Pruning the Grape Vines in the Courtyard

Midwinter is a particularly busy time in these gardens and pruning is one of our highest priority tasks.

Clive has been clambering up on the scaffold to prune the ornamental grape vines on the High Pergola.  These two vines,  which are now six years old,  have finally reached across the entire pergola structure. The vine on the right grows on the steel bars, the vine on the left grows on the intermediate wires.  They are pruned back using the same spur-pruning technique as in a fruiting vineyard and by Christmas, when the real summer heat kicks in,  will produce a dense canopy.

This pergola is pruned every year and takes around four hours, a small investment of time for months of cooling shade  during the heat of summer. For more on the Main Courtyard click here