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Ashington Manor Farm (Yeovil)

After a two-night stay at The Swan Hotel in Wells , we departed for Exeter. Along the way, our first stop was Ashington Manor Farm, the home of the husband and wife garden designers Julian and Isabel Bannerman.  Roses are a specialty of the Bannerman's, but sadly, we were too early to see any. That disappointment was curtailed by touring their magnificent farmhouse, which we were invited to roam around at leisure. And Julian Bannerman, who did most all the talking, was a very entertaining man.  Gathering at the front door - We actually entered at the side of the house, right off the patio, which led to this room, where the Bannerman's greeted us. The massive table was filled with books they had written as well as magazine articles about their gardens. As we were listening to Julian's speech, I happened to notice Isabel Bannerman's book "Husbandry" on the table and immediately recognized it as a book I have at home but have not gotten to yet. At the time, I ha...
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Transplanting & Pruning



First - I finally have some blooms (crocus) to share. Winter lingers and we've only seen a few days lately with temperatures above 50. Hopefully, next week it will be warmer but more heavy rain is on the way.



I've started pruning roses and transplanting. I'm not finished with the roses but I got one of the largest finished - 'Lady of Shalott'. When I looked it up on my inventory list, I was flabbergasted to see that it is seven years old. That doesn't seem right but there it, planted in February of 2016. The growth has become quite dense so I thinned it out. I also made a video for my YouTube channel of how I prune it. This is the final result -


There are several plants that I want to move this year. The first is Hypericum 'Pumpkin' (St. Johns Wort) that has attained massive proportions and much too large next to the pathway in front. The problem, of course, is where to move it to. I then got the idea of moving the buddleia, residing about six feet away, and putting the hypericum in its spot. The buddleia ("Buzz Hot Raspberry") is another plant that got much larger than it was supposed to so I'm moving it to the back garden.

If you haven't moved a mature buddleia before, I have news for you - it isn't easy. The roots go very deep and it took me a while to get this out of the ground. First I pruned it all the way down, to about 2 feet tall.


This job took two shovels, including my trench digging spade -



The new home for the buddleia was very easy to dig. Most of the dirt in this location has been added by myself and built up over the years. Of course the hole was much larger than this -



The St. John's Wort wasn't nearly as bad. You can see in the photo that the root ball is much smaller and the roots are finer.



Planted in a new home -



There is much more to do in this department and hopefully the weather will clear up soon and I can get it done. 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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Comments

  1. Kris PetersonMarch 12, 2023 at 9:32 PM

    Moving plants is the scariest job in my garden, which is probably why I don't do as much of it as I should. Kudos to you!

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    1. Phillip OliverMarch 12, 2023 at 9:37 PM

      Kris, it is one of my least favorite activities. I bet though in your climate, plants fare rather well (with watering of course).

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  2. Hoover BooMarch 15, 2023 at 2:31 PM

    Moving woody plants or digging out a stump--they are an ordeal that usually requires some plant-based retail therapy afterwards. ;^)

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