This week’s efforts- double digging in the Walled Garden
Back to Thursday this week at Blickling, so it was good to see the rest of that day’s volunteer team again.
On my way into the gardens I noticed an orange MG spots car and some people filming- apparently it was for an edition of ‘Antiques Road Trip’ due to be aired on BBC TV in the autumn.
After our initial meet up in the bothy (the old one) I didn’t see much of the others apart from Norfolk Peter, who joined me in double digging one of the beds in the Walled Garden.
Penstemons potted up- just a few
The rest of the team were potting up Penstemons prior to their planting out next to the double borders (once the Hyacinths have gone over). I was also pleased to see that a lot of new plants were nestling in the old cold frames along side the glasshouses, all showing their first leaves and promising a good summer show.
After about 4 hours digging Peter and I had finished about a half of one quarter of one quarter of the walled garden! The soil is a bit of a clayey loam and quite stony (it was a car park for a time, I think), so it was a bit harder going than on my sandy loam at home. Having said this, I suppose I ought to subtract the trenches Aussie Peter and I dug a few weeks ago for the trained fruit…
Norfolk Peter resting on his spade after a hard day’s digging
Anyway, I think that means we completed about a thirty second of the total area, excluding the side borders. Whilst some areas will be trenched rather than completely double dug, and I think Project Manager Mike is not planning to bring all of the garden into full cultivation this season, that still leaves quite a bit to do…hopefully our fellow volunteers on other days will make a contribution, otherwise I will have to plead to be put onto ‘light duties’!
Further Information:
Blickling Hall website
Blickling Hall Facebook page
A 360 degree tour of Blickling Hall
Old School Gardener
The pace is quickening in the Walled Garden at Blickling. Having missed a session, I returned to discover the second Glasshouse restored and looking wonderful, with work to install the cold frames under way.
Further Information:
More forking and levelling this week in the walled garden. It was good exercise and inspired me to begin excavating my new wildlife pond at Old School Garden the day afterwards.
Further Information:
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.
Old School Garden 