Days of discoveries and changes at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire

There's always something different to see at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, even a surprise or two.

One of the biggest surprises this month in terms of size, is the fact that the recent, blisteringly record high temperatures we've been experiencing have uncovered something very special.

This is a view of the South Lawn at Chatsworth, usually a lush-looking green.

Now though, like thousands of lawns across the UK (including mine), it's scorched and in places the colour of straw.  Unlike others, this lawn has revealed what is left underneath of a much earlier garden from the the17th century.

The pattern looks intriguing, doesn't it? What's even more fascinating is that the historians and gardeners know what exactly was here from this illustration of the ornate design of the garden which was created in 1699 for the Ist Duke of Devonshire.

It's lovely to see these echoes of the past, proof that the gardens at Chatsworth have constantly evolved and changed over 300 years.

What a coincidence that this should happen now, as the garden has been going through its biggest transformation in the last 200 years.

I came to Chatsworth last September to see the changes which were taking place across the 105-acre gardens and was bowled over by the time, energy and sheer scale of the alterations and creation of a new15 acre garden called Arcadia on a ridge above the more formal gardens, at a cost. of around £15 million.

You can read about it here..

http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.com/2021/09/a-day-of-visiting-chatsworth-house.html?m=1

Last month I was back to see what else has been happening since then. Arcadia continues to delight, and it's good to see Tom Stuart Smith's designs of woodland and meadow glades in a different season, a different palette of colours.

The rose garden has also had a make over, the first since 1939. Designer Tome Stuart Smith says he wants more romance, and has planted over 100 different varieties of roses and introduced the underplanting of foxgloves, bearded irises and violas to provide a show from early spring to autumn.

 

A bigger and bolder move is enhancing the Rock Garden, designed by Joseph Paxton. It's the oldest and largest in the world and has delighted visitors for many years. 

Not only are there more rocks strategically placed to add depth to a vista but they are also accompanied by new, prolific swathes of planting to add colour and more all-year-round interest.

This centrepiece of the Rock Garden still commands awe and attention. and my case, longing. It was such a hot day, I had an intense urge to stand for a while under the falling cool water.

I don't think Steve Porter, the amiable Head of Gardens and Landscape would have approved somehow, but he likes the fact that visitors are spending more time now in the Rock Garden, not merely walking through it. There is more to see, and areas to sit and drink in the views.

"The more time people engage with a garden and revisit a garden is a measure of success," says Steve, and that's happening already, with more visitors returning, eager to see what's going on in the garden. 

The most hardworking three acres of gardens at Chatsworth are very productive ones. A fruit garden, a vegetable garden, and a cutting garden  are set on the hill with wonderful views across to the rolling parkland  

Mick Brown is the Production Garden Manager, leading a team of three gardeners and eleven volunteers.

He says there have always been kitchen gardens at Chatsworth in different areas, but this site was very much unloved until the early 1990's.There were greenhouses, but the 11th Duke and Duchess Deborah were inspired by the popularity of the grow your own movement, at the time, to make the kitchen gardens beautiful as well as productive, and open them so that the public can see the area.

The cutting garden is undeniably decorative and it was so pleasing to see rows and rows of peonies. I was especially taken with the exquisite "Evening World " which I will definitely introduce into my garden next year.

 

I wasn't the only one transfixed by the cutting garden....Camilla Anderson and Sylvia Travers,  also from the Garden Media Guild were too.

All of these flowers are grown to be seen here in the garden, to be cut for floral bouquets for the House itself, for weddings and other events held at Chatsworth House, and for the floristry workshops 

held here too. Not a single bloom is wasted ....

The vegetable garden is similarly intensively cultivated, as the vegetables and salads aren't just grown to feed the Duke and Duchess and their family.

They are supplied to hotels, pubs, and the Farm Shop which is owned by the Estate well as the newly opened Chatsworth Kitchen in nearby Rowsley, serving locally sourced food each day.

According to Mick Brown, the high demand for their vegetables from local chefs is energizing his team because they can see the value in what they do each day, and they are growing a wider variety too, with historic crops enjoying a resurgence. Mick's enthusiasm for his job is obviously infectious and he's proud of what his team are achieving.

The produce of the fruit garden and orchard is in demand too, such as the Derbyshire Beeling Pippin apple and other local traditional varieties. 

Mick also oversees the glass houses, including the wonderful vinery, a huge glasshouse which was originally erected in 1835 with two others to house orchids.

    

Since the 1920's though, the space has been used to grow muscat Alexandria grapes and peaches. It's a glorious space, even though what sounds like shots ring out at intervals. We're assured that it's just the blackbird scarer, so we all relax and tuck into some produce from the Estate, such as beetroot and horseradish chutneys and heritage green tomato chutneys, with cheese and biscuits.

 Delicious limoncello, orangecello and even some Great Conservatory rose pink gin too.....thimblefuls, I might add, otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to navigate home.

Unfortunately, it was time to leave, but I'll definitely be back again. Visiting Chatsworth House Garden really is the gift that keeps giving, with something new to discover with every visit, 

Chatsworth House Garden is currently open daily from 10.30am until 5.30pm.

days of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee 2022

Living in the UK, you couldn't have avoided the Jubilee celebrations last week even if you had tried.

Four days of events and gatherings were held across the country to mark the Queen's 70 years of service as the longest-reigning monarch in our history.

In London, there was the Trooping of the Colour, a concert outside Buckingham Palace, thousands thronging the Mall, big fancy affairs, church services, and thousands of more modest street parties. 

You couldn't move far without spotting flags and bunting throughout the land..and there was  one event which united all parts of the kingdom. It's the old tradition of a beacon chain. Lighting a beacon chain in villages, towns, and cities was a tool of communication, perhaps used to warn of invasion and danger. Now, it's used to celebrate jubilees and as a symbol of unity and celebration.

Back here at home in our teeny, tiny village, we celebrated too. With less than thirty houses here, our events aren't on a grand scale, but we do enjoy ourselves.

Our beacon lighting event took place last Thursday at 9.45pm in a huge field on the top of a hill which is only a couple of hundred yards outside the village. You can see for miles from here.....

The beacon was set and expertly lit by Phil on the right side of this photo...

Some of us brought a bottle or two of something to celebrate, some didn't but everyone enjoyed meeting up, chatting, and watching the amazing skies putting on their own dramatic show.

It grew darker and some began to edge away from the beacon which was well and truly alight and throwing out quite a fierce heat

Thanks to Joe (below on the right) who lent his fabulous field for the beacon lighting 

We now have two lovely Ukrainian families living in our village and it was so good to see them join in the celebrations. As we chatted, they told me about the ritual of a bonfire on Kupala night back home which takes place every July. 

After sunset, young couples, holding hands, leap over the bonfire. If they don't separate their hands, they will marry and are destined to be together ...if not, their relationship won't last. It's a fascinating tradition, but luckily no one attempted to do that over our beacon bonfire!

Later as I walked home with friends, we all agreed that it had been a wonderful evening. Standing on the hilltop and watching other beacons light up in neighbouring and more distant villages, made us feel part of something bigger, I loved the conversations in the open air by firelight at a time when we would all usually be indoors, the sense of community and feeling invigorated.

On Sunday morning, there was a special Jubilee service in our village church which was beautifully decorated with flowers.

Afterwards there was a village barbecue. This should have been held on the land behind the village hall, but the rain put paid to that idea.

Luckily, a family offered their barn to host the barbecue and bring and share lunch.

Ian and his son Dan worked hard on the barbecue,

Everyone spoilt the two new babies in our village, and it doesn't matter what age you are, a few party games never go amiss.

Whilst others caught up for a chat....

The pomp, ceremony and sheer razzamatazz of the Jubilee celebrations elsewhere seemed far away as we marked the Jubilee here in our small village. Instead, there was just a real sense of enjoyment, of being together, and of making memories of a landmark year in our little part of the world.

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A day reviewing "Miss Wilmott's Ghosts "by Sandra Lawrence

Miss Wilmott's Ghosts is the biography of the extraordinary and wilful Ellen Wilmott, a Victorian gardener, botanical photographer and an award-winning and influential breeder of hundreds of plants.

So far, so worthy sounding, but this new biography by Sandra Lawrence is a riveting read about the life, loves and passions of a complex woman. 

Ellen Wilmott inherited her parents' house, inherited a separate fortune and was known as the “greatest of all woman gardeners.” Yet she lost everything and everyone she loved deeply. 

One of three sisters, Ellen was brought up at Warley Place, a grand house set in 33 acres near Brentwood in Essex.

The illustrated endpapers of the book

Her sister Aida was only seven when she died, but when Ellen reached her seventh birthday, she received a cheque for £1000 and the same amount every birthday from Countess Helen Tasker, her godmother.

  On her 21st birthday, Ellen’s father gave her the money to design and create a large alpine garden. This early success led to Warley being recognised as one of the most important gardens in the country and at one time there were 104 gardeners working there.

Meanwhile, when Ellen’s fairy godmother Helen died, she and her sister Rose each inherited £143,000. This really was life-changing as it was equivalent to more than £19 million today.

It’s all very well having a fortune to throw at establishing a number of gardens ( at Warley, at Tresserve in the French Alps and in Italy, a third garden, Boccanegra.

However, Ellen was gifted, clever and had the vision to create gardens which were greatly admired by her peers. She also became an expert in cultivating new species of plants which were sought after by other prominent garden collectors. 

 Over 200 plants are named after her. Ellen was a member of the Linnean Society and the Royal Horticultural Society and was well known in gardening and natural history circles.  

As Sandra Lawrence writes “ the more I found out, the more I wanted to know”

And this is exactly how I felt as I read further about the social mores of Ellen’s time and those perceived Victorian conventions which she managed to navigate as a woman.

Mind you, I was intrigued right from the introduction of this book where Sandra involves you in her journey to find the real Ellen Wilmott as she searched through rotting trunks found in the cellar at Spetchley Park in Worcestershire, the former home of her beloved sister Rose. 

The excitement of finding letters, artefacts and photographs led Sandra to uncover the mystery of why Ellen made the greatest faux pas and biggest error of her career. 

In 1897, Ellen Wilmott was awarded the prestigious and inaugural Victoria medal of honour by the RHS. She and Gertrude Jekyll were the only two women to be honoured in such a way, but why did Ellen not attend the actual ceremony?

Sandra reveals she found years worth of passionate love letters between Ellen and Miss Gian Tufnell, a lady in waiting for the Duchess of Teck. There’s transcripts of such ardent letters and yet Gian suddenly announces she is getting married to a much older man. Not only that, the wedding is the day after Ellen was due to get her medal.

Too distraught to go to the RHS ceremony, it wasn’t as if Ellen could explain why there would have been a huge scandal. Even so, her non attendance though was seen as a very public snub to the society and the whole horticultural community.

Sandra feels that Ellen’s reputation never recovered and afterwards there was a real sea change in her life.

As she got older, there’s no doubt she was an eccentric… one who carried a revolver in her pocket and even owned some knuckle dusters. She became known as difficult, a battle axe, a spendthrift and a miser.

Largely sympathetically written but with welcome dashes of humour and asperity, this is an engaging, fascinating, oh so lively biography of a remarkable woman whose wonderful world crashed around her. Highly recommended.

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Miss Wilmott’s Ghosts by Sandra Lawrence was published earlier this month by Blink Publishing and costs £25. I received a press copy to review.

Warley Place, her family home, is now a nature reserve run by the Essex Wildlife Trust and is open every day during daylight hours. The house was demolished in 1939.

A love letter to Thailand

 My husband and I have  just come home from Thailand. It's a country which we love visiting, every year if we can. Wonderful people, beautiful beaches, warmth, sunshine, excellent golf courses and delicious Thai food seduce us and ensure that every year we can't wait until we can book our flights for our next holiday.

Unfortunately, sometimes holidays and life don't go according to plan though.

The first three weeks were idyllic, as we met up with old friends in Hua Hin, about three hours south of Bangkok. We've been going there so long that we know all the staff at the Hua Hin Golf Villa where we stay, and we enjoyed a friendly, wonderful start to our trip. It's the base where my husband organises a golf tour from, so the first week was spent with him playing a couple of rounds, going out for lunches by the beach, swimming and in the evenings, lots of leisurely meals with friends.

Then we took ourselves off to Dolphin Bay, in the National Park of Sam Roi Yot. This is the third time we've stayed there....it's so unspoilt, and even quieter than previous years.  We spent 14 long days, swimming in the bay and the pool, reading, cycling around and enjoying being completely relaxed.

Then we headed north again, about thirty minutes up the coast to Sanae Beach Resort at Khao Tao, where we were due to stay for three nights. The first day, overlooking a sheltered little bay, we lounged by and swam in the pool, went out for dinner and had an early night.

That's when our holiday plans derailed and fell off track completely.

I woke up the following morning and could hear Rob moaning as if in pain. I ran around to his side of the bed  - he was giddy, feeling sick and needed to sit up,. He couldn't without help though, couldn't stand and was cold and clammy. I knew by his speech something was seriously wrong, and ran to the club reception and asked for an ambulance. One arrived very quickly and after a brief examination, we were off to Hua Hin about 25 minutes away with blue lights flashing and the siren blaring.

He was seen immediately in recuss and within an hour was being given an MRI scan. I was shown the results quickly and kindly. This was a major stroke plus smaller pea sized one in the cerebullum. The words "life changing" won't be forgotten in a hurry.

The care Rob received at Bangkok Hospital in Hua Hin was marvellous, but after thirty six hours in the intensive Care Unit we were told he was being moved to the world renowned Bumrumgrad Hospital in Bangkok for further treatment at Specialist Stroke Unit.

Bumrungrad sent their own mobile ICU to collect Rob, and within ten minutes of a doctor and two paramedics arriving from Bangkok, we were both on our way north for 120 miles once again accompanied by blue flashing lights and sirens.

For the next seven days, our world became very small, but very focussed. Rob was in ICU first and then onto the stroke ward on the tenth floor of this huge hospital. 

He was confined to bed at first, more scans, numerous tests and procedures and another MRI scan which showed another three little bleeds, again in his cerebellum. 

Our world revolved around that room, and the constant visits of nurses, a neurologist, a cardiologist, haematologist, an orthopaedic doctor, and physios who were all so focused and encouraging, giving us such confidence.

Our window on the world from the hospital room

In time, he could walk a little with a rollator and the support of two nurses or physios. Each day brought a new joy, a new achievement like the first time he was allowed to shower on his own or to leave his room and walk down the corridor with help, then on his own. The nurses made him laugh, the hospital food was excellent, and after a week [yes a week] Rob was ready to leave but would need further tests and examinations before being allowed to fly home. His consultants called him the miracle man, as he shouldn't have been able to walk or talk properly according to the MRI scans.

Some of the wonderful nurses who looked after Rob

We went back to Hua Hin, where more of his friends had arrived for a few weeks of golfing. Hell would have frozen over before Rob would be allowed to play, but being back at a place we call home when we're in Thailand, with lots of banter and support from our friends was such a boon. 

Nearly two weeks later Rob was allowed to fly home. I found out I had COVID and that's when you wonder what's next. The Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse perhaps?

Since we've been home, there's been time to rest, reflect, and realise how lucky Rob has been. 

Lucky that he's survived, lucky that we had such wonderful health insurance and a company that pulled out all the stops to help right from my first call from the hospital foyer in Hua Hin. It was about 2am UK time when I called the Collinson Group Medical Ops, yet the warm, capable voice of Kerryn reassured me that everything would be done to get Rob the best treatment care and I eould be looked after too. She kept in touch, and her colleagues too ..always at the end of the line, with information and plans, fixing me up in a hotel just across the road from the hospital in Bangkok. Handholding over the phone from nearly six thousand miles away was such support during those first nerve racking days.

From the first morning Rob was whisked off to the hospital from Sanae Beach, the staff kept in touch to see how Rob was. In Hua Hin, the owners and staff of the Golf Villa went out of their way to help. A visit to Bangkok to see Rob in hospital with flowers and cards all gave us comfort. At the Best Western Hotel in Sukamvit where I was staying, the maitre d'hotel would greet me every night as I returned from the hospital, with a warm welcome and chat as I sat alone to eat, asking how my husband was.

And as for everyone who was involved in Rob's care in both hospitals, you have our most sincere thanks, You don't forget things like that, the kindness, courtesy and support of strangers and friends.

We can't forget how much we love Thailand too. That's why Rob is already planning another trip for us next year, to see our friends, to visit our favourite places and new ones, to relax once again.

In the meantime, Rob continues to make progress and is hoping that it wont be too long before he's playing golf. He is taking the tablets he now needs daily, exercising each day and eating healthily. One thing he won't be forgetting to do under any circumstances is organising our health insurance  for next year.....

Diary days with Sarah Raven

Gosh, December arrives tomorrow which can mean only one thing. I need to get my skates on when it comes to Christmas. I've actually started buying presents, which is early for me, and even Christmas cards and stamps have been are bought and are in a drawer ready to write.

But there's more. I really am being even more organised, thanks to a mystery parcel which arrived last week from sarahraven.com 

Sarah Raven grow, cook, eat diary 2022

 I was thrilled to see it contained a diary and a calendar for 2022, which I've already put to use. 

I always had a work diary of course, but would wait until what I call the fag end days of the year between Christmas and New Year to buy a personal one. I won't be doing that this year though! Not with this little beauty...

I've been a fan of Sarah Raven for years...she is a botanist, garden expert, cook, and writer who from sowing and growing her own food for years, has developed a lifestyle business selling seeds, bulbs and, homewares that you just have to buy. Sarah also runs cookery and gardening courses.

Back to the glossy diary, which is A5 in size. Perfect for me, easy and light enough to carry in a handbag.  Anything smaller is far too fiddly and piddly -  I need space for important dates and notes, so like the fact there is a generous two-page spread for each week of the year. 

At the beginning of each month in the diary, there are beautiful shots of flowers and plants by photographer Jonathan Buckley, who is a long-time collaborator with Sarah Raven. 

Also, there is a list of jobs to do in the garden at the beginning of each month as well as a seasonal recipe to try. I won't be waiting until August to make the delicious-sounding blackcurrant and almond cake featured though....luckily I've still got a few pounds of blackcurrants in my freezer, so will make that fairly soon.

Another feature of the diary I like is the sowing and planting guide for each month, whether you're growing flowers, fruit, vegetables, herbs, or bulbs, and the best techniques to do so. There's even a flexible ruler to help with sowing and planting too. So handy for measuring the right depths and spacings to plant seeds, bulbs etc.

I know more and more people rely on their electronic diaries, but they are not for me. I prefer the sense of order and calm as I write in a paper diary., there's more of a connection between my thoughts and what is on the paper.

Sarah Raven's garden and cookery year calendar 2022

I adore this cover of Sarah Raven's wall calendar for 2022. If ever there was a photograph to fill you with hope and motivation for the coming year, this is it.

Last year I didn't buy a wall calendar...well, with so many lockdowns, we weren't going out much, and there weren't as many parties, outings or dates to remember. 

Now though, I will be more organised as the calendar is up on the kitchen noticeboard. 

I'm not one to wish my life away, but it's nice to think of a new year, a fresh start, more flowers and fruit and vegetables to grow, new recipes to try and holidays to plan isn't it? 

Before I get too carried away, there's Christmas to concentrate on though, and I can't think of a nicer present to give to receive than a good, practical paper diary or an attractive wall planner for anyone who wants to be more organised next year.

The diary costs £12.95 and the calendar costs £9.99 - I was sent these for review.

A Foodie Friday reviewing and cooking from "Green" by Elly Pear

 There's nothing more annoying than a friend recommending somewhere good to eat, and the cafe closing down before you can visit. 

That's what happened a few years back when I really wanted to visit The Pear Cafe in Bristol, run by Elly Curshen, who is otherwise known as Elly Pear. Sadly, I didn't get the chance to taste her food, but now I can.

I've recently been cooking some of her recipes from this book which was published in 2019 but has only just come on my radar.

Although I do eat some meat, I  love eating and making vegetarian and vegan meals, and am always looking for something new to try. Boy, do I have some new favourites after reading and rereading "Green"

It's set out in two parts...weekday recipes and weekend food, which works out very successfully.

Let's face it, many of us want fresh food, cooked quickly or easily at the end of a weekday, and Elly Pear delivers recipes that can be frozen, or cooked in one pan and some which are ready in 20 minutes.

Rose Harissa Chickpeas with Za'atar baked feta is easy peasy and tastes divine, and so is the baked two cheese, three greens, four herb frittata. I've never cooked a frittata in a cake tin before but this was full of flavour and perfect for supper or lunchtime.  My "Writers what lunch" gang doesn't know it yet, but this is what they're going to have at our December meet up at my house. and it's perfect for cooking in advance.  

Also on the must list to make in the very near future is Elly's recipe for Roasted Beetroot, Horseradish and Amontillado Pearl Barley risotto. What a combination of punchy,  sweet and savoury ingredients ...

The second part of the book features ideal weekend food. Ideas for what to prep for the weekend and brunches, lunches and suppers that hit the sweet spot for a lazy day, alone or with friends. Recipes that ooze freshness and make you feel that they not only taste good but by golly make you feel good too. Spiced Paneer, Spinach and Pea Grain Bowl with mint yoghurt sauce anyone?

These are all arranged seasonally, but even though this cake is suggested for Spring, it's ideal for right now.

Ingredients

140g plain flour

125g ground almonds

2tspn baking powder

Half a tsp salt

225gm salted butter

200gm caster sugar

3 eggs

zest and juice of a lemon

2 tbsp raspberry jam

4 tbsp almond flakes, toasted lightly in a dry pan

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan/ 200C/400F or gas mark 6

2. Mix together flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, then beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a tablespoon of the dry ingredients along with each egg.

3. Fold through the remaining dry ingredients and then mix in the lemon zest and juice.

4. Grease a 25cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Pir the cake mixture into the tin for 25 minutes or until the top of the cake is light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

5. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it  to cool completely in the tin. Only then remove the cake from the tin, spread the jam over the top ad sprinkle with almond flakes and serv

6. Grease a 25cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Put the cake mixture into the tin for 25 minutes or until the top of the cake is light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool completely in the tin. Only then remove the cake from the tin, spread the jam over the top, sprinkle with almond flakes and serve,

* I used my homemade raspberry and gin jam in the recipe (such a good move!) I may also have overdone the amount of flaked almonds ...actually I know I did, so will use more sparingly next time I make this delicious cake.

Elly Pear is right when she says this cake keeps well, even it is very moreish. An absolute winner according to those of us who ate it.

For me "Green is a winner of a book too, and one which I will keep cooking from.

"Green" by Ellie Pear is published by Ebury Press  and costs £22

Her previously published books are "Feast Days and Fast Days" and "Let's Eat"