For more information on the Network events please contact us on events@walledgardens.net

The Historic and Botanic Garden Bursary Scheme:

Would you like to help you to advance your horticultural career and acquire practical skills and knowledge in these kinds of areas: propagation for historic and botanic gardens, record keeping for plant collections, management of veteran trees or the restoration of walled gardens?

The Historic and Botanic Garden Bursary Scheme enables enthusiastic and committed horticulturalists to increase their horticultural and other technical skills through practically based training placements, in a range of historic and botanic gardens.

Find out more by going to www.hbgbs.org.uk

FORUM 2008

September:20th

‘Back to the Roots’- Profit from Produce

Liverpool is the Capital of Culture 2008, so this year we have chosen Liverpool’s Croxteth Hall as our venue, where the Victorian walled garden is now owned by the council and continues to flourish and produce fruit, flowers and vegetables.

The theme of this Forum is to investigate viable new roles for walled kitchen gardens in the 21st century. These gardens were, of course, once intensely productive places, providing their owners with fresh fruit and vegetables all the year round, but now they often have to pay they way. 

With the threat of climate change, the rising price of food and the growing interest in organic produce, perhaps there has never been a better time for walled kitchen gardens to return to their original function – growing food.  This year’s Forum will explore opportunities old and new, for the production, storage and marketing of fruit and vegetables, and for exploiting new niche markets.

This year we have also arranged a special visit to nearby Knowsley Hall on the Friday before, to see one of the biggest, most ingenious examples of a Victorian apple store.

Speakers will include Susan Campbell (author & historian), Don Billington (senior gardener, Croxteth Hall), Mike Kleyn (head gardener, Babington House), and others who will explore 21st century opportunities for marketing produce that can be grown in walled kitchen gardens today.

The visit to Knowsley will take place at 3pm on Friday, September:19th,  a small charge will be payable on the door, but please indicate if you would like to come on the booking form.  The following day the Forum will take place with talks in the morning, a buffet lunch followed by guided tours of the walled garden and then tea.  Tickets will cost £50 for the day, but we are also offering concessions of £40 to full time students and community groups.

Download the application form for the 2008 Forum

The 2005 Forum, "Research, Recording and Renovation" was held at Tatton Park in Cheshire

You can download the following talks.

• Knightshayes Walled Kitchen Garden by John Ridgley
• How to Keep Gardening a Kitchen Garden by Deborah Evans (Head Gardener, Tyntesfield)
• How I Restored My Greenhouse by Linda Milk

WALLED KITCHEN GARDEN FORUM 2004
Restoration and Sustainability

The 2004 Forum was held at West Dean Gardens, Chichester, West Sussex on 30 October.

You can download copies of the following talks:

• Penpont Pinery – past, present and future? by Jonathan Williams

• Heritage Lottery Fund: handy hints for seeking grants by Lorna McRobie HLF Policy Adviser: Parks and Landscape

• History in Practice by Neil Porteous, Head Gardener, Clumber Park

• First Find Your Field: the building of a new walled garden by Robert Rendel

For more information on other Network events, please contact us on fiona.grant@walledgardens.net

Download a summary of the Walled Kitchen Gardens Forum held in Ledbury, Hereford, October 2001.