Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2016 | Page 73

Gardening

AN UNPREDICTABLE SUMMER
by Matt Noyce, Head Gardener at Quarr Abbey
With the recent, rather turbulent weather of cool winds, showery spells and extreme
heat, this summer’s growing plan hasn’t been plain sailing, but that’s what you come
to expect working alongside unpredictable nature.
The sunshine we have had has been a very
welcome sight, warming the soils and encouraging
the plants to grow skywards. However, along with
the sun and rain some of the top gardeners foes,
slugs and weeds, have flourished. These have been
prevalent in equal measures and have proved
testing to keep at bay. At Quarr, ever conscious of
the environment we live in, we are committed to
seeking alternative methods of controlling pests
and weed species. Weeds are usually manually
removed and we try to break the ‘seed bank’ in the
soil by removing the weeds before they seed, thus
preventing thousands of potential plants from
germinating.
In the vegetable plot we have been continuing to
crop our vast array of produce for the abbey kitchen
and Quarr farm shop. From purple carrots to gherkins
to pink beetroot, all have been cropping well. In
particular, our soft fruits have yielded very well and
the Dahlia show has been spectacular too. On the
walls we have been tying up next year’s fruiting stems

of loganberries in preparation and also giving the
trained fruit trees their summer prune.
In other areas of the garden such as the beds and
borders we have been continually deadheading spent
flowers and stems and lightly pruning the lavender
spikes as they fade. We have also been trimming the
hedges to keep them in check and have removed any
blackberry briars that have emerged.
In the visitor centre and monastery shop courtyard,
our Quarr carpenters have built sturdy timber planters
using our own oak trees and I have planted them
according to a sensory theme of sight, sound, smell,
taste and touch (texture). The plants lend themselves
to the area and have excellent traits such as drought
tolerance and hardiness.
Although healthy, our bees have had an equall y hard
time of the summer so far. They have found it difficult
to forage for their natural food during the wetter,
cooler weather. Things have been picking up recently
and the honey flow is starting to be restored. Better
get the buttered toast ready...

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