It is so easy to hide away in the job I have. I could spend an entire day roaming around the garden, weeding, planning, planting and barely talk to anyone. Growing seedlings in the green house, potting up new plants to prepare for outdoor climates, or sitting behind a computer like now, writing blogs or doing some marketing and not meet a soul. But you know what? It would take out the core purpose of all my work, as in the end, it's all about people. If it wasn't for the smiling faces of visitors enjoying the tranquillity of Bosvathick, sitting on a bench with a cup of tea and cake taking in the beautiful views, or seeing someone taking photos of an array of flower colours; this job would get a totally different purpose, and for me a far less satisfactory one.
Because the true joy is found in hearing other people's passion for gardens, or hearing about the places they've come from or where they are headed. Sometimes even the sharing of life struggles or the loss of a loved one. You would not think this was part of my job description but I must admit these are the best bits of my day. These kind of encounters really boost me up to provide an even better experience for those who come to enjoy Bosvathick.
Just last week we had a lovely group of enthusiasts who did not only chat with me in the office and shared their appreciation for some newly added information cards in the garden but also made the day of the owner when being so positively responsive to the tour of the house. “The most entertaining tour we've ever had” they said, and that, makes it all worth while.
I must admit that we are not well known yet, and sometimes we only see a handful of people on an opening day, but one single conversation, no matter how insignificant it might seem, could make all the difference for someone like me, working behind the scenes to try and create a wonderful visitor experience.
Last year we were open on Thursday and Friday, but it always seemed to rain on Friday, so this year we are open on Wednesday and Thursday instead. But just in case, this season we now also have a covered sheltered seating area, as we couldn't bare the thought of you not being able to enjoy some refreshments without getting a wet bottom. So there you have it. I introduce to you the 'Pavilion' for your dry and sheltered cup of tea experience. We aim to please!

Below as well as the Pavilion, a couple of photos of other exciting things going on in the garden. A cock fight, happy primroses and these beautiful chandeliers.

There is something magical about the first 'proper' spring day. It's not that the flowers blooming today were not doing so yesterday, but somehow it feels that way. With no wind and the sun warming a sheltered spot of the garden to 't-shirt only-wearing' temperatures it appears a transformation has taken place and my brain finally comes to grips with the fact that a completely new season of warmth, colour and scent has once again descended on us. The colours of the flowers appear deeper and stronger on such a sunny spring day and planting in new perennials in the slowly warming soil all give rise to happy feelings, especially after such a gloomy, dark and wet winter. I am excited for the new season. So in order to celebrate spring, here are some beautiful spring blooms from Bosvathick garden.

A garden takes a lot of planning; a well known fact for those who are keen gardeners and also for those who have discovered the hard way that planting bulbs for instance, in the wrong season, could have very unsatisfying results. Delphinium seeds sown in the wrong climate are growing some kind of weird mildew instead of actual plants, something I have discovered just this last month. But how is one supposed to make a garden plan and work schedule when the seasonal changes are totally not cooperating?
Because we are open to the public, I try to plan and plant for a beautiful flower display in the months we can be visited. But now certain trees and shrubs in the garden are behaving like it's close to summer time instead of winter and we have April flowering daffodils and Rhododendrons in full bloom in January, it's totally bizarre to say the least. How is one to do ones job properly with this kind of stuff going on? I guess things change a bit when gardens are not just able to respond according to how nature leads but when they are also supposed to function as a business to be visited in tourist season. Though seemingly unaware of this added pressure it does what it wants to do, based on temperatures not dates on the calender and that's just how it is.
Having said that we are still expecting a beautiful garden when we open at the end of March. I am especially looking forward to this coming June when we will be able to see the results of this winter's hard work on our new herbaceous borders. A rose focused garden with added perennials is going to be new 'piece de resistance' for Bosvathick. It might need another year to thicken out, but the roses, which is one of the reasons I love them so much, will certainly give a beautiful display already this summer, not to mention the exciting fragrances that will fill this part of the garden. I can't wait.
Below our supposedly April flowering daffs in January, the new borders and my son the apprentice! 

It's been a bit quiet on the blogging side of things, however let this not be an indication of a lack of busyness on our part to prepare for yet another wonderful Bosvathick season. As a matter of fact we have been quite busy indeed. A new substantially sized shed is in it's final building stages: a beautiful red reclaimed tiled roof adorns the wooden weatherboarding structure with windows all along. As a matter of fact we are so impressed with it that we have been considering many other upgraded uses for the building instead; however it seems our need for storage outbids a garden sauna with jacuzzi or a chalet style holiday let. We are expecting dry and sunny weather in early spring (one has to stay positive) and therefore have every hope the shed will be coated with Bosvathick green before the first garden opening day.
We are already receiving interest for garden visits and house tours for next year; locally and from further afield such as Switzerland, so we are anticipating seeing many people on the estate. Our 2016 opening dates and times are now on our website, feel free to share this with anyone you know who might be interested. Keen to be more widely known in the Falmouth and Helston area we are currently considering our marketing approach; you can find us for instance on websites such as gardensincornwall.com and wherecanwego.com but we are considering some other avenues as well, so hopefully you will hear or read about us plentifully to entice you for a first or return visit.

Also worth mentioning is that we have created yet another herbaceous border right beside our children's maze. It promises to be a beautiful display of whites, yellows and purples from early summer onwards and we can't wait to see the result. More roses have been planted along our 'castle wall' as well to create yet another wow factor with dazzling colour and scent; and more flowers hopefully means more bees. Last summer we participated in a bee count study performed by a student from the local university and even though some bee varieties were not seen during the 'spotting' sessions, many others were, which we are very excited about. It fills us with pleasure to know that not only do garden visitors get to enjoy our flower displays, but that on days we're closed, beside the family and gardeners, our efforts give great benefits to wildlife as well. Bees spotted were: buffed and white tailed bumblebees, heath bees, honey bees and common carder bees. I was unaware of the existence of so many different varieties and am pleased to have yet again learned something else regarding gardens and its occupants. I am a blessed man!
Below a 'Wuthering Heights' capture of pheasants in Bosvathick's warren on a misty winter's day.

I can hardly believe it. It's the end of August and just this Friday was the last day the garden was open to the public for 2015. Time seems to pass quicker every year, or is this simply a sign of me getting on in years, I don't know; Do only more 'mature' people make these kind of comments? Anyway I still well remember putting out all the benches and historic carts, wheelbarrows and other interesting ornaments in the last week of February, as well as all the information signs with fun facts that are placed all around the garden. Now we have to bring them all back in again, to protect them against the winter rain and for some TLC as well; a fresh layer of paint for instance on some of the signs around the lake, clearly used as scratching poles by our Dexter cows. Hmmm!

I must say it was a very interesting year. The herbaceous borders look much more mature, and we have been planting them in a little thicker as we go. We added more flowering perennials in strategic places to add more colour in the different months we are open and we also have added more different varieties of rhododendrons, azaleas and even placed a new border around our fountain pond with 'Rosa Flower Carpet' still in full bloom now. We cleared around some interesting specimen trees to give them light and growing space, documented everything that we have planted from 2013 onwards and discovered names of plants and trees that have been here for years.

Just the other day I was visiting Trelissick Garden and spotted a name sign with a particular hydrangea we also have here at Bosvathick, so I now know it's called 'White Snow', what fun! Today while browsing for August flowering plants I came across two more varieties that we have in our garden that I can now address by their proper name: a Yucca Filamentosa (or Adam's needle) instead of 'green spindly spiky thing' and somewhere random along the drive we have an Acanthus variety, formerly known as an 'ugly weed thing'. Turns out people actually buy this! Huh! It's a mystery how that got there, it certainly is not in the most obvious spot to plant anything.

On Thursday I took down our sweetpea structure, they were getting tired, I can't blame them. They have produced flowers non stop for 3 months or so, bringing smiles on the faces of our B&B guests and gracing the outdoor tables for our tea and cake customers. I have harvested some of their seed pods, so perhaps I can grow my own next year. I've had great success in taking cuttings from Nepeta and Penstemons and I am now trying to grow some plants from seeds I have harvested: Pansies &Violas, Geum, Geranium Elke, Primula Postford White, and I am going to attempt some Leucanthemum, Mohawk and Agapanthus. No idea if you can grow these from seed, but I'll soon discover.

The season was long with very mild weather, which I think was one of the reasons everything in the garden started early and therefore finished a bit too soon to my liking. But it does mean more bird offspring; yesterday I saw a wood pigeon on a new nest and just last week I noticed two baby grebe on our lake, a bird I had never seen before. Very shy but very cute indeed!

So what's coming up! In a couple of weeks we are going to plant another 1,000 bulbs or so, all in preparation for next year. We will probably open again from March onwards, but this is still to be confirmed, so keep an eye on our website. We've also got a fun 'explorer' leaflet in the making, which will be entertaining for the children and child-like ones alike, and I have another flower border in mind, it's all very exciting. If there is any other interesting news to share, I'll write again, otherwise the next blog will be closer to our opening in 2016! Blessings to you.
(Below a picture of a beautiful lily. The last one remaining from a handful of bulbs planted some years ago. It's in the most awkward position in the middle of a lawn, but we can't bear moving it in case we won't see it ever again, which is in the true likeness of Bosvathick's owners: nothing gets wasted, there is always a use for something, so we are keeping it, with all the other thousands of paraphernalia you can see on one of the house tours. Oh and I added a picture of the Acanthus as well, which, now in flower, looks a bit less like a weed after all. Last a picture of the new fountain pond border with 'Rosa Flower Carpet'. Enjoy!)

In July's issue of Cornwall Living magazine, Bosvathick is described as beautiful, while many visitors say the garden is romantic; both descriptions are true I think. The garden has very mature parts with big rhododendrons, camellias, azeleas and deciduous trees throughout, whereas other areas are newly developed, with several herbaceous borders which are currently in full colour and are looking stunning. The whole effect of the garden gives a feeling that it has been there for centuries, with some parts barely touched and other parts lovingly nurtured, a garden that is still private which gives you the idea that you are walking through something that is still 'real' and not thoroughly cultivated. I think that is Bosvathick's strength, and we are trying to keep it that way. The house is still lived in by the same family since 1760 and the facade of the house looking from the south lawn tells you there is a long history here. It's an intriguing place.

I realise I have talked a lot about the garden on this blog and recently about the house tour as well, but it struck me that there is so much more going on in a garden than just plants, flowers and trees. So I decided to do a little bird and butterfly spotting for your interest and mine of course. I am no spotter to say the least, and certainly cannot identify one bird species from the other by simply hearing a simple call or a serenading song. Still I thought it would be nice to give a record of species I have seen over the years of being on the estate. I was utterly surprised with the list I came up with and I am sure there are many more that I have not included, birds that might only visit during the winter, or are just passing by.

However I must say that when it came to identifying the different butterflies, I started to develop a sensation over these last couple of weeks that has to be described as possibly a 'spotting' bug, or simply said a slight addiction perhaps? Never before have I really given much attention to the difference between this wide variety of winged insects that are fluttering about like there is no tomorrow. I tried my best to get some photographed so I could go home and find their particular names on the internet. You can imagine how many images taken were actually empty of butterflies, they really do very quickly move about. But, if I may say so myself, I got some good shots as well, which I will share with you in the included gallery.

Bosvathick is only open for one more month. The Garden closes at the end of August and I think the house tours are almost fully booked for the season. But you can always give the office a call to see if they can squeeze you in somewhere. Hope you enjoyed these monthly updates, I certainly did. We'll let you know what the next season will bring. Below my 'spotting list' and a photo gallery.

Birds seen on Bosvathick estate:
Canada Goose, Mallard, Pheasant, Grey Heron, Egret, Buzzard, Moor hen, Gull (several species), Wood Pigeon, Tawny Owl (only heard, not seen), Swallow, Green and Spotted Woodpecker, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Crow, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Warbler (specie unsure), Wren, Dunnock, Blackbird, Mistle/Song Thrush, Robin, Grey and White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Bullfinch and our Guinea Fowl.

Butterflies seen on Bosvathick estate in July:
Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Silver-washed Fritillary, Red Admiral, Comma, Small White, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood (I am sure many more escaped my eye) and last but not least I am very excited to tell you that I also spotted a Hummingbird Hawkmoth. Never seen anything like it! Enjoy the photos.

This month I thought it was time to give some attention to Bosvathick's other attraction: our weekly house tours. To do it justice, below some snippets of an article written by my beautiful wife Josephine, who grew up on the estate.

“The imposing granite gate posts of Bosvathick are something of a landmark on the road to Constantine. Topped with great granite balls and flanked by a pair of handsome lions, such a grand statement promises fine reward to those that go the distance of its long leafy drive.
Described as a “small country house”, Bosvathick in fact makes quite an impressive footprint. Originally built in 1760 , the house was completely refurbished in 1890 and given an extension that doubled its size. Since then, very little change has been made, and having been occupied by descendants of one family for 250 years, it is packed with gorgeous antiques and artworks, and contains a veritable treasure trove of household items that, once considered ordinary, are now fascinating.
Redesigned with the Victorian lifestyle in mind, the house is formally divided into staff and family wings. Of course, the house ceased to employ servants a long time ago (the last butler left in 1939), but it is clear that those rooms which were the domain of that dedicated team served no purpose to the family, and were left virtually untouched for seventy years. The resulting display of crockery and candlestubs ready for use in the Butler's pantry, for example, is enchanting, and anyone with an interest in pretty china tea sets or gas lamps will be enthralled.
The room that is perhaps of most interest is the original day nursery which was papered in 1904 with hundreds, perhaps even thousands of coloured reproductions cut from popular magazines. 
The reception rooms, warm and spacious, are furnished almost exactly as they were before the First World War, and display 250 years worth of family memorabilia, from portraits and photographs to travel souvenirs and glass collections, not to mention an age-old harp.
Despite this, however, the house is very much a comfortable, functional home. The library, for example, is a room in which a TV looks at ease with centuries-old leather-bound books and large glass cases of taxidermied birds. The 'green baise doors' – traditional divide between staff and family – are swung wide open for daily thoroughfare, and the servants' corridor – complete with a long line of bells marked for each room – is now carpeted and decorated with family portraits and photographs spanning the last century.
Some modernizatons have necessarily taken place. The well, though in use until 2005, was substituted by mains water supply in the 1960s, and the house was finally provided with sufficient electricity in 1987, abandoning the little generator that had been installed in 1923 and which had struggled to cope with more than two or three lightbulbs on at a time.
Upstairs, bedrooms have been lavishly refurbished to receive guests for Kate's thriving Bed and Breakfast business, and some of the smaller servant bedrooms have been converted into modern bathrooms, so no-one is expected to use the quaint little earth closet located discreetly among the arching boughs of laurel outside, even if it does boast an enchanting view of the lake.
Tours of the house cost £14, but for those who prefer to give the house tour a miss, entry to the garden is only £3 (though children under the age of 12 are free) and is well worth an afternoon.”

Tours include tea and cakes in the drawing room and are given every Thursday from March to the end of August. Bookings necessary. For more information or more pictures to whet your appetite click here