January/February 2023 update

Arlington Bluebell Walk and Beatons Wood

To celebrate this being the 50th Bluebell Walk and that Bates Green Garden is now an RHS Partner Garden, we are producing an 8-page document, as our 2023 brochure. This meant we had more pages to proofread, so going back and forth to our designer 6 times, but at last it is at the printers! It will be interesting if any eagle-eyed readers can find typos we missed! The brochure can be viewed at www.bluebellwalk.co.uk/downloads-reports .

Any offers to help distribute the ‘hard copies’ around your area would be gratefully received.

The very first wild daffodils are now appearing in the Millennium Avenue. Not much to look at now but in around 6 weeks this will become a wonder of nature, as photographed by Pete Goldsmith on 17 March 2022!

When Bates Green Garden re-opens on Wednesdays from 22nd February, for an additional £5 you can extend your visit with a walk along the Millennium Avenue, enjoy the daffodils while they’re in bloom, and then explore the 24 acres of Beatons Wood. Until 29th March you can enjoy the wood without being restricted to certain paths when we must protect the bluebells for the duration of the Bluebell Walk!

Our new wild bird feeding station was created by burying the top half of a dead oak tree from Beatons Wood. We only hung the first feeders at the beginning of the year, but they are now constantly full of a variety of garden birds, with some feeders needing replenishing every day!		We found these cleverly designed three-compartment bird feeders at Staverton Nurseries in Halland, so are able to provide a gourmet diet of 10 different foods. All the bird food is kindly supplied by Gary Thomas of G2 Distributions, who has a unit at Bates Green Farm.

We had a visit from the naturalist, Steve Homewood this week, who admired the variety of birds, capturing on his camera these two enjoying the feast.

Great Spotted Woodpecker		Tree Creeper

Steve gives guided walks and talks on the natural history around Lewes.

You can see a short video of the birds feeding on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/vTVlQ8FePtc

John McCutchan

BATES GREEN GARDEN

The weather has been behaving well this past month, enabling the Garden Team to crack on with the enjoyable task of preparing the garden for our first opening of 2023. This has involved mulching, strategic leaf clearing, pruning and tidying with wildlife at the forefront of our minds.

We open on Sunday February 19th, with all the proceeds going to the National Gardens Scheme and there will be delicious refreshments supplied in aid of Cancer Research UK. Do come along and see what we have been up to over the winter months. There is so much to see in the Garden, with colour, scent, texture and birdsong in abundance. We have ordered winter sunshine too. Booking for this event is via the NGS website.

One section of the hedge in the Middle Garden had been looking tired and straggly of late and needed replacing. We purchased bare root native plants from English Woodlands and I’m sure you will agree that Steve has done an excellent job. Buying young plants in this way means they establish well and, with the right care and attention, will grow into a sturdy, dense hedge that will be a haven for birds.