Archive for August, 2016


PicPost: Trumpet Solo

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13/08/2016
bindweed- picture by Lill Dunne

bindweed- picture by Lill
Dunne

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The ducal palace of Vila Viçosa — Salt of Portugal

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12/08/2016

Portugal is a dream reborn in the prairies of Alentejo. In 1580, the king of Portugal died without an heir and the king of Spain inherited the throne of Portugal. After six decades of Spanish domination, a small group of nobles organized a coup to restore independence. They wanted to make Dom João of Braganza, a duke with […]

via The ducal palace of Vila Viçosa — Salt of Portugal

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Great Garden @ West Barsham Hall

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WP_20160619_15_40_15_ProBack in June, we took the opportunity of a visit to this garden as it was open under the National Gardens Scheme. Located near to Fakenham, in north Norfolk it is a large garden (10 acres) with a lake, mature yew hedging and a sunken garden originally laid out by Gertrude Jeykll.

There’s also a swimming pool garden, shrub borders, a lovely kitchen garden with herbaceous borders, fruit cage, cutting garden and bog garden. A relative of one of the former staff at the Hall lives in an adjoining country cottage which has a delightful old-fashioned cottage garden packed full of wonderful plants and very productive on the food front too.

I loved the display of Candelabra Primroses by the Lake- something I hope to emulate as I have a lot of seedlings growing on at Old School Garden.I hope that you enjoy the gallery of pictures.  

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Old School Gardener

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African policy to end hunger silent on climate risk — One Billion Hungry: Can We Feed the World?

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11/08/2016

By Baraka Rateng’ This article was originally published on SciDev.Net. Read the original article. The African Union’s Malabo Declaration adopted in 2014 to double agricultural productivity and end hunger by 2025 underestimated the risk that climate change will pose, a report says. The declaration failed to consider investing in Africa’s scientific capacity to combat climate […]

via African policy to end hunger silent on climate risk — One Billion Hungry: Can We Feed the World?

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PicPost: California Dreaming

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calif poppy moyra turton

Californian Poppy- picture by Moyra Turton

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Ouse Washes photography project tells the stories of local people — Ouse Washes

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10/08/2016

Our recent Elements of the Landscape photography exhibition perfectly documented the story of the Ouse Washes Landscape through the people who live and work in the area. The exhibition was displayed within the beautiful Wigeon Café at WWT Welney Wetland …

via Ouse Washes photography project tells the stories of local people — Ouse Washes

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The Edible Outdoor Classroom

Filed under: Grow your own food, Permaculture and sustainability, School and childrens' Gardening — 2 Comments

I’m pleased to share part of an article featuring a gardening project at my local High School, where I helped with an initial gardening group some years ago. This article, from Permaculture Magazine, decribes how Matt Willer has used ingenuity and ‘scroungeabilty’ to establish a thriving school allotment…to read the full article you need to subscribe to the magazine, which I’ve just done. It’s a great read!

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Old School Gardener

 

 

 

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PicPost: Flopped

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09/08/2016
Picture by Doreen Gauci

Picture by Doreen Gauci

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Posting at Blickling

Filed under: Blickling Hall- rebirth of the Walled Garden, Community Gardening, Heritage Gardens & gardening — 1 Comment
08/08/2016

WP_20160804_14_13_43_ProRemembered my camera this week! Norfolk Peter and I joined Chris in the Walled Garden in my latest session at Blickling. The ladies were detailed to the ‘Black Garden’ for some (as it turned out) frustrating ‘hands and knees’ weeding around the irises.

Jane and Pam weeding in the Black Border

Jane and Pam weeding in the Black Border

Project Manager Mike had already begun installing the heavy oak posts (all sourced from the Estate) that provide the support for the fruit bushes.Peter and I helped him to finish off the two areas by using lines to make sure the rows of posts (in threes) wer both straight and level, though one post in particular proved to be a pain…first we couldn’t get it level and then we installed it the wrong way round (the holes for the support wires went across rather than along the row)! Chris, mean time was doing great job trimming the edges of the grass paths.

There were plenty of visitors around, many offering compliments for the way the garden has been transformed over the last 18 months or so, and inevitably a few asking what the purple edging plant along the main paths was….as reported last week, this Catmint (Nepeta x faasennii) often confuses visitors, many of whom think it is lavender …perhaps a sign is needed, or maybe we should resist this as it at least is one way (albeit repetitive) of engaging with visitors!

WP_20160804_13_44_23_ProApart from some subtle final positioning to make the tops of the posts roughly line up (sometimes involving standing on an upturned dustbin and using a ‘comedy hammer’ as Chris called it- a large rubber mallet), this was a fairly straightforward job. The oak posts seem really heavy but even so, as the rows are rather long Mike had arranged with fellow gardener Rob to put in some angled supports to help resist the forces that would otherwise pull over the posts- I know about this from bitter experience at Old School Garden , where my posts are gradually toppling inwards with the weight of the blackberry bushes.

Peter and I dug the holes for these angled wooden supports as far as we could in the time available, and Rob and Mike began to put them in the ground, secured with a couple of stakes at their bases to, once more, help to prevent the whole assembly ‘walking’ forwards.

Mike and Peter wiring up the supports…
..Rob installing the first angled support

I also took time out to photograph the dahlia border, which is coming to its peak…here’s a gallery…

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Mike told us he’s ordered four new metal benches for the walled garden- cream, simple designs that will look rather stylish…the picture below is of a two person bench, we’ll be getting a three person version.

Further Information:

Blickling Hall website

Blickling Hall Facebook page

A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall

Old School Gardener

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PicPost: Twins

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07/08/2016
Picture by Ewa Maria Kaminska

Picture by Ewa Maria Kaminska

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