Island Life Magazine Ltd December/January 2018 | Page 75

Country life
A WINTER’S TALE
by Matt Noyce, Head Gardener at Quarr Abbey
Quarr Abbey is now caught in the grip of
winter and the setting has changed.
The leafless skyline now seems bare. This said, the
cold, clear mornings are filled with birds foraging for
berries and other quarry amongst the undergrowth
and within the canopies of trees and shrubs.
The leaves have fallen but the tidying up continues.
This is payment for the privilege of living amongst
wonderful, majestic, veteran trees. Some of which
have been growing here on the estate for hundreds of
years. Winter or summer, these trees create a wealth of
arboreal habitat within their creases and cracks. Studies
have shown over two hundred and fifty different insect
species can be found on a single, old oak tree.
Unfortunately, these trees do succumb to old age
and ultimately fall. Where we can, we encourage
the cycle of nature to take place. Recently though,
we have had to clear trees and branches that have
created problems by breaching our stock fences and
crossing paths. The resultant timber has given us a
great undercover ‘rainy day’ job in splitting the logs.
Timber can keep you warm in three ways. Cutting it,
splitting it and burning it!
The change in season has brought about a shift in
work priorities. We are now focusing on the necessary
estate work. Clearing vegetation and lifting branches
along paths, continuing with the trimming and
reinstatement of hedges and the removal of non
indigenous species in the copses.
The programme of ditch clearance is still very much
underway as we are trying to reduce the rate of land
slippage of our coastline into the sea by increasing
drainage away from those areas.
There still is work to be done though in the vegetable
plot and the gardens. We are continuing to grow winter
salads and crops under cover in our polytunnels. The
areas of the vegetable plot we aren’t using have been
covered with polythene sheet to keep the weeds at bay
and to reduce labour in the spring.
The Dahlias we have grown this year will be left in
the ground to overwinter. The soil is free draining
and is sheltered somewhat by the walled garden wall,
bearing this in mind, I trust they will survive.
We have also planted out some winter colour in
the hanging baskets around the teashop in the
form of hardy Cyclamen. As for the pruning of spent
vegetation, we’ll leave the seed heads for the birds
and also for a bit of winter interest.
I would like to wish you all a very peaceful Christmas
and every good wish for the New Year.
Pictures by Matt Noyce.
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