What's going on?

Leonardslee "MUD-fest"

4th June 2008

The last weekend saw the stunning Kidzstuff festival at Leonardslee with loads of fun, education and food for kids. With such a wet start to the week, it made the weekend a little bit muddy for those intrepid enough to come. Fortunately the weather just held its ground and let everybody really enjoy themselves without getting too muddy. With a full size big top circus, big monster trucks and other great entertainment loads of kids went home exhausted with enormous smiles all over their faces. For more information see the Kidzstuff website at www.kidzstuff.org.uk.

Kidzstuff festival - ACCESS ALL AREAS!

30th May 2008

After a rather muddy start the Horsham Rotary Club launched the first day of the Kidzstuff festival. A special event in conjunction with Horsham District Council and Action Medical Research, giving access to disabled and special needs kids was held at Leonardslee in the fields beneath the Mansion. In preperation for the big weekend and to enable kids less able to enjoy the main festival, an "Access all Areas" day with entertainment catering for the special needs and less abled kids was held. Judging by the numbers of smiles and grateful comments on the exits the day was enjoyed by all who came. See the Kidzstuff main wenbsite for more information www.kidzstuff.org.uk.

Parasols for sale!

23rd May 2008

To celebrate the advent of Summer Leonardslee are opening a Parasol Department. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that visitors can throw away their sun lotions as the Leonardslee Parasols are fairly small, merely 2 or 3 inches long! They are to be found in the "Beyond the Dolls House" exhibition which has so enthralled visitors to the famous gardens this year. Click here for some images of the parasols.

Pong in the valley

12th May 2008

Now the bigger Rhododendrons at the top of the gardens are passing through their triumphant fanfare, the focus is starting to shift down the valley towards the lakes. The yellow smellies or "Rhododendron luteum" are are just starting their crescendo on the waterside, with some touches of pinks and reds from other decidous azaleas breaking up the sea of yellow. The bottom of the valley will shortly be looking stunning! Make sure that you get a chance to visit the gardens in the near future, as the lakeside reflections are promising to be a fantastic affair this year.

Veteran cars in the Gardens

11th May 2008

A bright sunny Sunday, the perfect day for a picnic and some old cars. The South East section of the Veteran Car Club visited the gardens on the 11th May and gave people the opportunity of seeing these marvellous and interesting vehicles. With superb weather and delightful company we hope that all our visitors and the members of the veteran car club all had a terrific day.

Colours out in the gardens

7th May 2008

After a cool period in April, the warm beginning to May has brought on the fantastic colours in the gardens. May is the best time to see the azaleas and rhododendrons!. This year the Rock Garden has done us proud with a fantastic turnout of colour. The Loderi Rhododendrons are just on their way at the moment, and the lakeside colours should be just around the corner.

Party in the greenhouse

20th April 2008

On Friday the 18th April, we held a little party for 100 or so guess in the greenhouse. The aim was to showcase the exquisite sculptures that had been lent to our Sculpture for the Garden exhibition. With works from a variety of artists both local and national a great exhibition was created. With many thanks to Lianne Jarrett and her team. Despite the cold weather a great evening was had by all, with many venturing out in the winterish night to look at the other sculptures in the courtyard and also on the front lawns overlooking the downs.

Sculpures and water

13th April 2008

The "Sculpture for the Garden" exhibition includes a couple of works by Neil Wilkin. One of which is a spectacular fountain that we have just managed to get plumbed in!

Amongst other works including items from Steve Geliot, Charlotte Mayer, Peter Clarke, Pierre Diamantopoulo, Guy Holder and Claire McDermott, the greenhouse is transformed into a cultural feast just efore going into the amazing gardens.

Leonardslee, Wallabies, Cardinals and Snow

6th April 2008

The remarkable dump of snow that came down over the weekend meant the gardens at Leonardslee were transformed into a winter paradise. The wallabies with their little joeys in mum’s pouches looked adorable with their temporary white carpet.

The stunning sculpture group, “Conclave”, of 8 cardinals created by the renowned artist Philip Jackson on the front lawns stood out as a beacon against a back drop looking towards the snow capped South Downs. The Chosen One leads the prosession with hands gloved in gold!

The amazing sight of snow laden trees with their varied picturesque outlines contrasted starkly with the vivid splashes of colour from early flowering rhododendrons, and the camellias and magnolias still visible under their white winter mantle. Leonardslee was truly magical and a unique and unforgettable moment was captured that could possibly never be experienced again.

On the market!

2nd April 2008

Leonardslee lakes and gardens is now on the market. For further information see the Agants website at www.savills.co.uk.

Last minute preparations

31st March 2008

Last minute preperations for the season are underway. The Glass house has gone through a complete makeover during the last week. With the stunning sculptures going into the Glass House and the exhibition courtyard we have been mad at work trying to get everything looking great around these. Hopefully towards the end of the week the last of our sculptures will be coming. Tuesday will see the gates opening for the start of a new and exciting season.

Camellias 'Queen of the Winter Shrubs' ?

6th March 2008

Extensive plantings of a wide range of Camellias by Lady Loder in the 1940's now form our well known "Camellia Grove". planted on the west side of a steep valley, with a zigzag tracery of pathways,they prove to be a magnetic draw for the enthusiast. There is an ancient bush behind the mansion which had a circumference of 22 yards in 1901, and over the years it has caused the stone steps to be moved sideways 3 times to accommodate its growth. Some of our Camellias are thought to be 200 years old. It was not until after the second world war that people began to take risks with their expensive plants and began to realise just how hardy to the winter elements they were.From just 3 main species, japonica, reticulata and sasanqua, many fine cultivars have been produced and their popularity is now at a new high. what surprises the newcomer is their flowering longevity. Here at Leonardslee, our "Cornish Snow" started showing delicate white flowers last November. At the end of February they were still performing and will continue to do so, well into March.

The Great Spruce Bark Beetle. . . . . from Patrick Toe

27th February 2008

Colin and I have had to take down a recently dead Norway spruce (Picea abies). We have also been watching a fabulous oriental spruce (Picea orientalis) rapidly dying back. The cause of this death and dieback is 'the great spruce bark beetle' (Dendroctonus micans). They and their larvae tunnel under the bark eating the important cambium layer of the tree, until thet have effectively ring barked it, potentially leading to the trees death. I contacted the Forestry Commission and they are hopefully coming soon to release another beetle which is a natural predator called Rhizophagus grandis. Good old Rhizophagus sniffs out any Dendroctonus within a 7km radius and eats them, hopefully saving the rest of our spruce population from an early death.

Felling the Beech

25th February 2008

Recently Colin and Patrick, from the arboricultural department have regrettably had to take down one of the biggest beeches (Fagus sylvatica) in the garden. In the hurricane of 1987 a large part of the tree was ripped out and now 20 years later the majestic 34.5M or 114' tall tree was no longer considered safe. When a tree loses a limb whether by chainsaw or hurricane a certain amount of rot is likely to occur even if it heals. When the wound is a very large jagged tear the rot is much greater as the tree cannot callous over it.This once beautiful beech was no longer thriving, the leaves were greatly reduced in number and were very much smaller in size than they should have been which is never a good sign. All this combined with the years of rot in the weakening tear on the trunk led to the decision that it should be taken down. It is now all dealt with except for the felling of the standing butt of the tree, hopefully before the opening (1st April) or may be in the summer. This will be no mean feat as it still stands at 15M or 49' 6" high and is 4.8M or 15' 9" in circumference, and will need to be winched over or pulled with a tractor once the felling cuts have been made.

Magnificent Magnolias, bursting with buds!

4th February 2008

The Magnolia Cambellii are bursting with buds, promising a spectacular display this year! There can be few trees anywhere in the world that have such large and spectacular flowers. We are fortunate to have some extremely large and splendid examples. Our Magnolia campbellii near the dell is possibly the tallest specimen in the country!,when recently measured it exceeded over 80ft.in height,however we should be pleased to hear from anyone who can improve on this.With its striking pink blooms and a sympathetic winter, it can be an awesome sight. The flower buds have hairy sheaves called perules to protect them from the winter frosts, but if a frost strikes at the wrong time such as when the the perules start to fall away before flowering the flowers will rot in the bud. Fortunately, we have extensive plantings of many species that will give us colour and enjoyment over many months.

Early or Late? Who can tell what's going on with the weather?

30th January 2008

Looking down the valley across the terraces the daffodils are starting to push up through the grass, and in some places even starting to flower! However there's cold weather on the way and this will keep the colours off until there alloted time. 2007 started with a blazing April, and a lot of the flowers were encouraged to come forward a little. This years it is still up in the air!!

Gates, wallabies and fences

25th January 2008

Over the years some of our fences have developed signs of ageing, and look less than perfect. Visitors to the gardens may have noticed over the last year or so some changes to our fencelines. In a process fo trying to make them more appealing and less obtrusive we have made a number of changes. This weekhas seen the recycling of one of our old wooden gates to replace the less appealing metal gates beside the wallaby breeding area.

The Glass house - Preparations for the sculptures

22nd January 2008

Sometimes the gloomy clouds have a silver lining! With the wetter weather the gardeners have found an excuse to get out of the cold and damp and attack the large Glass House. The warmer climate inside encourages all kinds of plants to flourish, some under control and others out for a rampage. Last years growth all has to be curtailed to make sure that it does not encroach to far and start a jungle. This year extra work is afoot in preparation for the new set of sculptures that will be taking over the glass house as well as the old museum courtyard.

Painters, Photographers and Models!

15th January 2008

Helen and Ron have been at work. Creating a set of new studios in the "Beyond the Dolls House" exhibiton. An art class is in progress with a semi nude model reclining on a "chaise-longue". The new ballet school is in mid performance, with promises of automata to start the dance!