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    Part 3: The Planting Progresses

    Part 3: The Planting Progresses

    1

    Madeleine left Somerset County Council in late 1974, having completed work on the Grey Walk, and drawn up plans for the East Rill and West Rill terraces and an initial plan for the Plat.

    Lorna McRobie continued the work, implementing plans and turning her attention to the other areas of the garden.

    The two gardeners, Wilf and Jim, worked steadily through the garden, clearing and preparing one section at a time. Two trees were removed from the West Rill terrace with the help of the crane on the fire brigade breakdown truck.

    Fire service trucks also came in handy to fetch large quantities of manure from a local farm to improve the soil in the borders. It had been hoped to allow cleared areas to lie fallow for one season in order to reduce perennial weed growth, but the timescales did not allow for this.

    The replanting of the East and West Rill terraces, the pergola and associated borders, the Great Plat and the Rose Garden took place between 1975 and 1977. The final areas to be restored were the Orangery and Dutch Gardens. Altogether Wilf and Jim set out some 10,000 plants over the course of the project.

    The Great Plat

    A gardener clears the West Rill wall border in 1974.