As I sit here today  in the garden at Reveley,  soaking up the splendid Autumn afternoon sunshine on offer,  I am taking the time to reflect on a few of the  things in the garden that I have enjoyed.

Gardeners often have a new favourite plant. And one of mine this year is Colocasia ‘Black Magic’. Now, it’s  well known in the  circles at Reveley that I like a bit of colour! So it may come as a shock to some that this isn’t shouting with loud colours. Indeed, it’s just striking black stems and green leaves. The leaves can grow up to 52cm long, which is 20 inches in old money. And it is relatively easy to grow and adds an exotic touch to it’s surroundings. My bulbs arrived by ship, all the way from India no less!

They worked well along side their cousins Alocasia calidora which are all green in colour. If you are visiting Reveley next summer, don’t be too surprised if you see these popping up somewhere.

Things have been happening at  both the conservatory and the pond. And I don’t just mean the conservatory repairs nor the large amounts of tree surgery work at the pond area. Instead Lesley one of the two WRAGS trainees this year, has had great success in growing melons, in the conservatory. A lot of folks were surprised to see melons growing here in the uk. They sparked a lot of questions. The amazing summer conditions certainly helped, but no doubt the careful attention of Lesley secured success.

And lastly, if you go to the far corner of the garden in the pond area you will see there has been quite a bit of work taking place there. The difference in light levels is huge compared to what they were just a few months ago.  We are aiming to create a reflective space for visitors to be able to sit, chat, read a book or eat a sandwich in the peace. There is still a lot to do, with  new planting planned, further reduction of some of the trees and a new seat.

Speaking of the garden pond, I often pondered in the past, why was the pond at Reveley  built in a faraway corner of the garden? And then I was reminded that the garden is now only half the size that it used to be. Mrs Chewett having sold the other half off many years ago. And so the pond was originally on the central axis of the old garden layout, which makes  sense. So there you go, another mystery solved!

Hope to see you again soon at Reveley, and enjoy the Autumn colours.

Rory’s Blog

25 October 2018