< Previous© Shutterstock / ariadna de raadt30 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYGARDENSThen there’s the use of moss in thegarden. While most gardeners try toavoid moss, no Japanese garden would becomplete without it. Moss is often foundin Japan’s naturally rainy and often humidclimate, and is believed to establish a softand balanced feel that provide the bodyand mind with inner peace and comfort,but don’t forget to include steppingstones around it, to allow it to flourishundamaged.Poorly done, a Japanese Garden canlook kitsch, so whilst it might betempting to gather bright red lanternsand pagodas, do a little research first soyou avoid such cliché features, and toavoid mixing Chinese culture withJapanese. The garden doesn’t have to be large,but a shaded tea house or pagoda en-route is a great feature to offer visitors achance to soak it all in and, if they wish,to meditate. Stick with authenticmaterials such as bamboo, wherepossible, and use re-purposed materialswherever you can, as Japanese traditioncalls for things working towards a higherpurpose. When it comes to planting, mostJapanese gardens rely on subtledifferences in colour and texture in placeof bright or garish colours, think almostmonochromatic greens and soothingshades such as that offered by coniferswhich will provide year round interest.While pyramid shapes will echo the shapeof a pagoda, trees that can be clippedinto clouds as well as specimens with low,spreading branches can be incorporatedfor additional interest. Plants, such as maple and cherry trees,are often chosen for their seasonal appealand need to be placed to emphasize theircharacteristics, the trick is to imitatenature. Not all your plants and flowersneed to be Japanese though, and colourcan be incorporated as long as it’s not adistraction and keeping lines flowing andsimple is a far better formula than seeinghow many species you can cram into aborder. It’s impossible to put your fingeron Zen but to me the principle seems tobe: to calm the mind, bring more clarityand infuse us with greater kindness. So agarden with a Japanese feel, crafted withsimplicity of design and is going to allowa mind to unclutter easily seems far betterthan a space bursting with plants andbuddhas/dragons dotted here and there.Think grasses and hostas as oppose to24-31_Layout 1 20/03/2017 13:22 Page 7GARDENSMarigolds and Dahlias. Think Magnolias and whiteirises rather than Geraniums and Crocosmias. Intersperse with stone lanterns, which come in avariety of shapes and sizes, not just those shapedas pagodas. Place these in carefully selectedlocations, such as on islands, at the ends ofpeninsulas or next to significant buildings,lanterns provide both light and a pleasingaesthetic. Pairing them with water basins,which would traditionally have been usedfor ritual cleansing, give the lanternsmeaning and is the traditional Japanesemethod to forms the basic component of atea garden.The results speak for themselves but, like allgardens, it does take time to get the feel justright, and it is worth visiting a few Japanesegardens to understand the concepts. The benefitsof a Japanese garden are clear but they are also awork of art.© Shutterstock / kqlsm24-31_Layout 1 20/03/2017 13:22 Page 832 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYe are now well and truly into spring, andwhile our gardens will be looking morevibrant there is still much to do. Regularweeding and deadheading will help keepyour garden looking good as well as mowing regularly.Now is also the time to be pruning forsythias andchaenomeles. These shrubs have amazing colour in thespring, and pruning them will ensure they flower nextyear too. The time to prune them is when the flowersare over and cut back the flowered shoots to two orthree buds from the base. On more established shrubscut out about a third of the older growth to the base ofthe plant. This will encourage new shoots to grow fromthe base. If you want to add a burst of colour to your garden, Ican recommend Polyanthus. These are believed to haveoriginated as a hybrid from a cross between theprimrose (Primula acaulis) and the cowslip (Primula veris).There are many strains and in a variety of colours, and canbe used to brighten up a border or as an attractive potplant. They grow best in a soil enriched with well-rottenmanure or leafmould and they prefer a little light shade.April is the right time to start to plan for a good crop oftomatoes. To start with you need a sunny windowsill, andsome long plastic seed boxes which come with their owngreenhouse lids. After filling the seed boxes with compostsow the seeds about 2.5cm apart. Finish with a covering ofcompost over them before laying a piece of foldernewspaper on top. Germination should take place in arounda fortnight at which time you can remove the paper andplastic cover. Keep the seedlings in good light and whenthey have got two leaves you can plant them into pots.Keep the pots on a window ledge or greenhouse and keepthem watered. Between mid-May and June they should beVibrant andverdantEd Fullers from Fullers Forestryand Landscaping explains thatspring brings a number of jobs toget your garden looking its best. WVibrant andverdant© Shutterstock / Agil Leonardo32-33_Layout 1 20/03/2017 13:23 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY33GARDENSSpecialised Servicesin Garden DesignLandscaping andTree MaintenanceBacked by a highly-skilledand experienced team,we’ve built our reputationon an ability to provide our clients with professional, tailored gardening and forestry solutionsFREE NO OBLIGATIONQUOTATIONSFULLERSForestry & LandscapingCall 01522 868717 or 07867 510544info@fullersforestry.co.uklwww.fullersforestry.co.ukwww.landscapinglincolnshire.comready to plant out, and one of the best methods is to growthem in grown bags and create frames with canes. You can also plant Strawberries, and these can easily begrown in pots on your patio. However, if you grow themindoors they are protected from the elements and you canhave fruits earlier in the season. Remember if you removethe flowers in the first year you help to build up the plantgiving you a better crop the following year.Hanging baskets are also something that you can bedoing now. When choosing plants to fill the basket, bear inmind the colours of the flowers and their form. You canhave some trailing, such as lobelia, campanula, begonias orcarnations. And for height you could use geraniums,fuchsias and petunias to name just a few. You also want toconsider using plants that have a long flowering period, andremember once the good weather arrives they will needwatering every day.Although the good weather is just around the corner, thisis the month where you need to keep your eye on theweather. We can have cold snaps in April with some verycold nights with frosts. These can damage plants and so ifthey need covering or bringing inside then keep your eyeon the forecast. This is also the month of April showers andso water conservation is a good idea, so make sure yourwater butts are ready. Most importantly of all make sure you enjoy your gardenand being outside in the spring air. The hard work will beworth it when the summer arrives. Around thegarden•Keep weeds under control•Mow your lawn (lowering the blades gradually)•Dig in a layer of compost into your beds•Deadhead daffodils but leave the foliage intact allowing it to die back naturally, so they’ll bloomagain next year•Sow hardy annuals and herb seeds•Feed hungry shrubs and roses•Keep bird baths and bird feeders topped up to encourage birds to your garden•Plant out perennials in groups of three, five or seven•Protect fruit blossom from late frosts•Divide bamboos and waterlilies© Shutterstock / stevemart32-33_Layout 1 20/03/2017 13:23 Page 234 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYLeaving Cuxwold we soonenjoy magnificent viewsnorthwards towardsCabourne and Pelham’s Pillar.Apparently, prehistoric manvalued the landscape here as there’s along barrow in Ash Holt seen to the rightat the first road junction. And, for thosewho enjoy capturing the beauty ofLincolnshire’s landscape on film (welldigitally too) you’ll find some great vistasat Beelsby that extend across the Humberto Yorkshire and Spurn Point, somefourteen miles away, so take a long lens. The Danes are said to have settled inBeelsby in the 9th century and most likelybuilt a church at that time. However, thepresent-day St Andrew’s is largelymediaeval inside with a Gothic exterior -having been heavily restored in 1890 byReginald Fowler (son of the more famousJames). Inside, an early photo shows the churchbefore restoration. A plaque on the westwall of the infilled former tower/nave archcommemorates his efforts. “Fowlers bit offun” as Pevsner describes it, is the littlespirelet on the bell turret. Henry Thoroldwas more critical, commenting that thechurchyard is “bereft of gravestones – asad sight!”.The second village on our walk isHatcliffe - undoubtedly one of theprettiest villages in the area and one thatwe believe has won the coveted ‘bestgarden village’ countless times and forgood reason. Many cottages here haveprivate bridges across a ‘babbling brook’making it so picturesque it’s unreal. In theDomesday Book its referred to as“Hadeclive” meaning Hadda’s steep slope. It has its own church, St Mary’s whichboats an ironstone tower with C13thlancet windows and chancel of 1861. The third village is Cuxwold which, in1949 in Arthur Mee’s “King’s England –Lincolnshire” is aptly described as “Tinyand remote … in a hollow of the Wolds”.Fortunately this hasn’t changed! However,a gravestone in the local churchyardreveals dark deeds occurred here in 1860.The murder of one Enoch Goldey at thetender age of 24, which was erected byHenry Thorold from Cuxwold Hall anddescribes Goldey as a ”respected servant”.It tells a sad story of how a young manvolunteered to help the gamekeeper, onlyto be killed by poachers. Again the settlement here is ancient.Cuxwold comes from the Old English for“Cuca’s Wald” – that is high, woodedground so is also topographically accurate.The church is dedicated to St Nicholas andhas an early Norman (or late Anglo-Saxon)tower and was also a Fowler (James thistime!) restoration in 1861. The localgentry here at Cuxwold have for centuriesbeen the Thorold family and their hall is of1861 too. The church contains familymonuments including one to Lt HenryThorold who died in the Crimean War atthe Battle of Inkerman (1854).Cuxwold, Beelsby and HatcliffeWith the promise of better weather, our April walk is an airy expedition over theWolds – although there are some secluded valleys and villages to explore too!LincolnshireExploringon foot34-35_Layout 1 20/03/2017 11:16 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY35THE ROUTE. From the telephone boxopposite Cuxwold church we take theroad towards Beelsby following it forabout 1¼ miles to a “T” junction high onthe Wolds. Then take a field path in frontof us, veering slightly right to a hedgegap seen ahead and pick up a wide grasstrack that dips and rises across a valley toa lane end at Long Fosse House. Keepingforward on the access road, at the publicroad we go right and then left at the firstjunction into Beelsby village.100 yards on we take the footpath onthe right by the letterbox. (St Andrew’schurch is 150 yards further on and hiddenaway up steps on the left.) From a kissinggate we go over a meadow pass a pondto reach a second gate. We then go righta few yards, then left at a footpath signand just after some farm silos veer slightlyright to a third kissing gate in a fence.Bearing left diagonally across a shallowvalley to another kissing gate (veryromantic types here y’know) in a skylinefence on the far side and located justbefore some electricity wires. Maintainingour line over the next field (the path isusually marked and passes an electricitypole in the middle) to gradually convergewith the far hedge and meet a road at astile by a farm track. Turning left we walkdownhill into Hatcliffe village.50 yards beyond the church, we takethe footpath on the right and from abridlegate keeping parallel to a hedge ona well-trodden path to a footbridge. Wecross and bear right down a longmeadow to reach a metal field gate afterwhich a track develops. Continuing toanother gate and a bridge over a stream,before we climb a rising track past woodsto reach a road. Turning right we walkuphill (rather steeply) to a crossroads.Turning left, in the next hollow we takethe access road into Lake Farm. Walkingthrough the farmyard and, from asignpost, we take the grass track to theright of the hedge ahead. We continueuphill and at the field corner go right afew steps, then through a hedge gaponto another grass path beside a hedge.On meeting a farm track we keep ahead,as elevated views down to Cuxwoldappear, until we get to the public road.We re-join the outward route and make afinal left turn downhill back intoCuxwold.FACTFILESTART:Cuxwold church. (GR172011)MAPS:OS Landranger 113 (Grimsby) • Explorer 282 or 284DISTANCE:7¾ miles • 12.5 kilometresREFRESHMENTS:None found en-route, so take sandwichesand tea!34-35_Layout 1 20/03/2017 11:16 Page 236 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYFASHIONSpringboardTO STYLE It’s the time of year for spring cleaning, so isn’t it about time you went throughyour wardrobe and spruced things up a bit? Where better to start than with thishandy guide, detailing all this month’s must haves. Gerry WeberFlirty and formal – Gerry Weberpair a simple cut and contrastingcolours for a sophisticatednumber you’d be happy to lunchin or attend a business meeting. 36-45_Layout 1 20/03/2017 09:41 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY37FASHION36-45_Layout 1 20/03/2017 09:41 Page 238 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYFASHIONAbove left: Numph Numph create a sexy dress modelled on a man’s shirt with an oceanic pattern on black.Above centre: Marc CainBack in black! With outfits as stunning as this Marc Cain creation, you’ll be wearing black all year round.Above right: Gant Cool and classy – Gant show yet again that simplicity is an art form with this slinky, stylish ensemble. Opposite: Noa Noa With a design inspired by the kimono, Noa Noa deliver a dress tailored made for spring, keeping youcool in more ways than one. 36-45_Layout 1 20/03/2017 09:41 Page 3LINCOLNSHIRETODAY39FASHION36-45_Layout 1 20/03/2017 09:41 Page 4Next >