Category: Heritage Gardens & gardening
Back 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. 
Remembered 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
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!
Apart 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…
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
Apologies…my latest session at Blickling and I forgot my camera…so the pics here are a few from other visits (and the one above borrowed from the Trust’s latest newsletter).
Alternative titles for today’s post were ‘Herding Frogs’, ‘Reframing’ or ‘Shuffling the Pack’…A rather shower affected day (I was in with the Wednesday crew this week), saw me and fellow volunteer Peter (another one!) weeding over two sections of cold frame (including removing large sections of worn out weed membrane) and putting down a new covering of landscape fabric, before tidying over the stored plants and rearranging these (hence shufling…). It looked a lot tidier and as a bonus I gained soem ratherr splendid (if a bit leggy) Ricinus communis plants. These will fit rather well in my front circular border at Old School Garden…with its rather exotic feel. I was also allowed to remove some runners from a clutch of Achillea nobilis susbsp. nealreichii, with its lovely creamy plate flowers and silvery foliage.
With half an hour left at the end of the day I went round hoeing the currants..using one of a new set of two-way hoes (made by Wolf, and one of which I have at home). These are really a lot more effective than conventional dutch hoes.
Currants hoed with the new two-way hoes- a delight!
As reported last week, the dahlia border in the walled garden is starting to pop, though perhaps will look even better next week….Sorry about the lack of pics to accompany this post, I’ll do better next time!
Click here to listen to an interview with Project Manager, Mike Owers, on BBC Radio Norfolk- on the Chrissie Jackson programme around 1 hour 7 minutes in…!
Further Information:
Blickling Hall website
Blickling Hall Facebook page
A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall
Old School Gardener
The Walled Garden is really moving into overdrive and looks fantastic. My latest session- a short one- at Blickling was another warm day.
I began the session an hour earlier than usual, and it was a good plan, because by midday the heat was pretty oppressive. Digging over an area next to the runner beans saw some serious weeds removed and I followed this up with some hoeing around the beans themselves.
My fellow volunteers were also involved in weeding and one or two were harvesting- there’s plenty of stuff for use in the restaurant and some will be packed up for offering to visitors, in return for a donation. My ‘pea tunnel’ created last week seems to have survived, though the peas themselves are not looking so good.
The rest of the gardens are also in full splendour and I chatted to Assistant Head Gardener, Steve about the hours of work he put into the parterre garden removing bindweed earlier in the season- he told me it was the equivalent of ‘triple digging’! The double borders and White Garden are also looking vibrant in the sunshine.
Elsewhere, Norfolk Peter was working with a colleague from a local firm to weld together the arches that will sit across the main path in the walled garden and eventually provide a wonderful ‘tunnel of fruit’.
I finished off my morning with some serious hoeing around the dahlias that are just about to flower alongside the east wall of the Walled Garden (see picture below). Next week will, I hope, see them in their full glory, and I’ll try to capture them in my next post.
Further Information:
Blickling Hall website
Blickling Hall Facebook page
A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall
Old School Gardener
Following the recent turmoil caused by the Brexit vote and so many upsetting world events, we need cheering up. And Blickling volunteer gardeners don’t disappoint. Sitting down to a well-earned lunch break, Tressa announced she’d brought in a ‘Reconcilation Cake’…..we didn’t need to be asked twice.
My pea tunnel finished
Prior to this I’d spent the morning putting in a stick tunnel for the peas in the walled garden. It’s always nice to work with quality materials. The chunky hazel sticks went in at an angle along along both sides of the double row, and then I wove the tops together…
After lunch (rather extended due to the cake and chat) I went over to the side border and worked with Aussie Pete and Jane in weeding the various border so veg. Then I turned my attention to the garlic; I carefully dug up eight different varieties, none of which was overly impressive I have to say…down to weather I guess.
Garlic being dug…
..some of the results…
..elephant Garlic- always impressive….
..the bed cleared, dug and raked ready for the next crop
Having cleared this area- during which I had a little banter with ‘Norah Lindsay’ (one of the volunteer garden guides dressed up to look like the famous 1930’s garden designer who made such an impact at Blickling)- I dug it over and raked it off, in readiness for some more lettuces.
The Walled garden is really looking splendid at present, especially with its lush borders of Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii) and the full growth of so many different plants. Project Manager Mike had started to dig the potatoes (he tells me he thinks we have 33 varieties) and was selling these and some of the other veg off for a donation. Methinks next year that even with supplying the kitchen here, we’ll need a shop to sell off the bounty to come.
The other joy of this time of year is the number of visitors around the place and many with questions or comments on the gardens and gardening it’s so nice chatting to these people who really appreciate the efforts of everyone involved here.
Project Manager Mike waterign in one of the glasshouses
Further Information:
Blickling Hall website
Blickling Hall Facebook page
A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall
Old School Gardener
An important day …Gardener Rob celebrates 15 years at Blickling, the new Bothy is brought into commission and the Walled Garden is declared fully open too!
A brief spell of mulching the raspberries gave way to a gathering in the new bothy where we tucked into some splendid food and drink and congratulated Rob. Head Gardener Paul thanked Rob for all his efforts and at the same time those of the wider team of volunteers and gardeners; he estimated that the gardeners between them have over 100 years experience of working at Blickling…though 44 of these are accounted for by Assistant Head Gardener, Steve!
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The volunteers spent the rest of the day tidying up in the Walled Garden, which is now looking nearly full and has plenty of height as the plants get a hold. There’s also some rather good home made interwoven fencing to complete the boundaries, made from larch felled on the estate and looking pretty substantial.
Currants hoed with the new two-way hoes- a delight!
Having mulched the raspberries, I weeded this and the strawberries next door; these include a white strawberry called ‘Snow White’! Mike asked me to trail the many runners in the strawberries along the rows to bulk them up and create a lot of new plants- it looks like we won’t be seriously cropping these as it’s their first year. So, a day of weeding and a tidy looking bed as a result.
Elsewhere in the Gardens there’s currently a display of sculpture intermingled with the planting…with some interesting results…
The Walled Garden fully open… and so the many visitors are now able to wander freely. And as a result we can chat to them about the garden and share gardening experiences, one of the nicest aspects of working in this wonderful place.
Further Information:
Blickling Hall website
Blickling Hall Facebook page
A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall
Old School Gardener
Another week at Blickling and it was good to get back to the Walled Garden to see the progress and to get stuck in. I see Mike has bought some of those bird scarers that imitate birds of prey. I’ve had mixed results with bird scarers of various kinds- including old cd’s hung out on a washing line and a plastic owl with rotating head! All seem to work only if you keep moving them around.
I spent the morning hoeing between the fruit bushes which are coming on well. There has also been much planting out of lettuces and other veggy which will give the kitchen an excellent supply in a few weeks time. There will probably be plenty left for selling to the public too.
Hoeing done…
strawberries bulking up nicely
lettuces a plenty
After lunch I planted out two varieties of courgette; one green, one gold, planted alternately. Set about a metre apart, these should bulk up into big bushes.
Courgettes planted, Mike watering them in
There are still plenty of plants in the glasshouses, and the rest of the gardens are also looking good.
Further Information:
Blickling Hall website
Blickling Hall Facebook page
A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall
Old School Gardener
The Double Borders taking on a different character-post Tulips
A month has passed since my last session at Blickling, due to stays in Scotland and Devon. So, the need to get REALLY busy in Old School Garden has meant I’ve not been posting much original material on the blog recently- sorry about that, but if you’re a gardener, I think that you’ll understand.
Anyway, when I did return to Blickling it was great to meet up with the Thursday team once more and help them with Penstemon planting; these are put out in what seems like thousands, to replace the Hyacinth bulbs that give the early spring display above one edge of the Parterre. We mixed up some over -wintered older plants with some newer plants grown from cuttings. Some of these had mildew; hopefully they’ll recover and put on a good show. By the end of the day, the border was complete.
Planting out the Penstemons…
Over in the Walled Garden, the planting out continues, and several areas are now bulking up quite nicely. The long awaited oak noticeboard has been more or less completed with its beautifully carved top.
It was good to be back and to see how things have continued to move on. Next week it will be a Wednesday session, and hopefully back in the Walled Garden.
Further Information:
Blickling Hall website
Blickling Hall Facebook page
A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall
Old School Gardener
A short session at Blickling this week, as I needed to get home to cut the grass before we head off for Scotland. I mentioned how the Tulips were looking great in the Double Borders last week. Well, I can say that as I turned into them again this week, I was truly ‘stunned’- a word I tend to resist because it has been over-used and devalued somewhat (rather like ‘awesome’ and ‘epic’!).
They must be at ‘peak tulip’ and in some instances are just about to go over, but the mid morning sun made them stand out marvellously.
After recovering (!) I headed off to the Walled Garden once more, and was soon joined by Norfolk Pete (who was detailed to start constructing the wonderful oak welcome sign board near the main entrance), Aussie Pete and Chris , who set about lightly forking over and hoeing, which is what I began with too. Project Manager Mike had heard the weather was going to be dry and warm- so perfect conditions for hoeing. This is a job I really enjoy- a bit like scything – once you get into the flowing motion, you can lose yourself…..
Sign board under construction…
the gravelled paths…
..Chris and Aussie Pete getting to grips with the hoeing..
Well, by the time I left, we had been over about an eighth of the main four growing areas, just loosening the topsoil and removing weeds and large stones, all ready for some planting out. It was satisfying and we paused to share experiences, jokes and general banter as usual; this time comparing our efforts at tracing our family trees amongst other topics.
Mike, meanwhile was finishing off one of the few areas of gravel path still to be completed, and what a difference seeing those paths -plus the grassed ones- makes to the overall impact of the garden.
The Hoinesty in full flower under the Mulberry Tree in the walled garden…
..and the old bed still looking neat and tiody with produce and flowers on the way..this will soon be dwarfed by the new areas being cultivated
So, I miss my slot next week as I shall be up on the Isle of Skye; I’m really looking forward to this break with my wife and 6 old friends, lets hope the weather and midges are kind!
Further Information:
Blickling Hall website
Blickling Hall Facebook page
A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall
Old School Gardener
Ed, Mike and Pete rowing (nearly) together!
No, not the folk band, but a team of volunteers and gardeners getting down and dirty!
I mentioned last week that the gravel paths were just about ready to be surfaced. I arrived in the Walled Garden this week with Gardner Ed, who wound me up to expect to be doing a huge amount of Carr stone spreading . I was pleasantly surprised, because most of the hard paths had not only been given a tamped base of Carr stone, but had had their finishing layer of pea shingle too. What a transformation!
The other volunteers were doing some weeding in the inner courtyard and Parterre of the house, but Aussie Pete and I joined Gardener Ed and Project Manager Mike to press on with Carr stone levelling and tamping.
Ed and Pete demonstrating their screed board technique..
I’d not done this before, so it was interesting to see the technique in play. A screed board– two pieces of plank bracketed together (and with notches at either end to slide over the metal path edging) was used to pull the Carr stone over and then raked in a rowing fashion to achieve the correct profile. The board had even been given a 10 degree camber from the centre to ensure water run off from the path centre to the edges. This simple, but effective tool gave an impressive result. It was certainly a lot easier with three or four people on the board. I used to enjoy rowing, but my shoulders ached at the end of the day.
After our efforts…
…and in the path beyond the final surface- golden pea shingle
Still it was pleasing to see the result, especially after Mike had tamped the surface hard and spread gravel over the paths. After our efforts there’s just one side path and a little area in front of the Bothy left to do, so hopefully someone will get that done before we return next week!
Further Information:
Blickling Hall website
Blickling Hall Facebook page
A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall
Old School Gardener
Old School Garden 