West Dean Garden, broad beans and blackfly, and perennial vegetables
This week I look at the walled garden at West Dean, tackle blackfly on broad beans and give an update on my new perennial veg garden
I am a Gertrude Jekyll fan. I used to live a few miles from Munstead Wood, her home near Godalming in Surrey, and there were many examples of her work in the area. I remember visiting West Dean to photograph the Harold Peto pergola and her water gardens. This was more than 20 years ago, so there were plenty of changes to see when I visited recently. The pergola and water gardens and the walled garden with its wonderful glasshouses and trained fruit trees were much as I remembered, but plenty had been added and improved, not least the recently constructed drought resilient gardens.
At the time of my visit, the Sunken Gardens at the end of the pergola were being restored and there was lots of sand in evidence – another climate resilient garden in progress.
Today, I am looking at the upper kitchen garden. This garden has a classic Victorian design with borders along the walls and a perimeter path, while the central area is divided into four large beds by two cross paths. They use a traditional 4-bed rotation and I read somewhere that the potato beds are double dug, so it may not be my style of growing, but there was still plenty to observe!
I was interested in the broad bean trial which you can see in the video. The varieties included heavy cropping ones like Bunyard Exhibition, as well as the more attractive Crimson Flowered broad bean. I must say they all looked good and way, way better than mine, which have suffered from slug damage all spring!
It’s at this stage of the broad bean year that the dreaded black fly appears. Here, the only blackflies I could see were on the Crimson Flowered beans at the outermost corner of the bed. Many recommend snipping off the tips to deter the flies, but I find it easier to smear Vaseline around the bottom of the stems. This prevents ants from running up the stem to farm the blackflies for honeydew. They are very protective of their charges and chase away predators, so by preventing them access to the stem, the blackflies are left without protection.
I would love to know if you have other ways of controlling this sap-sucking insect.
i have also included a few photos of the water features in the walled garden. I aim to collect water at every opportunity and use all sorts of containers. I loved the old water tank – once given away for the price of the metal, now much in demand with sizeable price tags to match! I assume the round pool is a lined dipping pond for harvesting water to be used to fill water cans and buckets.
I do like a dipping pond or even a dipping container as it speeds up the watering process and I really think its makes for more effective watering.
I also liked this display of different types of mints - such a great way of displaying them!
And the fruit-laden apricot ….
Perennial vegetable garden
It’s around 15 months since I started to plant out my perennial vegetable garden. It was constructed from materials found on site (so very low carbon footprint!) including crushed state tiles for the path, stone from an old wall to create raised beds that were backfilled with a recycled aggregate / clay substrate.
There was a slow start in spring but things are now picking up. The comfrey (Bocking and Iberian) was added for ground cover and natural fertiliser and these plants have really got away. The lovage and sea beet were unaffected by the slugs, but the poor skirret was nibbled to within an inch of its life, but it seems to have hung on – just.
I have lots of different perennial onions – everlasting, walking, Welsh, Minogue as well perennial leeks, Babington leeks, garlic chives and some wild camassias. The Chinese artichokes, sweet cicely, Good King Henry and Musk Mallow have grown well but the cardoons and some of the wild rocket didn’t make it through the winter.
The Szechuan pepper, honeyberry, and jostaberry have settled in well and I am finally getting my head around fan training my white currants!
Ducks
You may have seen photos of my call ducks that live in the walled garden. Well, they can be quite demanding. They race over when I enter the garden and make a lot of fuss until they get fed. Needless to say I have given in too much …. and now get a lot of hassle. And there have been so many slugs that they turn their beaks up at them
And finally … a quick glimpse of another new area of the garden. This is one of the borders in my mini veg plot created on a site that was covered by brambles, nettles and bindweed. It was under wraps for two years to kill off these pernicious weeks but we still get bindweed… I love this border of Nepeta, Sisyrichium (self seeded) and alliums. It’s so busy with pollinators.
Happy gardening
Sally
Coming up
London Permaculture Festival, Sunday 7 July 11 am - 6pm
If you live in London or nearby, come along to the Festival - it really is a great day out with lots of speakers, stalls, Chelsea Green bookstall, and lots of activities for families.
