Hi!  I’m James, the Head Gardener at Bedford Estates.  With my team, I look after Bedford Square and I’ll be posting a few entries over the coming months to let you know what’s happening in the Garden.

Things are calming down now after a busy summer and the Bloomsbury Festival was the last event for a while.  What a wonderful sign off though!    700 people enjoyed five hours of fantastic music, courtesy of ‘Jazz in the Square’.

Even the rain held off – more or less!

The weather…!  2012 has thrown everything at us.  From last winter’s drought, through our summer monsoon, to this changeable autumn with its fog, sunshine and deluges we have seen  it all!

Autumn though, rain or shine, is my favourite season and a fantastic time to be working outside .  It is a sensory delight: a rustling, whirlwind of falling leaves amid lengthening shadows and dipping light.   Cherries, Liquidambar and Tulip trees moult red and gold, while the indestructible Plane leaves tumble along the paths making a fool of all attempts to gather them in.

It is also the busiest time in the garden, with the compost heap rising ever higher.  But an exciting moment too, when planning begins for next Spring.  Final pruning over, the mind turns to bulb planting, sorting out neglected borders and bedding the garden down for a few months of well deserved rest.

Before then though, there are snowdrops and  tulips to be ordered and, with temperatures dropping and the wind rising, now is the time to think about sheltering our tender plants.

A gardener’s work is never done – thank goodness!