Island Life Magazine Ltd June/July 2012 | Page 104

Matt Noyce is head gardener
at Quarr Abbey, and is
responsible for the 200 acres
of gardens, pastureland,
vegetable plot and private
woodland on the estate.

Up to our knees in water but it was well worthwhile
With the fear of sounding clichéd, and
being very British by commenting on
the weather, I’d say it has been ‘very
nice weather for ducks’ recently.
We have found ourselves up to our
knees at times in ditches, clearing
the way for rain water that I know
we will need in the coming months.
With this in mind, and the threat of
drought implications later this year,
we at Quarr find ourselves in a lucky
position. Being handed a very old map
from our archives, I have seen we have
various capped and covered wells on
the estate.
With this knowledge we recruited
the help of a dowser, a person who
uses the intriguing method of dowsing
to locate water and its flow, amongst
other things, underground. We had
success and are looking to uncover one
of the well heads in the near future.
The rains have been good news
for plants already in the ground; the
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asparagus has grown tremendously,
producing thick juicy stems, although
tending to the vegetable plot has had
its problems due to waterlogging. It is
advised not to work sodden soil as you
may damage the soil’s structure; also,
most plants don’t appreciate having
their roots stuck in very wet soil.
One particular example was a veteran
oak tree that was brought down by
the recent wet and windy weather. It
will, however, live on in the form of
furniture, as our resident craftsmen
and craftswoman will turn the timber
into sturdy benches to place around
the estate.
On sunny days we have had the Isle
of Wight Beekeeping Association on
standby to collect local bee swarms
and bring them to Quarr to create
new colonies. They are encouraged
into temporary ‘nucs’ (pronounced
nukes) until the colony expands. So
far there have been several successful

relocations, which is great news for all
concerned.
The hanging baskets around the
teashop have just been replanted
after a great earlier show. I ha fP