Garden shifts and Autumn Wedding
The garden is looking better than it has done since the Spring with Dahlias and Salvias in full flower combined with the pretty grass heads, Cosmos and other late summer annuals at last doing their thing. It is remarkable how this garden has survived the long drought of high summer and will inform our future planting.
I am a member of the National Garden Scheme Kent Committee and as such attend meetings across the county. Our last meeting was in Stowton on the far east side of Kent where you have wonderful views towards the Channel. On my way home I discovered a gem of a Nursery called Farthing Plants and picked out two little treasures: a Dregea and an Edgworthia. The Dregea is a fantastic climbing plant that will combine happily with our roses and the Edgworthia an early flowering spring shrub with a beautiful scent that will grace the ruin garden. Also tucked up in the vegetable beds are a hundred bright red wallflowers all ready to plant out with some amazing Tulip Viking later this month.
The market garden has kept the Farm Shop well supplied with bounteous amounts of Cobra French beans, knobbly Turks head, Honeyboat, kuri kuri and butternut squash, tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. There are masses of chillis to come. Do try all the different types – generally the larger the chilli, the less intense the flavour. My favourite are the orange Scotch bonnets which are fruity and hot. Fantastic in a daal with spiced onion and garlic on the top. All you need really for a cool autumn evening.
An Autumn Wedding
We don’t write enough about weddings so I wanted to describe Hannah & Dom’s delightful wedding here in October. They came to see us in March this year determined to get married in six months, in the garden, in church and walking back to the venue. We were not so sure about this! It’s clearly a good sales technique as they immediately announced that this was the venue for them despite the uncertainties of an autumn wedding in a draughty marquee!
In a trice they had organised a beautiful sailcloth marquee through Holmsted Events and Sarah Litchfield to do their catering. The whole wedding felt as if it was completely effortless. No fuss, no panic, no spreadsheets, simply done with the faith that this is all they wanted and it would be good. Indeed it was good. One of the best. Flowers galore; beaming friends and a barrel of two of Larkins. And the sun shone like never before warming the marquee until the band began and their energetic dancing kept them going until the sparkling moon showed them the way back to their honeymoon night in Hole Cottage.
Congratulations Hannah & Dom!