The 1848 map of the Castle and gardens shows an L shaped structure behind the castellated walk in the Formal garden. Dave has spent several months carefully excavating the site of this L shaped structure layer by layer. So far he has discovered the remains of the clearance of the Formal garden area which took place in the 1970’s in preparation for the jousting era. The Formal gardens provided the tilt yard for the Knights and their horses.

Below this layer he has found the remnants of the 1840’s conservatory. This was demolished in the 1950’s as during WWII a bomb fell nearby and the blast damaged the glass and structure beyond repair.

A great deal of debris (conservatory, stones/ soil and architectural features) was dumped in the L shaped area which is being removed and all recorded by Dave.

To assist in the removal of this material Geoff has constructed a wooden chute down which the extraneous material is carefully guided into Rusty’s trailer. “Rusty” the mini tractor joined the Garden team lasty year. Named by it’s previous owner we saw no reason to change the name. It is most aptly named. Rusty has a top speed of 6 to 7 mph but is happier trundling along at 3 to 4 mph. The material is taken to another area of the garden where stones are graded and stored for future use. The soil is added to existing planted areas and all finds are labelled and archived for future displays.

This is an exciting project and it will be interesting to see what Dave uncovers next.

The alternating weather pattern of sunshine and copious amounts of rain (there have been several heavy downpours) this month has proved beneficial for the plants, many of which have put on a great deal of growth and are beginning to flower profusely.

Saxifraga urbium (London Pride) continues to flower. The Nepeta (cat mint) surrounding the donated Queen Elizabeth roses is a magnet for bees and the Wisteria Sinensis planted six years ago is flowering, delighting us with its long purple racemes and fragrance.