Uncategorised Archives - Page 11 of 14 - Walled Kitchen Gardens Network

House for long let with walled garden, deep in the Northumberland National Park near Bellingham. A garden-loving tenant is sought for this newly restored south-facing stone house next to its own 2.2 acre 18th Century walled garden and orchard. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 reception, oil CH, greenhouses, a garage and numerous outbuildings. The rent is negotiable in the region of £650 per month. Anna Charlton writes: Hesleyside Hall is the only large historic house in the Northumberland National Park and has been the ancestral home of the infamous Border Reiver Charlton clan since the reign of Richard I. It is getting increasingly difficult to maintain and conserve… Read more »

Holker Hall are looking to recruit a motivated skilled gardener to join our team at Holker. The varied gardens have been developed by generations of the Cavendish family and consist of 25 acres of formal borders, lawns, meadows, topiary, water features, woodland, and plant collections. This is a great opportunity to get involved in the ongoing development of the gardens and improve your horticultural skills and knowledge. Salary £18,500 Closing date 30th September 2016 http://www.holker.co.uk/holker-estate/jobs-at-holker/

UPDATE FOR THE WKGN ANNUAL FORUM, 8TH-9TH OCTOBER 2016 Although not officially part of the Forum, on Friday morning, 7th October we are thinking about meeting at Culzean Castle Walled Garden, Ayrshire, prior to the weekend. If enough people are interested we will get a group together to visit this magnificent 18thC Walled Kitchen Garden. On Saturday morning, October 8th Brian Corr, Head of Gardens at Dumfries House, will talk about the Restoration of its Walled Garden. He will conduct tours of the garden in the afternoon. Kate Rycroft from the Community Garden at Amisfield, in East Lothian, will talk about their past work at its restoration there and the gardens… Read more »

The following email has arrived from Susannah. . . . We are tenants of the NT at Clytha Park, near Abergavenny, and for the past four years, our beautiful walled garden, with newly restored glasshouses, has hosted a horticultural therapy charity called Growing Space. Sadly they are pulling out at the end of this month, but we are keen to replace them with any other charity or group who will benefit from the marvellous space. Might you have any suggestions, or be able to post this on your site? Please respond using the comments link.

JULY/AUG 2016 MUSINGS by Maz Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Walled Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire The Gardens are experiencing ‘invasions’. Several school parties excitedly descend on the Gardens, enjoying their end-of-term treat and discovering the Roald Dahl exhibits staged round the garden. Blackbirds were observed picking off not-quite-ripe cherries from the fan-trained trees on the north-facing wall. A Polytunnel in the Old Nursery and Jerusalem artichokes were flattened by a day of strong wind. The most unwelcome ‘invader’ of all is the annual appearance of the pear-rust fungus, which becomes obvious as orange spots on the leaves of the pear trees. This fungus overwinters on conifers, but as these… Read more »

A visit to Chris and Karen Cronin at Croome walled garden last month found them exploring a new archeological discovery in an old greenhouse. After carefully examining an old illustration of an unusual vinery they realized that it may very well be the ruined greenhouse attached to the hotwall at the Southern end of the garden. Chris also saw that he could prove this by excavating the floor in one corner and, if correct, he would find steps leading down to a furnace. So, armed with pick and shovel he set about the job . . .2000 calories later his efforts were met with success! … Read more »

We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new walled garden restoration in East Lothian here at Gilmerton House Kitchen Garden. Set in the grounds of Gilmerton House, home to the Kinloch family for the last 300 years, this 4 acre walled garden is set on the edge of Cogtail burn near Athelstaneford – sheltered, south facing and peaceful – a perfect retreat for garden lovers. Untouched for over 40 years or so, the garden will be brought back to its former glory involving groups of dedicated volunteers working together to create a new productive kitchen garden, supplying fruit, flowers and herbs to Gilmerton House. We will also… Read more »

MAY/JUNE 2016 MUSINGS by Maz Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Walled Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire The early May Bank Holiday was very wet, but it heralded the end of the ‘blackthorn winter’, so the following week was lovely and sunny which brought out the Stitchwort, Woodruff, Cow Parsley and Hawthorn along the lanes leading to Tatton, where the Orchard is a breathtaking sight of pear, apple, cherry and plum blossom, buzzing with a variety of bees and hoverflies. The Peach Case restoration is slowly progressing and the Swifts are back. The Team planted potatoes and peas in the Kitchen Garden and weeded the Herbs. Two of us were in the… Read more »

Dear Friends The Forum for 2016, as many of you will already know, will be taking place at Dumfries House in Ayrshire with visits to Walled Gardens of Galloway. It will be a weekend event to be held on the 8th and 9th October. The theme for this year is: Community Gardens and Gardening In 2007, HRH Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, put together a proposal for Dumfries House and the wider estate to rescue, restore and ‘create a sustainable business that would help to regenerate the local economy in East Ayrshire’ (Dumfries House 2016). Fantastic restoration work on the house was followed by the gardens and estate and in… Read more »

MARCH/APRIL 2016 MUSINGS by Maz Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Walled Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire Bumble bees and pear tree buds were in evidence as another sunny morning greeted the Team. The weather had dried sufficiently to start spreading the manure in the Kitchen Garden, and the last of the old raspberries were dug out and carted off to the burning area, where they will be turned into potash to feed the fruit trees later on. The wooden posts at the ends of the raspberry rows anchored the straining wires on which we trained the raspberry canes. These posts have been in place for a good 15 years – but… Read more »