Another wet and windy month but slightly warmer. Spring is waking up the plants and the grass is growing strongly. In flower this month amongst others are Erythronium “Pagoda”, Erythronium “White Beauty”, Brunnera “Jack Frost”, Brunnera “Silver Spear”, tiarella, geum “Pink Petticoat”, Iris, and a display of auriculas in the auricula theatre, in front of which are two terracotta planters with a glorious display of red and purple tulips – a magnificent sight.

Over the winter months Geoff has been hard at work making Versailles style planters (mostly out of recycled pallets). These have been planted with Phoenix canariensis which provide an avenue leading to a focal point at the end of the Middle Terrace – the focal point being a refurbished arbour (again by Geoff). The arbour is a welcoming seat where a few minutes “sit down” will give a view of the Castle and time to enjoy the tranquillity of the surrounding woodland.

Geoff has also spent time repairing and repainting all the wooden benches dotted around the gardens so that visitors may sit and enjoy the views come the warmer weather.

Because our boots have become so muddy due to the inclement weather, Geoff has constructed a boot cleaner using some reclaimed wood and three brush heads – this has seen a great deal of use this month. A huge thanks to Geoff.

Finally, we welcomed back Llandrillo College students after their Easter break. They have spent their Tuesday mornings working on the maintenance programme for their Wildflower meadow. This is now in its second year and we are waiting to see what flowers come up this year.

If you would like to take a look at our March update, head back to the news page.