Last winter, the garden remained a hive of activity during the closed season as preparation for the spring and the re-opening our doors to visitors kept the gardening team endlessly busy. They spent many frosty mornings in the Rose Garden, enriching the soil and replanting the bulbs, ensuring a healthy environment in which they can thrive. From restoration and raking to pruning and planting, their work during the winter ensures Ellen Terry’s garden is looking at its best all year round.
From our hedgehog houses and new bug hotels, to our log piles and rockeries, we have made a number of different habitats in the garden. These are helping to diversify and increase our resident wildlife at Smallhythe Place.
Finally, our pond wildlife is developing nicely after its reinstatement at the beginning of 2017 and pond management continues to take place. With floating water lilies, skating water boatmen and the distinctive croaks of our resident Hungarian bullfrogs, the pond is once again abundant with activity.