Category: This and that


Lichfield…

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18/02/2017

We haven’t shared a visit to a cathedral for quite a while now so a trip to Lichfield recently allowed us just that. A religious place of worship has existed on the site for more than 1300 years and the current cathedral now draws not just worshippers but also tourists who come to admire its […]

via Lichfield Cathedral – a three-spired cathedral — greenbenchramblings

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Lichen this…

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17/02/2017

Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park on October 24, 2016. © 2017 Steven Schwartzman

via Lichen like a planet — Portraits of Wildflowers

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Tickling at Blickling

Filed under: Blickling Hall- rebirth of the Walled Garden, Heritage Gardens & gardening, This and that — Leave a comment
16/02/2017
Cordon gooseberries at the ready in the recently erected Fruit Cage...

Cordon gooseberries at the ready in the recently erected Fruit Cage…

Another morning session at Blickling this week. My hip was feeling good, but my trip to the doctors after this session revealed some moderate arthritis, so I’ll have to be careful, but hopefully I can increase the gardening…there’s certainly lots to do at home let alone anywhere else…

Today, we split into two groups, the ladies weeding in the main gardens, we chaps sent to the Walled garden for some weeding amongst the pots of roses (due to be planted out soon), and tickling over one of the beds, removing a few minor weeds as we went. I joined Norfolk Peter on the latter, whilst Rory and Gordon headed over to the roses.

For the roses...

For the roses…

We had a good chat about this and that and also talked about the plans for the walled garden. I’d found out from Project Manager, Mike that the new cold frames were due to be delivered and fixed in the next week or two.

ready for fitting- the base of the new cold frames next to one of the glasshouses

ready for fitting- the base of the new cold frames next to one of the glasshouses

I also spotted some of the metal arches that are to be erected over the main path, where apples will be trained up and over them. Rory showed me the holes he and Peter had dug last week in preparation for this.

And I was pleased to see that the new panels for the information board at the entrance had been fitted; they give some interesting insights into the history of the garden, recent achievements and something on the vision for the future.

As we finished off the border digging, Peter and I remarked on how well the bean tunnel we had built from hazel a couple of years ago was looking; it has  the string ties replaced each year, but it still looks good and solid!

wp_20170209_12_47_51_proFurther Information:

Blickling Hall website

Blickling Hall Facebook page

A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall

Old School Gardener

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Blueberry planting time…

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15/02/2017

Blueberries are dark, sweet, delicious and often quite expensive; they are a cousin to our native Winberry, (also known as the blaeberrie, bilberrie, whortleberrie or huckleberrie) which can be found growing on moors amongst the heather and are ready to pick July-September. I think Winberries have a better flavour and are sweeter but not everyone […]

via Plant Blueberries this half term holiday — Gardening with Children

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Europe’s favourite tree?

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13/02/2017

A Northumberland tree made famous by Hollywood is going head-to-head in an international poll to be crowned Europe’s favourite tree. Sycamore Gap in Northumberland National Park won the Woodland Trust’s search for England’s Tree of the Year in December last year. The tree, which stands beside Hadrian’s Wall, is now up against 16 trees in […]

via Northumberland’s Sycamore Gap in running for European Tree of the Year — National Trust Press Office

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A Walk in the Park- Attingham #2

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12/02/2017

Back with the second part of our report of our January visit to Attingham Park we find ourselves taking the path into the woodland at this Shropshire National Trust property. When leaving the walled garden the visitor has the choice of two walks and we decided to follow the 3 mile “Woodland Walk” as […]

via A Walk in the Park – Attingham in January – Part Two – Woodland Walk — greenbenchramblings

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Snowdonia path fix…

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11/02/2017

A quarter of a million pounds is urgently needed to repair paths and restore wildlife habitats in Snowdonia, the National Trust has said. The conservation charity, which looks after almost 23,500 hectares (58,000 acres) of mountain and farmland in Snowdonia [1], is hoping to raise the shortfall from a fundraising campaign launched today (6 February). […]

via National Trust launches £250k fundraising campaign to fix paths in Snowdonia — National Trust Press Office

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Hedgehogs now a rare garden sight as British populations continue to decline

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10/02/2017

This story includes ideas and links for steps to take to support wildlife. Unfortunately, it does not mention the big step, human population control.

Young hedgehog in Yorkshire, EnglandSource: Hedgehogs now a rare garden sight as British populations continue to decline

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Gently does it at Blickling

Filed under: Blickling Hall- rebirth of the Walled Garden, Heritage Gardens & gardening, This and that — Leave a comment
09/02/2017

 

wp_20170202_11_40_17_proMy first New Year session at Blickling was just a morning. Just recovering (hopefully) from an inflamed hip I wanted to ease myself back into physical work gradually.It was a lovely bright morning after a foggy start, I had a warm (if ‘bantered’) welcome back from the gardeners and volunteers and it was great to be back.

Gardener Rob was in the course of trimming the yew hedging around the double borders, so I set to raking up and dumping the cuttings in a trailer for later disposal. Over a number of years these cuttings (and especially those gathered in the summer season), have been sold off to a company which turns them (or rather more specifically the oil/resin they contain) into cancer fighting drugs- all the way from Italy. Rob told me that in recent years sales have been dropping off and the money received has also been reducing as the company now has it’s own yew plantations.

I may have mentioned before that the yew used to surround the double borders (Taxus baccata) should eventually grow to form a dense hedge that can be cut to the traditional sharp-edged shapes reminiscent of many ‘heritage gardens’. however, there is a bit of doubt about the purity of the variety we have here, as the Trust’s gardens advisor thought it might be from a commercially-developed strain which is less dense. Certainly here at Blickling after about ten years growth, whilst there are some nice thick areas, there are also patches where holes are evident. Hopefully with continuous trimming new, short growth will sprout and so eventually we’ll get the full effect anticipated.

In any event the carefully cut returns on the hedges- shaped using templates to mirror the gables on the windows in the House- are starting to look nicely defined-see the pictures below. Rob was also having to measure the heights of the hedging as the land slopes upwards towards the end, meaning to keep the whole thing looking visually right he would need to progressively shorten the height of the hedge (and so the top facet of the sculpted returns would be lost at the end).

As we progressed through the morning Rob and I discussed ideas for improving the ‘Black Garden’ which sits at one end of the double borders, from where there is a ‘classic’ view of Blickling, taking in the House, parterre and lake beyond (see pictures below). This area suffers from a definite slope and this and a lack of continuity of the hedging and edging helps to divorce it from the double borders. Ideas include trying to more closely tie it into the rest of the area by repeating a circular gravelled area (which needs to be wide enough to allow a tractor and trailer to turn), and repositioning the large seat from where you get the ‘classic’ view. I think levelling the space is important and I like the idea of tying it into the rest of the double borders, but it will be tricky trying to get paths to fit visually and to meet the practical needs of the gardeners. I gather that there’s also the possibility of a viewing tower being erected nearby which would also afford wonderful views over the parterre and the wider estate. It will be interesting to see some designs on paper.

Well, my morning went by and my leg caused me no problems, so hopefully I can gradually build up my strength once more and get back to longer sessions here- and in my own garden.

Further Information:

Blickling Hall website

Blickling Hall Facebook page

A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall

Old School Gardener

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A Walk in the Park-Attingham #1

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08/02/2017

So here we are with the first of this year’s monthly visits to our chosen patch, Attingham Park, a National Trust property and without doubt one of the most popular. It is so popular simply because there is such a choice of walks. For our January visit we chose a cold but bright day and […]

via A Walk in the Park – Attingham in January – Part 1 – The Walled Garden — greenbenchramblings

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