Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2016 | Page 71

Gardening

THE CHANGING COLOURS
by Matt Noyce, Head Gardener at Quarr Abbey
Seasonal weather shifts are now apparent as we turn the corner into autumn and
embrace the wind and the cooler weather that it brings. The changing colour of
the leaves is a sure sign that we are entering a new season and one which will soon
temporarily change the landscape of Quarr.
There are some wonderful leaf colours around at
this time of year, Parrotia, Cotinus and Euonymus
to name a few. All offer beautiful displays. Then of
course comes the clear-up operation to collect the
leaves and make them useful once again, as mulch.
In the orchards, we are continuing to collect our
apple and pear crop. The fruit is divided between the
abbey kitchen and the abbey store room and once
these are full we will take the remainder for pressing
into apple juice and cider to be sold in our farmshop.
It has been a good year for top fruit so there should
be enough to keep everyone happy.
There is still produce being harvested from the
vegetable plot as we press on to make the plot ever
more productive by growing throughout the colder

months. There are varieties of crops that will tolerate
the winter weather both under plastic and out in the
elements. Our trials continue.
In and around the beds and borders we have been
pruning back any finished herbaceous perennials,
pruning our bush roses to reduce the likelihood of
‘windrock’ and whipping round with the mower when
it’s dry to keep the grass in check.
Elsewhere in the hedgerows we have been berry
picking. Our star blackberry picker, Father Gregory,
has amassed a great amount of fruit. This year has
been a fantastic one for soft fruits. These, coupled
with our Bramley apples will make wonderful
warming autumnal puddings...

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