Le Manoir English Garden
With the new orchard in blossom and the beds full of spring flowers from Raymond Blanc’s garden in Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons Raymond Blanc’s luxury hotel.
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| Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Le Manoir garden |
Fresh growth leaps from ever border, and tulips, cowslips and blossom offer seasonal views from every door and window of Raymond Blanc’s luxury hotel, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.
All the soil improvement carried out over the past few months is starting to pay off, and the team is at last enjoying lighter gardening work. Pricking out seedlings, weeding and mowing are the perfect way to pass
the time on a spring day.
Having just taken my daily stroll around the garden at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, I sit at my desk with all
the joys of spring in my gardening bones. I spotted a blackbird nesting in the tool shed today. She is
welcome to make this her home in way of repayment for making a dent in the slug and snail population
in the garden. However, later in the year I may have to keep her gently away from our fresh fruit crops.
The relationship between wildlife and gardener is a very precious one, and, as with every friendship, it has its ups and downs. We will tread carefully as we collect our tools, until her young have safely flown the nest.
In early April, the tulips are pert and strong, and although they only offer flowers for a fairly short period of time, they are worth every penny we spend on the bulbs.
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| Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Le Manoir garden |
Florist Sarah is ever tempted to pick them for displays in the house, but we have agreed to allow them
to grace the borders, and buy in bunches for vases. Joining them in flower is the wisteria on the house.
Le Manoir garden plan
On sunny days, the windows are opened to allow the delicate wisteria scent to float into the rooms.
The kitchen garden looks fresh and the pace is fast, with trays of herbs and microgreens being harvested every day. One annual that is popular with the kitchen and thrives well here is Claytonia perfoliata. It has a similar taste to spinach, and we grow it as a salad crop. You may know it better by its common names - winter purslane or miners’ salad. Being rich in vitamin C, it was very good for miners - hence the name. It grows well in damp conditions and is popular here as it can be sown and harvested from spring to winter.
This crop is easy to grow from seed - it will self seed so don’t let it bolt or you’ll end up with rather too much of it.
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| Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Le Manoir garden |
The ride-on mower is in constant use now, and the lawns are at their best. Edges are cut regularly in order to make sure the garden looks smart and striking as guests enjoy a spring walk.
It is at this time of year when hotel guests start to ask the gardening team what we are growing. It is so
exciting to be able to share the work we do here and the level of interest is wonderful to see.
Anne Marie Owens
LE MANOIR EVENTS
Cook with Alex Mackay: awardwinning cookbook author, cookery teacher and chef Alex Mackay returns to Le Manoir to give a talk and cookery demonstration to celebrate the launch of his new book,
Everybody Everyday. Thursday 2 May; price £175; includes three-course lunch and wine-tasting with one of
Le Manoir’s sommeliers.
An evening with Monty Halls, an ex-Royal Marine officer who is now well known for his BBC2 series Great Escapes as well as Great Barrier Reef and The Fisherman’s Apprentice. Priced at £235 per person, the evening, on Wednesday 15 May, includes a Laurent-Perrier champagne reception and three-course dinner with wine.
Email hannah.ferguson@blanc.co.uk
or tel: +44 (0)1844 277484.
www.manoir.com
Le Manoir ORCHARD IN BLOOM
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| Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Le Manoir garden |
uniform rows of new saplings. Metal arches made by local master blacksmith Michael Jacques, whose workshop is just three miles from Le Manoir, have been erected, and apples will be grown up and around them as the years go on.
The blossom is also attracting beneficial insects and the plan is to create two ‘bee villages’ among the fruit trees to aid pollination and to produce honey.
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| Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Le Manoir garden |
lime trees have also been planted in the top part of the field. Honey bees are important pollinators, and they have been under serious threat in recent years from pesticides and diseases like the virus spread by the parasitic varroa mite. All sorts of crops are pollinated by honey bees, including fruit and many vegetables, and being able to support the local bee population is an important part of working in harmony with nature
for the gardeners at Le Manoir.
They have also consulted with master beekeeper Dr Ivor Davis and will be joining Oxfordshire
Beekeepers’ Association for full training and on-going guidance.
PHOTOGRAPHS JASON INGRAM
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