Happy Easter from Floors Castle & Gardens

Spring is one of the busiest times of the year in the garden, with essential work being carried out to prepare the beds, borders and glasshouses for the months ahead.

Andrew Simmons, Head Gardener at Floors Castle has been taking care of the gardens for a number of years and is a familiar face to many of our visitors. He has a keen eye for detail and his unrivalled passion for gardening has helped establish the walled garden as one of the finest in Scotland. His experience and knowledge spans a career over 40 years’, including several years on the royal estate of Balmoral Castle working for the Queen.

At this time of year, it is fascinating to hear about the work being carried out. This week he shares some of the key points of interest in the Floors garden and the projects he has been busy with.

‘The Victory Plum on the East wall in the Walled Garden will be in blossom this month and is simply beautiful! The Delphinium and Paeonia borders are also growing well, thanks to nets being placed over the border to protect them.

‘The Tulips in the large terracotta pots by the barn greenhouse will be flowering soon and are always a joy to see – a sign that spring is finally here!

The vegetable beds at Floors are always bursting with delightful produce during the summer. The soil has been cultivated ready for planting and the first sowings have been carried out, including lettuce, carrot, beetroot and broad beans.’ We’re hoping for a good crop in 2020 – the produce grown will be used in the Castle kitchen for a variety of dishes.

The Grapes in the glasshouses are flowering. The flowers have to be individually pollinated with a soft brush as there are few insects about to do the magic of turning a flower into tasty fruit. This has been a time-consuming job, but the results will be worth it!

An essential job of lifting and dividing plants in the herbaceous border has been completed. With the soil warming up the herbaceous plants have now started to show new growth, which is an excellent time to carry out division of herbaceous plants as they start growing for the new season.

With the planting finished, a covering of mulch will soon be placed over the border to suppress the ever-growing weeds and to help conserve moisture.’

It is always amazing to see how the gardens continuously change throughout the season and there is something new and exciting on show every week. With the current situation, it’s wonderful to hear that many people are enjoying their garden and balconies by growing their own. There are some great pointers on the RHS website if you are new to gardening and are interested in having a go in your own outdoor space – please click here for info and growing guides: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables

Elsewhere on the Roxburghe Estate it has been another busy week for our farmers, and we would like to say a big thank you for their efforts, working long, hard hours to supply our nation. We have received lots of lovely photos from the farming team whose children are also enjoying helping out – what great memories they will have to look back on.

The park surrounding the Castle is so quiet just now, however our resident four legged friends have been out and about sniffing the flowers and enjoying the spring sunshine. On Tuesday evening we were lucky enough to see a glimpse of the beautiful ‘Pink Moon’ – the first full moon of the spring. A spectacular site indeed.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone near and far a safe and happy Easter. We may not be able to welcome our visitors as planned for a weekend of Easter celebrations and activities; however, we very much look forward to the time when the Castle and grounds open once more.