With Autumn on the horizon and the first significant rains of the year finally falling as I write this, I can say that after what has been an incredibly challenging year for us gardeners, they are most welcome.
August and September bring with them an air of anticipation here at Hambledon, with preparations well underway for this year's harvest. The vines are laden with ripening fruit, a process called veraison whereby the fruit on our Pinot Noir and Meunier grapes turns from light green to a beautiful purple blue. And, after a year of low rainfall and sunny days, the quality is looking superb.
Winter Planting & Autumn Pruning
For the garden team it is business as usual, ensuring the Estate is on top form for our many guests, and working through what seems like an endless list of jobs to be done before winter. The team have been busy potting on this year's winter crops, which will be ready to plant out in the next few weeks. Kale, Winter Spinach, Cabbages, Cauliflower and Chard to name but a few. These will replace our summer annuals and fill in any gaps we might have.
The Espalier fruit trees have had their annual summer trim, along with the Wisteria around Mill Down House and many of our summer flowering plants. Dead heads have been cut and seeds collected and stored for next year. Calendulas, Sunflowers, Nasturtiums and many vegetables are ready for seed collection, and will be sown again next year.
In the Kitchen Garden...
Year one of the Estate's new Culinary Garden is slowly drawing in. And so far, it has been a resounding success overall. The team have worked incredibly hard to establish a new and very complex garden under some of the most difficult conditions possible. And the regular positive feedback from our many passing guests has really helped to boost morale and spur us on. Notable plants that have done well this year would be our Cardoons, with their enormous and deeply lobed leaves standing out amongst the gentler textured Napeta and Tarragon, and with beautiful purple flowering artichokes providing height and colour.
Our Sunflowers, we opted for Vanilla Ice & Claret, have been spectacular, nodding gently in the breeze. And Hops, now laden with gorgeous cones, spill beautifully along the side of our Visitor Centre and between our apple trees.
In the spring we also planted a very special and unique 'Hambledon Apple Tree' organised by our landscape designer Emily Erlam, which is growing well and is being specially nurtured.
New Projects
We have been trialling wildflowers around an area in the garden on which we decided to plant a small Orchard of Russet apples earlier in the year, and it has been a spectacular success. As part of our efforts to improve Biodiversity in the garden, we will be adding more areas of wildflower next year. Similarly, some areas of our woodland have been opened up and seeded with an 80/20 mix of native woodland grasses and wildflowers, which is looking absolutely gorgeous now. Woodland management will be key on our list for winter and so preparing for that now is important.
The Physic Garden
In the Physic Garden we are collecting Wormwood and Feverfew seeds, and the team enjoy making tea from the various medicinal herbs on offer. In the Mill Down gardens, we are planning a large replanting project for 2026 which will be revealed at an appropriate time. But it should bring those areas which are in need of some reinvigoration up to standard with the rest of the estate.
The garden overall continues to provide masses of colour and beauty, but there is a hint of Autumn on the air which tells us to prepare for next season. Elderberries are fading on the trees, and the apples on the estate are nearly ready for harvest. Soon the leaves will begin to turn and the main growing season will be over. But there is always plenty to be getting on with here on the Estate, and lots of lovely views