This year has seen us developing the garden at a slower pace. The harsh winter of 2009/10 was not conducive to larger projects, so we have been re-assessing the things that we have already done, making changes where necessary.

One area which we have been working on is the Top Pond, which is now overlooked by a willow den, crafted beautifully by Richard Bolwell of Wight Willow Landscaping. We decorated this on an 'Alice in Wonderland' theme this year for Open Day, with a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, as the girls did not want to do Teddy Bear's Picnic in the woods again. The den is planted with Sweet Woodruff which will hopefully make a wonderful starry, scented carpet by next spring.

We have installed a polytunnel and fruit cage in the field behind the house, screened by trees. We had been thinking about this for a while, but did not want to create something that detracted visually from the garden, so this needed careful siting. A water system has been installed that utilises Well water to irrigate the polytunnel, and this has been a major timesaver.

Elsewhere we have dug new borders, and continued with planting. We have planted lots of willows and Magnolias, and already these are making good growth. I shall have to be patient for the Magnolias to flower, but, as the saying goes, 'Good things come to those who wait' and every year that passes brings huge pleasure seeing the trees that we have already planted begin to bring a presence. The Orchard was planted the first winter we were here in an otherwise bare paddock, along with native hedges bordering the space. Now, only seven years on, and the trees are towering above my head. At the time of writing, plums are weighing the branches heavily, and apples shine like red jewels. The quince 'Vranja' is carrying a very respectable crop for the first time and I look forward with anticipation to making Quince Jelly.

This year, although very dry, has seen the soft fruits do incredibly well, and the freezer and jam pots are full. Our girls have been almost constantly picking raspberries and are bored by the whole abundance thing.

Our NGS openings were all blessed with dry sunny weather, and I spent nearly the whole of June frantically baking cakes and scones, with the help of my lovely friend Jo, who did a fantastic job helping me serve them to very appreciative visitors. The grand total came to just over £1730 and we are now planning for next year.

The plum border which we created last year after the removal of the Escallonia, has filled and is currently looking beautiful; plants which have really excited me have been the huge lily 'Miss Feya' which is stunning at the moment, Salvia nemerosa 'Plumosa' has also been flowering duskily for what seems like months, Origanum 'Herrenhausen' is beautiful next to the steely Elymus, and Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate' repeats throughout the border in a plummy chocolatey sort of way. This year I have also put in lots of Eremurus in soft orange as a contrast, but am still not sure if the colour works. But half the fun is experimenting, and if I don't like it, it will be out in a trice!