Conservation, Restoration and Life in a 15th Century Wealden Hall House
SmartWell Manor - Part III: the garden, the seasons, and celebratory moments
Hey heritage lovers, happy Friday!
Continuing with our overview of how we spent our first year getting settled at SmartWell Manor, today we’re taking a wander through the gardens and a trip down memory lane for a few celebratory moments from the past year. In the first two parts of this four part series, we covered a brief introduction into what to expect from the SmartWell posts and our first few weeks and months in our new dream home; so if you missed either of them, why not take a look at the related posts at the bottom of the page.
Our initial viewings of the house took place between early February and April, so we had a glimpse of how glorious the gardens would be in springtime. Actually living here and experiencing spring has been even more magical than we could have ever dreamed; but more on SmartWell in Spring a little later. For now let's rewind to last year and take a quick peek at how we spent summer, autumn, and winter in our very own little sanctuary.
Summer
Summer was full of wild flowers and foraging, roses, sunsets and warm woodland walks.
Being keen on the use of natural and herbal remedies, it was an absolute delight to be able harvest stocks of rose petals, lavender, dandelions, and woundwort (also known as self-heal, heal-all, heart-of-the-earth, carpenter's herb, and blue curls), from our very own gardens. As our myriad of rose bushes came into bloom we started to realise, even more, just how fortunate we were to now be the custodians of both an amazing building and a wonderful, mature, fully stocked garden.
Our summer days were usually finished off with meandering walks through the nearby woodland, followed by a cup of tea or a G&T at the end of the garden, watching the sun disappear behind our beautiful tree lined view.
Autumn
Autumn is my favourite time of year; I love the colours and scents, feeling the change on the wind, and I especially love Samhain (Halloween!).
In the SmartWell garden we enjoyed autumn sunsets, acorns and the last of the roses, berries, and my all time favourite, rose-hips!
Mushrooms started to pop up throughout the garden in September, signalling my beloved season was just around the corner and the start of hearty stew season. Then came October and one of my favourite autumn activities; pumpkin picking!
Sahmain (Halloween!)
2019 was extra special for me, as I celebrated my first Samhain at SmartWell. For me personally, this meant preparing a hearty Samhain meal; thinking about how far we had come over the last year and all the wonderful possibilities for the coming one. (For pagans, or people like me who like to follow a seasonal more earthy path, Samhain marks the start of a new year, rather than 31st December - 1st January). We also celebrated in style with the inaugural ‘SmartWell Manor All Hallows Eve Ball’, (boy do I love a halloween party, especially if I can host it!). I mean what better place to have a good old spooky knees up, than a wonky old witch’s house, right?!
Winter
And then, as quickly as it came, Autumn was gone for another year. Winter edged closer and with it our first frost at SmartWell; every single season bringing with it so much beauty, joy, and contentment.
We couldn't believe our luck when we spotted our very own mistletoe stash, even if it was a little out of reach!
With winter in full swing, ‘the holly and the ivy’ now accompanying the mistletoe, it was time to get crafty! Using anything and everything I could find in the garden, I attempted to create my first homemade ‘Yule Wreath’. (I’ll create a step by step how-to post on this later in the year.)
Yule (Our First Christmas!)
Next on the list, our first SmartWell Yule tree and decorating the hearth; before we knew it, it was time for our first Yule (Christmas) at SmartWell.
We saw in 2020, just John, the dogs, and I, and things were looking bright for the year ahead. I had a few irons in the fire with the conservation and heritage side of the business, and I was working hard developing new techniques for decorative artworks. We were excited for spring and ready for the garden to once again come into bloom. However, a submicroscopic infectious agent, the virus SARS-CoV-2 to be exact (you know, Covid-19), had other ideas.
Spring
Spring initially sprung with the first sight of daffodils, muscari and tree blossom, and a glorious rainbow following the early march downpours. The worldwide pandemic, which was gaining terrifying momentum, seems literally a world away when we look back at these pictures now.
We couldn't believe our eyes as more and more daffodils began to emerge, so many different types, a sea of varying yellows, lemons, peaches, and creams, as far as the eye could see!
And just as the daffs were beginning to die back, up popped the tulips!
Covid-19 and Lockdown
Then, on 23rd March, here in the UK at around 8pm, Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the nation to announce we would be going into an enforced lockdown until further notice. It was a strange and worrying time; I personally spent a week or two either side of our enforced lockdown announcement, watching and reading the news avidly, it really took its toll. Whilst we will likely never know for certain, I think both John and I had a mild case of the virus in early March. When the lockdown announcement came, we had already isolated for fourteen days, and I was reaching the pinnacle of my anxiety. We decided to go out for a walk, on what would be my first day out of the confines of our house and garden in over three weeks. Like a wonderful ‘mother nature’ bolt from the blue, a sea of bluebells had appeared in the nearby woodland. How thankful I was for somewhere so magical on our doorstep; a place where we were still allowed to venture out for exercise once a day.
Over the last couple of months, we have been incredibly fortunate to be able to spend both springtime and lockdown in our beautiful garden. In particular I have tried hard to be mindful of our favourable situation and limit my exposure to too much media on the subject of the pandemic; instead focusing on our own little sanctuary. From the colourful blooms of March into April, to the unusually hot weather of April and oddly cold beginning to May; we have used this time to add a few additional little luxuries to our outdoor space. Initially the restoration of the greenhouse and creation of a miniature herb garden, with what we had laying around. Then on to the rather fabulous repurposing of the old garden dinning set into a side table, swing chair and foot stool (I say ‘we’, this was for the most part John’s handy work!).
Looking back over the last year in our wonderful home, even whilst now in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, I really do count myself a very lucky lady. (A lucky lady who writes this as she is sitting in the swing chair, under her very own oak tree, and one who tries to remain mindful of just how very lucky she is!).
Our final instalment of celebrating one year at SmartWell Manor will round things off, as we will take a brief look at just a few of our plans for the coming year.
Thank you so much for joining us today on our meander down memory lane, and we hope to see you soon.
Take care, stay safe, and stay alert!
