Picture: digging done at the Lost Gardens of Heligan
‘Come my spade. There is no ancient gentlemen but gardeners, ditchers and grave-makers; they hold up Adam’s profession.’
Archive for May, 2014
World Vision UK – the world’s largest, international children’s charity – has a new campaign called “Grow Hope”, which is aiming to raise awareness of Ethiopia’s transformation from drought to lush vegetation and get help to achieve similar results in other parts of Africa.
This year marks the 30 year anniversary of the 1984 Ethiopian famine, the worst in living memory. Thanks to World Vision and the generosity of supporters, the Antsokia Valley, which was hardest hit by drought, is now a lush, green oasis. Hope of a future free from hunger has grown into a reality. This video tells you more…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19ZsByGtobg
World Vision will be exhibiting gardens at three RHS Flower Shows this summer to mark the anniversary of the famine and celebrate the transformation of Antsokia. They are also offering a chance to win RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show tickets when you register for a Grow Hope pack, on the World Vision website: http://www.worldvision.org.uk/growhope/competition
For every person who signs up, World Vision will give vulnerable families in Zambia orange maize seeds, rich in Vitamin A, to ensure children can live a life free from the fear of hunger. They hope that the free packs will encourage people to reflect on the progress made and spread the word about the help that is still needed – to grow hope and share hope.
I’m signing up, will you?
Old School Gardener
At the AGM weekend in Norfolk, Bressingham Gardens provided a contrast to the visit to The Harralds, but proved equally fascinating, with interesting vistas throughout. The garden was first developed by Alan Bloom (1906-2005), and opened to the public in 1962, showing the new concept of using perennials in island beds. These island beds are still evident today as historical plantings and newer introductions exist together with the number of distinct varieties now in the region of 8000.
Jaime Blake, Head Gardener and Alan’s son-in-law, gave a highly informative talk about the gardens, in particular the Dell Garden and the techniques they use for managing the perennials and the gardens, to maintain its history and for the future. Bressingham gardens also hold the National Collection of Miscanthus.
What is most striking, apart from the desire to visit the gardens again, is the different views that appeared in the rolling open landscape turn of the garden.
Paeonia ‘Illini Belle’
Seeing perennials in large…
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Our garden visits on Saturday were to two contrasting gardens – one private and one very public. Gill will be telling you about Bressingham Gardens in another post – this one will give you a glimpse into the garden of Janet Sleep, chair and Collections Coordinator of the Norfolk group.
On our way we were told that this garden is remote, even by Norfolk standards, but well worth the trip. Janet welcomed us to The Harralds and provided a map warning us that it is possible to get lost in this garden. Although the header on this post spells the name differently, this was picked up at an antique shop and the house records, which go back to 1850, use the more unusual spelling of the name. 
Along the drive 
The pond 
The borders 
Glasshouse 
Beautifully constructed compost bins 
Shade area 
We could be in a Mediterranean courtyard here.
Plant…
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‘The bright and busy days of May are here;
The countryside’s ablaze with colours rare
In sun and shower. There’s cricket on the green,
And lilies in the wood, and now are seen
Laburnums pouring gold, tall chestnuts decked
With spires of pink and white, where bees collect
A precious harvest, then away go winging
Past lovely lilacs where a blackbird’s singing.
Old gardeners now their long experience bring
To battle with the weeds; the lawns are neat.
A worried thrush scolds by the garden seat
Her wandering, gaping brood. House-martins cling,
Pied master-builders, on the weathered walls,
And from the woods all day the cuckoo calls.’
John (Jack) Kett
from ‘A Late Lark Singing’ (Minerva press 1997)
My thanks to Alex Ball for writing this fascinating account of Nottingham’s impressive early council housing efforts.
There is still much work to be accomplished before the complete solution of the housing problem will be in sight. The shortage in numbers is far from being made good; and only when that has been done can an effective beginning be made of the great task of replacing with good dwellings the hundreds of thousands of old ones which have ceased through age, decay, or other reason to be fit for habitation by human families if they are to live a decent life.
The slightly archaic language aside, that statement could apply to many UK cities in the recent past. But it’s actually from the introduction to an account from nearly one hundred years ago of the Progress of the Housing Schemes in Nottingham by the City’s municipal architect. (1) This post…
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Today’s Three Weeks Behind the Scenes photograph gives you a one-of-a-kind look at a specimen from our Botany Collection. The state flower of Oregon is a species of barberry (
Berberis aquifolium
Pursh) native to the Pacific Northwest. This Oregon grape was discovered and collected by Meriwether Lewis in 1806 during the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803–06). Frederick Pursh’s description of this species in 1813 was based on this specimen. Specimens from the Lewis and Clark Herbarium and others collected long ago are now proving useful for studying the environmental conditions that existed before the Industrial Revolution.
How else have Lewis and Clark’s finds made their way to the Academy?
Photography: Cora Rivera.
2014 – the Norfolk group had offered to host the National Plant Heritage AGM and the first visit on offer was a tour of the private garden of the Bishop of Norwich. Although it had rained for us most of the way over from Surrey the sun was shining as a large group walked over to the gate.
The four acre garden opens in aid of charity several times a year, but was opened specially for our group. We were greeted by two Simons – the Bishop’s Chaplain, Simon Ward and the Head Gardener, Simon Gaches.
Large open areas of lawn and woodland lie close to the cathedral with other smaller areas around the 500 year old flint boundary walls. A rose garden includes Rosa Norwich Cathedral ( = ‘Beacath’) donated by the late Peter Beales to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the cathedral.
One knowledgeable member of the group commented on the similarity of the…
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Old School Garden 