Island Life Magazine Ltd October/ November 2012 | Page 87

GARDENING

Matt Noyce is head gardener
at Quarr Abbey, and is
responsible for the 200 acres
of gardens, pastureland,
vegetable plot and private
woodland on the estate.

Plenty of winners at Quarr Abbey
When you have worked outside for
a reasonable amount of years, you
become somewhat in tune with the
weather.
Its predictability, or rather
unpredictability this year, shapes and
effects most of what we do and when
we do it. I find there is always one
defining morning each year where you
get up, go outside, and say ‘brrrr’.
It is from that day on that there is
a cool edge in the air, morning and
night, and you know autumn is on its
way. I do enjoy the changing seasons
as it gives us continued interest in the
gardens and grounds here at Quarr
Abbey.
At the moment our vegetables and
crops have peaked, giving us a fantastic
spectrum of colours, shapes and sizes.
I’ll share some of this year’s winners
with you. Chioggia Pink beetroot,
a wonderful, interesting variety that
doesn’t ‘bleed’ into the rest of your
salad.
A yellow variety of courgette called
Parador has yielded a bumper crop
and is still going strong. Sweetcorn
Mirai bicolour and Lapwing haven’t
disappointed; Pescador shallots have

yielded well and Pinocchio’s Nose has
produced some lovely long chillies.
For cut flowers we grew dahlias
from seed and the varieties cactus and
pompone created a fantastic display
of colour. Although the growing
conditions have been rather fickle

this year, the overall crop has been
surprisingly good. Both of our land
usage partners have exceeded my
expectations too, so well done to
them.
From the start of September we
have had the green light to start hedge
cutting. It is always advisable to check

for nesting birds and to leave working
on hedges until this time of year to
avoid unnecessary interruption to
fauna. Remember it is good practice to
refrain from reducing hedges and large
shrubs by more than a third of its total
size as this may cause the plant stress.
I was lucky enough to be invited
to the Isle of Wight beekeepers
association (IWBKA) ‘taster’ session
held h