A day at Slade in Southerndown
A lovely sunny Monday was the perfect day for a spot of maintenance and Slade House in Southerndown was the perfect spot for it. Walking down through the stunningly beautiful snowdrops and the purple crocus just about to burst open, was enough to lift anybody’s spirits. With the help of Mark the gardener we soon got to work and in no time at all we’d completed the beautiful willow arbour that sits at the bottom of the garden.
Next was the willow entranceway with a run of fedge either side of a short tunnel. The willow had thickened up nicely so we were able to create a roll top for the fedge and the tunnel had lots of small branches which we wove in. The result was very pleasing.
We finished off with the four way arch which had grown so well that we were able to create a canopy of woven willow that come spring time will burst into leaf and be a lovely source of shade for summer.
Set in six acres, Slade garden is an unexpected gem with masses of spring flowers. The terraced lawns, mature specimen trees, living willow arbours, rose and clematis pergola, orchard and herbaceous borders, create a very natural garden that also has extensive views over the Bristol Channel. The garden is open under the National Garden Scheme on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 April this year and is well worth a visit.
I’m swapping my day’s work for some of their fantastic organic meat http://www.sladefarmorganics.com can’t wait for Sunday lunch!
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