Chard providing a bit of winter colour in the walled garden
In the last visit to Blickling before Christmas we had only a morning session followed by a wonderful Christmas buffet lunch where all the gardeners and Thursday volunteers shared a lovely spread in the education room.
Digging over the parterre border
The morning’s work began with the ladies going off to dig over the long border by the parterre (you may recall we chopped down the spent growth here a week or two ago). Fellow volunteer Peter and I helped gardener Jane (newly returned from a birdwatching holiday in Australia) in tidying up (yet more) leaves. This was a case of loading up from a big pile, rather than blowing like last time. Oh, and I discovered that we volunteers will not be able to use any machinery in future unless we have been on an accredited course, so it may be my flirtation with the various bits of kit here is a brief one!
After an hour of leaf loading (they were rather wet and heavy so my arms and shoulders were beginning to ache), Peter and I headed off to the Walled Garden.
Project Manager Mike was already here. I hadn’t been in the walled garden for a few weeks and it was pleasing to see the progress and to hear of Mike’s plans for the New Year.
Taking shape- metal posts awaiting fixing alongside the main paths- they will carry a selection of apples and pears trained as fans or espaliers
Mike himself was just finishing off hole digging for the last of many metal posts that will carry wires and a selection of apples and pears grown as fans or espaliers. Mike told me that a local apple growing project had managed to identify all of the different apple varieties growing on the walls, some of which were not as currently labelled! He’s still pondering whether to put up wooden battens to fix new wires here, but as this is not normal or historic practice, thinks it might be a case of fixing vine eyes directly into the walls.
Some of the metal path edging is in now but contractors will be finishing this off in the New Year. It also looks like the drainage is all in place. I mentioned in an earlier post that money has been secured to fit out a new gardeners’ bothy (though Mike is having second thoughts about a wood burner in here as he doesn’t want it to be too comfortable!). And the refurbishment of the second big greenhouse is also planned for early in the New Year.
So, having got the low down on everything, Peter and I set about trench digging for the wooden edging boards that will be used in some of the more minor cross paths in the growing areas. These oak boards and pegs had already been prepared by the ‘Wednesday Volunteers’ and they smelled lovely stacked up outside the bothy- in- waiting.
My trench with peter in the background, preparing for oak edging boards.
It took me about 45 minutes to finish one trench, just long enough to take me up to that Christmas Lunch. It was a nice event, with Head Gardener Paul thanking us all for our efforts during the year. As well as receiving a Christmas ‘thank you’ card from all of the gardening team, we each took away a bottle of wine and a bag of apples that Mike had gathered from the walled garden. A nice touch.
Oak boards and pegs awaiting installation
I can’t believe that it’s nearly a year since I began volunteering here; a year which has been a joy.
Further Information:
Old School Gardener
This week’s gardening session focused on the avenues in the wilderness garden at Blickling. Gardener Ed led the volunteers to continue felling, gathering, shredding and stacking wood from the trees and overgrown shrubs alongside one of the routes radiating away from the House.
Ed set to work with an impressive chainsaw attachment on an extended pole which made cutting off offending boughs look pretty easy. He later used a more conventional chainsaw to reduce some overgrown hollies to stools, form which bushes will re-sprout.
O.K. it’s me in there (captured by my wife on one of her walks)…and yes, it isn’t Ghostbusting (as my daughter suggested), but rather leaf blowing at Blickling this week!
Ed took me through the machine for the day – a very powerful petrol-powered back pack blower which was a bit on the heavy side, especially after a couple of hours! But, moving in a line, Peter, Ed (who had an even more powerful trolley blower) and I managed to get the leaves ready for Ed to bring round the tractor with a powerful vacuum cleaner attachment to suck up and shred the leaves ready for dumping on the leaf mould pile.
The run up to Christmas with Blickling ‘Putting on the Glitz’ is starting to come together, and we also helped lift furniture in the courtyard where a fire pit, lanterns and other features look set to create wonderful centre piece. Staff and volunteers have been out decorating the Acorn Yews in the Parterre Garden and the traditional avenue of illuminated Christmas Trees looks wonderful once more. This year there is even a ‘Christmas Tree’ alight on the island in the lake.
Yet more strimming this week in my latest session at Blickling!
Further Information:
The ‘dynamic duo’ of Peter and I continued with strimming the avenues and connecting paths in the outer gardens at Blickling this week.
Old School Garden 