Well, that’s it for 2011. No more going out on the road for this year. We did our last Shootash and Bursledon 3 weeks ago, then 2 weeks ago on the August bank holiday we resided for three days in the splendid surroundings of Kingston Lacy. A bit windy for our liking (and the plants, which get a bit blown about) and with some squally rain, especially on the Saturday, which dampened our spirits a little but not too much. Much rain beforehand made the entrance really boggy – we passed up on being towed and just parked up & carried stuff on site. Muscles well developed as a result.
Then last weekend we travelled just up road really to Hamptworth Lodge, which was staging a plant fair for the first time, in conjunction with an open garden day. Not a huge affair, as the photo (left) shows, but a good selection of nurseries and some really nice people who didn’t just look at our plants and say nice things about them, but actually bought lots of plants. As a consequence we had our best single day since June, which made up for getting absolutely soaked when setting up in a downpour!
Despite it being pretty local, we had never been to Hamptworth estate before, the nearest being the golf club up the road to which we delivered some plants a couple of years ago. All we can say, it is certainly worth a visit – see the website for details.
And now we can settle back for the close season, with no more early mornings, to plan for a wonderful 2012.
Rob & Joanna – September 2011
Paddock Plants Update 