has brought the delivery of over two thousand bulbs. Seven hundred daffodils, five hundred tulips and the majestic Fritillaria Imperialis (Crown Imperial) are among the bulbs that, planted in Autumn, will grow to herald the garden's second spring. And of course, more manure deliveries! |
| Jesmond Dene House, Jesmond Dene Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE2 2EY, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)191 212 3000 Fax: +44 (0) 191 212 3001 info@jesmonddenehouse.co.uk www.jesmonddenehouse.co.uk |
Looking at Jesmond Dene House gardens today, it is difficult to believe that this is a garden still in its infancy. One year on from an extensive replanting of the grounds, the plants have filled out to provide lush surroundings that complement the impressive hotel building itself. Of course, we have the advantage of the mature plantings in Jesmond Dene as our backdrop including the Victorian Rhododendrons and huge Lilac bushes that helped us through our first spring. From then on, the garden has gone from strength to strength. May and June brought the huge Alliums and bright Salvias. Hydrangea, Buddleja, Himalayan Honeysuckle, Dahlias, Bottlebrush and many more were highlights through the summer. A replanting of the beds around the entrance to the Great Hall has brought an extra splash of colour to the end of the season with Lavender, Liatris and Red-hot Pokers.
They say that nothing beats growing your own vegetables to cook at home. But undoubtedly there's an extra buzz to be had from growing for the top chefs in the region. With our main vegetable patch only metres from the kitchens, vegetables can make it from plant to plate in a matter of minutes. The majority of vegetable seed is organic and some are ancient heirloom varieties with exotic names like the 'Cherokee Trail of Tears' , 'French Bean' and 'Striato d'Napoli' courgette. These traditional varieties don't just have good names - they taste great too. Excess vegetables always find a good home with members of staff and the gardeners!
Success in the veg patch and beautiful blooms come down to one magic ingredient - well-rotted manure. And when a trailer load of it was dumped in the hotel car park in spring this year, staff and visiors alike must have wondered what they'd walked into! By the end of the day though, with the Hotel Manager supplying mugs of tea, the team of gardeners and helpers had moved it all to the flower beds for which it was destined.
The garden's quiet time in Autumn and Winter is the gardener's planning time.