The Swallows are Back

Mothecombe Gardens have had a busy year so far.  The new arrangement for the Holbeton pre-school children to walk through the gardens to Mothecombe beach for their beach school has been a great success, for the mothers and their children. The five minute walk sometimes takes them half an hour as there is so much to see and explore. It has been remarkable how much the children notice the changes other walk as the leaves emerge, and different flowers appear. They are much more aware of their environment that we realise.

At the moment, the woods are a dazzling shade of royal blue, with the bluebells mixed with a scattering of cow parsley, pink campion and Solomon’s seal. The invading bracken is at its prettiest, with the acid green of the unfurling fronds echoing that of the young beech leaves. The variety of greens of the other trees contrasting with, silver of white beam, and the pink and red of the young acers. The bumble bees are busy, with plentiful nectar and pollen to feed on, and the swallows are back, refurbishing their nests in the stables.

Our three open days for the Children’s Hospice, St Luke’s Hospice and the National Garden Scheme have attracted nearly 1200 visitors, and raised over £10,000, which is a record for Mothecombe. Following a feature in Country Life magazine last year, the garden was featured in the Western Morning News in April this year, and is to be photographed in June for House and Garden magazine, before a final opportunity to see it on July 8th when we are holding Holbeton Village fete here. Then it can settle back to its habitual dreamy stillness, punctuated only by the cooing of pigeons, the laughing woodpeckers and chuckling of jackdaws.