Another Muggy Day

This time I am in the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo. After a brief chat with Charlotte Phillips who is the leader of the project to restore the Gardens to their former Glory, I take a look at display of flowers within the garden that forms one half of the octagonal enclosing walls.

I have two cameras with me; the EOS 7D has the 100mm macro, and the 5D MkII has the 24-105mm, and both come into use depending on the distance from my subject and the angle of view, though ironically using the 7D which has the smaller chip, I sometimes swap to the zoom because the distance does not seem quite right compared to using it on the 5D MkII, but when I use the earlier 5D, the issue is the review screen is too small. I am just too fussy!

Walking around and often kneeling down means it is easy to work up a sweat, yet compared to the volunteers all around me, I must simply be unfit, as they are really toiling, pulling out weeds wheeling barrows and raking.

There are now three Mallard ducks that have taken residence; two males and one female, and I learned that apparently there were some eggs, that they had been incubating, but last week they were found to be cracked and the presumption is a fox possibly feasted on them. That is sad. Certainly they do not seem fazed by all the people around them, whereas the ducks I see on the reservoir are far more wary of human proximity.

Today was definitely not a day for a visit to the cactus greenhouse, so when I felt I had a good collection of images, I left and returned to my car which I had carefully parked in the shade, but before sitting inside I grabbed a rug from the boot to keep my cloth driving seat dry and fresh.

Walled Garden, Luton Hoo – Early Summer

Well, there looks to be a chance of some settled and more Summer-like weather this week, with even the potential of lasting into the weekend. I have not had much of a chance to visit the Walled Garden of late as I have had to contend with preparing my own garden and surroundings to improve my chances of selling the house. But having made some corrections to the new Estate Agents’ work on the brochure, and my desk being clear I dashed out for an hour to see what was on show.

I never tire of seeing the leaves on the erstwhile Garden Manager’s Office, as they start green and then change to red and white, so after some shots of that I made my way into the garden itself and whilst close to the wall and capturing a close-up, I heard the somewhat unusual twittering of some young Mallard ducks, and they then tentatively emerged from the back of the garden beds onto the path towards the grass beneath the fruit trees. A short time later a male pheasant also skittered away from near me, and not long after took to the air and departed.

The layout of the gardens has changed from earlier years, with much more fencing appearing, and unless I am mistaken a different range of plants. I spent just on an hour wandering around occasionally patiently watching bees doing their job of pollinating, and just before leaving taking a shot of the beekeepers working around the hives behind the potting sheds. Overall there were a lot of volunteers this Wednesday almost certainly due to the improved spell of weather.

Heritage Open Day Saturday at Luton Hoo

I drove to the Walled Garden to see what I could cover at the event, taking only one camera, my trusty 5D MkII and 24-105mm lens. I was surprised that there seemed to be far fewer visitors than I would have expected since entry to the event was free. But after only ten or fifteen minutes many more arrived. I must have arrived at around many people’s lunchtime!

I had been here only last Wednesday afternoon so I was not expecting to see too much of a change, I was soon disabused of that, as many more blooms were present than earlier, and weeding had continued unabated, and there were still even some volunteers working away as visitors wandered around. Deborah who designed and manages the Apothecary planting was constantly surrounded by enquiring visitors. The visitors were a mixture of individuals of both sexes, couples young and old and several family groups. I also spotted a few in guided tours learning of the history of the gardens and the plans for its restoration and regeneration.

The encouraging sign as had been the case on the Wednesday, was how many honeybees were to be found on the flowers; a welcome profusion. I was saddened by seeing that one of the greenhouses had suffered a serious collapse, I just hope some form of support can be arranged before the onset of winter.

I spotted a daytime moth which had made one particular flowerhead its territory, and was fascinated by its complex wing structure. I cannot find a name for it, it has a mark that is similar to the Silver Y moth, but it did not have the distinctive Y structure.

Early September in the Walled Garden

Later, I visited the Walled Garden Project at Luton Hoo where volunteers were in abundance, and here the bees were in even greater profusion, and with a stronger breeze here the scent from the lavender was even stronger. The late rain and the recent warmer weather has given the large contingency of volunteers a good deal of extra wok redefining the paths among the individual garden beds. Here the sounds were not of shrill children, but the enthusiastic and friendly chatter as everyone bent to the task before them.

As I strolled through capturing some of the scene, certain areas were pointed out to me where the bees were extremely busy with their labours, and it was mentioned that I had not visited for some while, and one lady had noticed that my house was on the market, which showed I was not as invisible as I had thought.

I found that a new restoration project was afoot; that of a milk churner, and the one man Drag Saw was very much a working machine now as its engine had been running! I also paid a very quick visit to the Cactus house before leaving.

Floral Abundance at Luton Hoo's Walled Garden

I had not visited the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo for some while, so it was pleasant to see more new signage and the expanded area of the garden. The recent rains, and warm nights meant there were blooms in abundance, which meant that in some areas the younger plants that had seemed well-separated, had now become dense areas of overlapping species providing an artist's palette of extraordinary variety.

Although bright, it was very humid, and as I worked close in, the bees provided continuo as they serenaded through their favourite repertoire. One corner close to the greenhouses was particularly redolent of the scent of its flowers. Every once in a while a breeze would come, and the grasses would sway, but ironically they often occurred when I was trying to capture a single slender bloom, and I would be trying to hold still in an awkward stance and would find my glasses would steam up, and I'd have to break off just as the wind died back down!

I had arrived somewhat late and was probably on site for an hour, and as I finished shooting a few drops of rain desultorily fell, but stopped almost immediately.

Windy Wednesday in the Walled Garden

I had had too much grief in front of the computer; I needed to get out, so even though I knew it would be rather late, and it was both dull and very windy, I took myself off to the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo.These winds were the precursor to autumn, or as the Americans would say Fall. I prefer autumn to the the more prosaic description to just the single aspect of the dropping of leaves. Autumn evokes the colours of the season, and today despite the inclement weather still had the colour of late summer flowers, and the leaves have yet to fall.

My patience was somewhat tried as some shots took several minutes of waiting for the lull in the wind, and nothing could be grabbed as I had little margin of error due to the low light level. And at the best of times patience is not really my strong suit, and these last few weeks have not been the best of times. I persevered, and the end result is more colourful than I had expected. Many of the volunteers had already finished, but there were still several hardy perennials determined not to be defeated by the weather, and they had obviously worked hard clearing the weeds and thinning out the plants and flowers that had past their best.

The handcart is nearing completion, and the next in line for refurbishment, now that most replacement parts have arrived, is the Drag Saw. It is hoped the handcart will be ready in time for the Pumpkin and Apple Gala Day, and certainly the Apples and Pears are the best I have seen, having suffered less from the ravages of wasps and the like.

August in the Walled Garden

Because there was some sunshine, I was hoping that the weather might be conducive to the sighting of the elusive humming bird hawkmoth in the walled garden at Luton Hoo, hence my visit this Wednesday afternoon. It was not to be!

There was however a riot of colour, and some of the time there was clear sunshine at others the cloud cover increased, but the one constant was the oppressive mist heat, with only the occasional respite of a gentle breeze (always when I needed it to be still either when very close or simply to ensure a good composition – I believe there is a law governing this with gardening connotations!)

It would have been an ideal day for painters, I felt somewhat sorry for the toiling volunteers in the heat.

Luton Hoo Visit 26-7-11

Wednesdays are volunteer days at the Walled Garden Project at Luton Hoo, and the morning started very grey and cloudy, so I worked in the morning and only went over there once the sun was shining, because I had heard that a humming bird hawkmoth had been seen in the gardens a fortnight back, and I knew they needed bright sunshine to appear.

However, I was to be disappointed, there was no sign of it. I was told that I should take a look in at the Cactus house as there was a splendid flowering of no less than five heads from one. The gardeners tending this had never witnessed such a display in over thirty years of working with cacti. The blooms last for no longer than a couple of days, so I was indeed honoured and lucky that it should occur on a Wednesday.

I was also delighted to see large numbers of hoverflies who were equally excited, which gave me further chances of capturing them in flight amidst such colour. It was not just in the greenhouses that they abounded, there was a profusion in the garden as well, so I did not miss the opportunities. There were many bees, but few honeybees, and there were also several wasps. A few cabbage white butterflies could be seen, but only one Peacock that I could see.

Luton Hoo Walled Garden Visit

It has been some time since I visited Luton Hoo, to the Walled Garden Project, and after clearing the desks I set off via Slip End. As I was approaching Pepperstock very low overhead swept a Red Kite – what a wonderful sight, sadly it was not until I got to the Motorway bridge above the M1 could I park up and grab the longest lens I had with me!

Well, you can imagine the rest, but in case you think luck was on my side, let me say, it glid around me as I got out my 90-200mm, and then soared ever higher and more distant as I got my camera out and and focussed upon him. I waited for a while in the forlorn hope it would return, but after five minutes spent watching a diminishing speck, I gave in and drove the rest of the journey to Luton Hoo. But when s/he was close, what a magnificent bird and to see his/her full wingspan and forked tail…!

The Potting Sheds are undergoing refurbishment to the roof in part, due to earlier high wind damage that rendered it unsafe, so I made my way in via the greenhouses and into the garden, aiming for the Mushroom house to see how the handcart was faring, but as I walked along the bed beside the long greenhouse I spotted several young Allium that was an airport for hoverflies. Out came my 100mm Macro with 1.4 converter to see what chance I had of capturing these phenomenal pilots in flight. I was there, rooted to one spot for probably ten minutes trying to capture contrasting coloured backgrounds to these hovering insects and as close as I could to reveal their fascinating detail.

After that I spoke to the two men who were doing the conservation and restoration of the handcart from old oak to replace the woodworm-eaten sections, trying to capture their handiwork.

I then returned to the garden to capture some of the blooms in the central growing area. I got chatting to some of the volunteers from I learn that the week before they had a visit by a humming-bird hawkmoth, a specimen I had spotted the year before, but never managed to photograph, but with very little sunshine, it was nowhere to be found this afternoon; I did mange a cricket. There was a lot of colour today, and even here in the main growing area, an abundance of hoverflies, so they feature strongly within this gallery.

Sunshine and Showers in the Walled Garden

The morning was dull with very few bright spells, but the afternoon improved enough for me to consider visiting the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo, even though it was already mid-afternoon.

The first port of call was to see how the restoration of the hand cart was getting on, however there was no one there, but I took a quick few shots. I took a stroll around the garden and found quite a few beautifully scented roses, and wonderful rich red lilies, and some rather small sunflowers. There were a fair number of bees, though few were honey bees.

The newly replanted strawberries were being carefully protected from any marauding birds. I also noted that part of the potting shed roof between two chimneys was under reconstruction.

There was a very sharp, but shortlived shower which brought a stop to that work for a while and brought me into the shelter of the greenhouse where I spotted a beautifully formed fig leaf. This afforded me a a chance to catch water droplets on leaves and flowers, which always adds charm, and also offered some dramatic clouds against a rich blue.

Hardworking Volunteers at Luton Hoo

Volunteers at Luton Hoo's Walled Garden Project do not shy away from either hard or dirty work, and it is true regardless of sex or age. The stalwarts I came across this afternoon before taking photos in the warmth of the Conservatory Marquee, were in the case of two ladies – barely above ground as they were in the void outside the front of the Boiler room that gave onto the windows from the cellar, digging out the accumulated soil of decades and filling several loads for the wheelbarrow.

Round at the rear at the bottom of the stone steps to the boiler room itself one man was on his knees and the other standing, as they tried to unblock the drain sump of greasy sludge, once again, hardly an enjoyable task.

I did pay a visit to the restorers of the handcart, but they were tackling a different task – that of repairing the projector stand for the upcoming Art Exhibition, so the hand cart was put on the back burner!

The 2nd Open Art Exhibition at Luton Hoo

Preparations are well under way for this year’s Open Art Exhibition being held in the The Conservatory, a semi-permanent Marquee within the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo. The exhibition opens on the 18th March, and continues till 20th. Full details can be found at: http://www.lhwg.org.uk
I went along to the gardens and to the former Mushroom House, but there was less activity in these areas than normal, partly due to my somewhat late arrival, and also the weather was far from conducive. Work upon the Boiler-House drains was being undertaken by two keen lady volunteers at the front, where the grilles above what I soon realised were windows from the cellar, were being cleared of several wheelbarrow loads of soil and stones! At the rear two men were at work trying to clear a sump at the bottom of the stairs, of several years’ worth of oily sludge.
Out in the gardens a lone female was later to be seen tilling the soil with a hoe.

In the marquee were numerous people hanging paintings, assembling the bar area, up ladders attending to the spotlighting, whilst around the schools exhibits children, their parents and teachers were putting the finishing touches to their chefs d’oeuvres. I have tried to capture the overall picture of the displays and some of those beavering away to make the show a success.

I look forward to taking a closer look in the evening at the Preview to which I have been invited.

Still Very Much PreSeason at Walled Garden

On this my second visit to Luton Hoo’s Walled Garden this year, it is obvious that the weather has taken its toll; some of the polythene covering on the greenhouses has been shredded by the winds, and the incessant rain has puddled much of the roads and paths, and growth has been held back. Despite this there are the signs of Spring, and the volunteers have done sterling work in clearing the beds for the new season. There is also new paving for the tree-lined path to the greenhouses.

In the former Mushrooom House, the handcart restoration is progressing from the stripped-down kit of parts I saw on my earlier visit; the wheels have been treated for woodworm been filled and were being sanded down, and a new end piece for one of the sides was being shaped. Next door, a staging was being prepared for one of the propagating sheds; it was taking shape from reclaimed wood and later being trimmed to fit against the large pipes.

The sun was very intermittent, but in a brighter moment I brought the previous year’s restoration project, the Apple or Egg Cart, out into the courtyard to record it in all its glory.

In the greenhouse, which had been Rosetti’s Studio in the TV film ‘The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’ a couple of far more recent garden benches were being given a new white coat. In the gardens, raspberry canes were being dug up and consigned to the smoke and flames of a bonfire just outside the walls of the garden. Along the Potting Shed wall the first signs of Spring growth were to be seen below the windows, and along the tree-lined walk were some flowers from last season alongside snowdrop clusters, and soon with a bit of warmth the daffodils will come into bloom.

Luton Hoo Walled Garden January

January is nearing its end, and so I paid a visit to Luton Hoo’s Walled Garden for the first time in 2011. England’s recent weather has done it no favours, but it was still very obvious that both employed and voluntary workers had cleared the detritus of the past season readying the garden for next year’s growth. Taking photos within the walled garden in the gloom and fine drizzle would not have shown the efforts, but simply filled a viewer with sadness.

As I walked around beyond the wall towards the Boiler House and beyond, I could hear animated conversation. As I came to the former Mushroom House I met the team who over at least the last two years had restored the Apple Cart. I learnt that the next projects were to continue work on the dragsaw, and start on a small handcart. I was shown some of the parts, and the start being made, but there was nothing beyond a series of early faded photos that showed how it had once looked during its former working life.

In the smaller room next door a parcel from America was being slowly unpacked to reveal some goodies rescued from a ‘Bone Yard’ – what we English would describe as a ‘Scrap Yard’! However the contents revealed a delightful cornucopia of parts that could bring the dragsaw back to energetic life. I heard it described as a Christmas present! They would still require work, and in some cases could only become patterns for newly machined components such as the crankshaft, but all were very welcome.

Meanwhile in the small courtyard, work was proceeding trying to lift a large grating, which did seem to be resisting all efforts to being opened. Soon two of the volunteers were turning their attention to some of the smaller connected grilles and then one of them set to removing some of the gloop in order to rod the pipes to clear them; this task was still ongoing by the time I came to leave, so I do not know the final outcome. What I do know is that it was hard and dirty work that was being done with enthusiasm.

Apple Cart Renovation Coming on

At Luton Hoo’s Walled Garden there was a lot of activity cutting back on those plants that had fruited, mending fences, painting of doors and windows, making a gate and renovations to the Apple Cart are coming on apace.

The pumpkins, squash and marrows are all showing healthy growth, and bees and hoverflies were in abundance, giving me a chance to practice getting ever closer to record their incredible detail, and I did manage once again to capture some in flight, which is really challenging.

The figs got a serious haircut to encourage their growth, as did the leaves that surround the office window – these are the leaves which go from green to red and then white.

Afternoon Visit to Luton Hoo again

Having spent a very hot and humid time at Butterfly World in the morning, I returned home to re-hydrate and offload about twelve gigabytes of raw files so I had space to take yet more photographs. Then I set off to pay a late visit to the Walled Garden in particular to see how the restoration of the farm cart was proceeding. I can report that the three main participants are doing very well indeed; there were just two this day, but there was much rubbing down of the old paintwork from the wood and ironwork and that the rear spring section was now all painted – black for the metalwork, Luton Hoo green for the wood.

Elsewhere the warmer weather had accelerated the growth of thistles which Charlotte Phillips herself was digging up, the pumpkins were now planted out, and Alex Hines was duly watering them with a hose that also gently watered a few on its own along the way! For another volunteer planting out, she was able to use a watering can confined to sprinkling only from the spout!

Another volunteer was busy tying up recalcitrant plants whilst bees danced attention on the blue flowers that they obviously took a particular shine to their allure.

It would appear that one Verbascum was being sacrificed to the Mullein caterpillar in its desire to propagate its moths; and they were feasting to the very obvious destruction of the plant, but the caterpillars were very striking in yellow and black looking as if they had some resemblance to Bibendum, the Michelin Man.

Even though a late visit it was a great chance to capture several different types of bee feasting as they pollinated, so very satisfying.

A Bright Wednesday in the Walled Garden

Having missed the Sunday event at Luton Hoo, I wanted to see how the team restoring a Dairy cart were getting on, and now the days were getting both sunnier and warmer, see whether some of the plants were catching up.

There was still a cold breeze when I first arrived, and there were a good number of volunteers judging by the number of vehicles, but oddly it did not look crowded with people, I later gathered there was a meeting discussing future plans.

The restoration team were not due till after one, so I wandered around the greenhouses and garden first. And later met the three main restorers who were now cleaning up the springs for the cart, then later was shown a room I had never been in and found an old bus sign and odd finials. There was discussion this might well become a tea shop.

I also recorded some very obvious signs of subsidence damage evident in the brickwork of the potting shed outhouses.There was an abundance of tulips many yet to open, but still snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells and some blossom appearing on the fruit trees.

The sun had brought out the bees and they were once again swarming around a water trough.

Quick Afternoon Visit to the Walled Garden

The morning was grey and cold for this time of year, so it was easy enough to be persuaded to keep working inside at the computer, but once the sun came out and I had cleared the work, I gathered a couple of lenses, and set off for Luton Hoo.

Many of the volunteers had already completed their work by the time I arrived.

I just wanted a record of what had changed since my last visit. The cold grey days were evident in the paucity of real growth, but I was also lucky enough to spot a group of the bee keepers tending the hives, so there are two separate galleries of images of what I saw this afternoon; one mainly floral the other of the bee keepers.

A Bitterly Cold Dawn

Eleven Days on from the other bright morning when I found myself covering the Protest March between the villages of Slip End and Caddington, I woke early and I already knew there was a possible bright start to the day. I took a look outside and decided I needed to take some photographs.

I got dressed, collected my camera and a few lenses and wandered first to our newly refurbished Co-op store. Already there was activity; the shutters were up and staff were preparing for the new day, I took a handful of shots, then jumped in the car and drove to Slip End where I took shots of the re-routed Public Footpath and the soak-away for the motorway, before moving towards Luton Hoo and the hill down towards the Lower Luton Road.

I spotted a lone Red Kite gently soaring over the valley and a pheasant took off from behind me and flew over the road; I managed to capture a couple of shots before he disappeared, but in the biting wind I had to wait quite a while before the Kite came into range again, but at last I was able to get some usable shots, even though it remained fairly distant.

Late Visit to Open Day

The Walled Garden hosted an Open Day in aid of two local charities – Keech Hospice and Grove House, but I was only able to arrive once the clouds had rolled in and many were considering leaving, though I did manage to capture some of the enjoyment being had by children jumping from bale to bale to the sounds of the Casino Royale Steel Band.

The music was not over loud yet carried well, allowing easy conversation amongst the groups in the marquee. Steel Band music is a very happy sound and seemed well-received, and the singer I heard had a very good voice, blending well with the tunes.

The two shots at the start of the gallery were actually taken the evening before when the sun broke through to the derelict building that can be seen along the tree-lined avenue to the Walled Garden, I have no idea what purpose it served, but I describe it as a bothy (sometime I must remember to ask just what it was!)

The flowers are largely coming to the end of their life this season, but I still managed to capture the beauty and colour of some, before I left the grounds.