Tag Archive: haveringland

Haveringland Gardens

08/07/2020

Two and a half acres of beautiful gardens and an award winning conservation churchyard and other attractions are on offer on Sunday 19th July.

Haveringland’s Old School Garden and Oaklands Farm are joined by the Parish churchyard (the historic church will also be open for private prayer). This open gardens event is in aid of repairs and improvements at the Church and to help the Papillon Project (creating allotments at Norfolk High Schools http://www.thepapillonproject.com).

And it won’t just be gardens and nature on offer. A number of arts and crafts people will be selling their wares:

Alison Varley– jewellry (https://www.alisonvarleyjewellery.co.uk/)
Zena Tooze– ceramics(https://ztceramics.myshopify.com/)
Greenwood Apiaries– local honey, beeswax candles ( Instagram @beesrbuzzing)
Roger Tidman– award winning wildlife photographer
Julie Branson -artwork (InstaGram @juliecharlesworthmurals)
Pauline Beales– handmade sewing items
Caroline – cut flowers, plants

And you can buy some of the much in demand Papillon Project merchandise and find out more about this exciting project. And there’s also the opportunity to see a vintage motorcycle, a rare Leopard Moth Aircraft under restoration and find out about Haveringland’s history and plans for church improvements.

Due to the current restrictions we will not be opening toilets or offering refreshments, other than a cup of tea or soft drink. Admission will also be by timed ticket only so that we can manage numbers, and clear social distancing guidelines, hand sanitiser and one-way systems will be in operation to make it as safe as possible.

The event runs from 2pm with last admission by 5pm (closing around 6pm), and admission is £6 per adult (payable upon booking) with under 16’s free. Any additional donations on the day would be welcome.

The link to buy tickets is https://www.eventbrite.com/e/haveringland-gardens-tickets-112802974734

Tags: churchyard, crafts, haveringland, nature conservation, old school garden, open gardens, papillon project

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Dear Walter: letter from Old School Garden, 31st July 2018

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31/07/2018

To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

I’m so sorry to have not written last month, but hopefully you’ll understand how busy we’ve been preparing for our daughter’s wedding and more recently the Show Garden I helped with at the Sandringham Flower Show.

Well, the wedding went off pretty well, all things considered, and the hot dry weather we’ve been having held for that important weekend. I think the garden- well the parts visible around the rather large marquee- looked presentable, and I had many compliments on it from amongst the 130 or so people attending. We’re still waiting for the photographs to appear, but I’ll send you some as soon as we have them.

Wow, it’s been hot…

As you know from your own experience, we have had a very long period of dry and sometimes very hot weather of late- I think we ran for around 5 weeks without any rain and last week I clocked a temperature of 39 celsius! This was just before a rather dramatic storm cleared the air- at least for a time.

The wedding was a truly international affair…

Over the last few days a more unsettled weather pattern has arrived and the garden (and us) have had some very welcome ‘usable’ rain. However, it looks like the week is going to become increasingly dry and hot again so I can’t put away the hose pipe just yet.

Having watered pretty consistently in the Kitchen Garden I’m pleased to say that most crops are doing well- Deborah harvested most of the beetroot yesterday and has been pickling these. We’ve had plenty of tomatoes, cucumber, cauliflower, calabrese, courgettes and broad beans and I’m going to chance my arm and finally dig up the potatoes today, though given the dry weather and my early experience of harvesting these, I’m not that hopeful that they’ll amount to much. Here are a few shots of the garden today, focusing on the containers, as they look the most presentable!

Apart from keeping Old School Garden in a reasonable state, the past couple of weeks have seen some focused effort going into the Show Garden at Sandringham and, oh, picking up an award…

That was a ‘Highly Commended’ award at the Norfolk Community Biodiversity Awards for the Church Action Group’s ‘imaginative’ approach to improving biodiversity, including, as you know the planting of an ‘Avenue of Remembrance’ and seeding a piece of waste ground as a wild flower meadow, as well as our approach to managing the churchyard as meadow environment to encourage a wider selection of wild flowers and other species. Four of us (including a colleague from the Community Payback Team who have been so helpful in our efforts) went along to the awards evening in Norwich recently and picked up our certificate..

Me receiving the award from the Chairman of Norfolk Wildlife Trust

Left to right: Paul Tong (Community Payback), Lorna Wilson, Mary Beatty and me from the CAG

But I guess my focus has been on Sandringham most recently. This show, attended by around 20,000 people, is a traditional country flower show with added attractions, and includes a visit by HRH the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. Working with the Prince’s Trust and Grow Organisation we helped 9 young people to experience the creation and construction of a 8 metre square show garden on the theme of ‘A young person’s journey to well being’. It was a sometimes a stressful but over all a very positive experience for me and i think everyone involved. It was great to see how the young people gradually took ownership of the project and design which I’d deliberately planned as a series of different spaces where specific features could be created such as planters, bug hotel, willow obelisks and so on. It was also great to have so many other organisations and companies helping us with plants, features and so on…truly a community effort. And the result was a Silver Gilt Medal and some very positive feedback from the judges and public who visited us. Judge Chris Beardshaw described the garden as fantastic and complimented the team on gpoing for the right approach in getting across a number of messages through different types fo space;’You have to go into the garden to really appreciate it’, he said. He also sang one of the young people’s (Sam) praises for her very eloquent presentation of the garden- ‘the best we heard’ he said. Here’s a gallery of pictures to illustrate the main features of the design and most of those involved!

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What next? Well its back to the church at the weekend as we have our mid summer cut and rake of the church yard and tidying up of some other spaces. I may have mentioned that we have a nice new level trackway up to the churchyard courtesy of local firm JS Asphalt who used old road planings to give us the new surface. We are now contemplating the next stages in our work to improve the facilities at this important community venue, including making the church building accessible for those with a disability as well as improved services, toilets etc. I’m currently looking at possible grant sources to help us achieve this ‘transformation plan’.

Well, I see that the garden awaits so I must get on with digging the potatoes and transplanting some runner beans and leeks now that we have slightly damper conditions. All the best to Ferdy and enjoy the rest of the summer. Next week we are getting out on our hands and knees at the Aylsham Roman Dig..more of that in due course..

Old School Gardener

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Tags: church, grow organisation, haveringland, norfolk biodiverisity awards, princes trust

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Dear Walter: letter from Old School Garden, 27th May 2018

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27/05/2018

To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

Exciting times!! We’re off to Heathrow tomorrow to pick up our eldest Daughter, her fiance and our grand-daughter…we haven’t seen them in the flesh for a year. As you know they are coming over from Australia to get married at our local church, and our grandaughter is going to be baptised at the same service.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you and Ferdy to the service and reception, which as you know is going to be held in Old School Garden. Needless to say it’s been all go here trying to get the garden ready, and as luck would have it, we discovered a ceiling down after a leak on our return from Ireland a few weeks ago…so the builders (who are already restyling our lounge) have some more work to do…as do I on the decorating front!

So apologies (and to my other blog followers) for being a bit absent on the blog front recently…it’s down to lack of time with everything else going on. Still as they say ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ I’ll show you a few select shots of the garden at its spring time best…

I’ve also been over to Blickling which is looking splendid…

And the Sandringham Flower Show Garden is progressing nicekly…we are sourcing pretty much all we need from generous companies and others, but have yet to find some largish trees to add height and structure to the design.

And whilst I haven’t been able to devote any time to the Reepham High School and College Allotment Project, we popped over to see it today , as part of the Reepham Food festival, which was a real delight, and where we managed to hook up with a few old friends. The Project has moved on apace with several major features being added, including a rope pump and an outdoor classroom, (this is under construction and is using virtually all reclaimed and recycled materials) and a new hard roadway and french drain to sort out the drainage problems..

I was over at the church yesterday cutting the grass pathways through the rapidly growing meadow environment and recently we had the fantastic help (once more) of the Community Payback Team, who cleared the ‘triangle’ near the church and on which I’ve sown a meadow seed mix….

This was just before another major gathering at the church, this time the 100 Bomber Support Group (our local airfield was part of this), held part of their annual reunion with us…there was music, cake and plenty of memories and history on show..a great time was had by all……..

I hope you and Ferdy are enjoying the warm sunshine as are. sometime I must tell you about our trip to Ireland, which was a great adventure with some wonderful sights and sounds (and Guinness of course). To round off here’s one picture of the Giant’s Causeway, a magical place..

Old School Gardener

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Tags: blickling, food, garden, gardeners, gardening, gardens, grow organisation, haveringland, kitchen garden, letters, norfolk, old school garden, princes trust, walter degrasse, winter

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Dear Walter: letter from Old School Garden, 23rd April 2018

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23/04/2018

To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

I’m writing this on one of a number of very sunny and warm days, recently -up in the high 20’s C in fact which is very unusual for April.

On reflection its been a very busy but also productive month in Old School Garden.

I’ll come to the garden shortly, but first I thought I’d update you on the progress with the Sandringham Flower Show garden; you recall I’m designing this for the Prince’s Trust and Grow Organisation?

Following a very useful Design Workshop where I gathered together ideas and other information for the design, I hit upon the ‘5 Steps to Wellbeing’ on the NHS website. The garden is called ‘Grow and Trust’ and is about a young person’s journey to wellbeing. It is important that young people are involved in the design and build process as the garden is the focus of a programme that introduces participants to garden design and gardening as a possible way into further education or employment. Here’s the design, which is pretty blank in most of the zones, as I hope that the young people will fill the zones with a selection of different features and planting to illustrate the five steps:

Connecting- all about relationships

Giving- in this case to nature

Learning- this will focus on creating willow garden features

Active- this will show ways of growing your own food

Mindfulness-being in the moment and reflection

Now we are focused on sourcing and making elements of the design and I’m pleased to say that a local Nursery, Woodgate in Aylsham, have agreed to loan us the majority fo the plants and other items.

Due to other commitments my sessions at Blickling Hall have been somewhat curtailed recently. but I had a very enjoyable morning there last week initially planting some Asparagus and later edging the borders in the Parterre. It was good seeing my fellow volunteers once again.

Planting asparagus at Blickling…

Hyacinth time…

Finally, away from home, I’m very pleased that the daffodils and trees we planted at the local church are doing their stuff. Having just reinstated the plaque for the ‘Avenue of Remembrance’ the site looks great…we are planning further improvements like a small area of wildlfower meadow, the seeds for which I’ve just ordered. Here’s a recent picture of part of the approach to the church.

Back to the home garden. Well, I was getting quite anxious about getting on top of weeds before they take hold, in advance of our older daughter’s wedding in early July. Having put in some hours (some days with a very early start to avoid the worst of the heat), and in the middle of last week giving the grass its first cut , that I feel that ‘a corner has been turned’. However, I may regret saying that in two weeks time, when we return from our trip to Ireland! It always amazes me how cutting the grass (and if time edging it too) makes a major impact on how tidy the garden looks.

I’ve also been busy in the kitchen garden, and whilst several construction projects remain, I’ve managed to plant both 1st and 2nd early potatoes and lot of other food crops both directly (Beetroot, Parsnips, Carrots) and in the greenhouse (which has been given its spring clean)- Cauliflower, Calabrese and Runner beans.

With the wedding in mind I’ve been planting out and sowing flowers for cutting, to go on the reception tables. The colour theme is Purple, Green and white so I’ve a selection of flowers that will hopefully fit the bill: two varieties of Nigella and Nicotiana, ‘Bells of Ireland’, Gypsophila, Ammi majus, a white poppy and Cenrinthe purpurascens as well as couple of other more unusual pruple flowers (whose names escape me for the moment). I also visited another local Garden Centre yesterday and bought a number of plants for our two large hanging baskets; again in the same colour theme. these will all rest in the greenhouse while we are away, our next door neighbour having kindly agreed to keep them watered for us.

To finish off, then here area few pictures of the garden as its is today, just the tidier areas of course!

As you read this we will be on our way north for an overnight stay in Dumfries, and then the following day catching the ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast for a couple of days stay. After that we travel around the northern Ireland coast taking in the Giant’s causeway and other sights, spending some time at Sligo before joining 6 of our oldest friends in Galway Bay for a week together. After a very hectic time the idea of a holiday certainly appeals, if only I can relax and switch off that is! All the best for now, old friend. I do hope you are enjoying the good weather, and hopefully it won’t be too long before it returns.

Old School Gardener

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Tags: blickling, food, garden, gardeners, gardening, gardens, grow organisation, haveringland, kitchen garden, letters, norfolk, old school garden, princes trust, walter degrasse, winter

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Dear Walter: letter from Old School Garden, 26th March 2018

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26/03/2018

To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

So sorry I missed my letter to you in February! Without wishing to make excuses, it’s down to an incredibly busy month or two …and it seems there’s worse to come!

Let’s begin with the couple of weeks away we had- a few days in each of Iceland and Devon, both very snowy and windy as it turns out!

Our return to Iceland some 34 years after our first visit (in the summer), was something of a ‘saga’ you might say, mainly down to bad weather affecting both of our flights, to the effect that we had added an 8 hour coach journey each way due to flights being diverted.

And the return leg was further complicated by bad weather at our new airport destination (Keflavik)…this resulted in a day’s delay and further complications which all in all rather over shadowed the wonderful experience of northern Iceland in winter.

We managed to see some rather spectacular whales, had a trip out to NOT see the Northern lights (another long coach trip at nightime!), and visited the wonderful Lake Myvatn area with its volcanic landscapes, Godafoss waterfall and hot mud pools; we took advantage of a naturally heated outdoor pool..with beer! Here is a selection of pictures…

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Our trip to Devon was nearly as eventful. A couple of days after returning from Iceland we travelled west just as the ‘beast from the east’ dropped its load of snow on Eastern England…we picked up our share a day or two later courtesy of the collision of the ‘beast’ with ‘Storm Emma’. We managed to get out and about on Dartmoor just before this, but poor road conditions meant we delayed our return by a couple of days. Here are some shots to show how cold, normally mild, Devon was…

Back in the garden its been spring cleaning time. I’ve cleared off the borders and pruned back summer flowering shrubs, and hopefully tomorrow it will be time to collect up the rubbish and dispose of it- probably a bonfire for much of it. My efforts on re erecting the trellis in the Kitchen garden have suffered a blow – witness this picture…

As you can see the upright I had to fix in concrete hasn’t survived the winds and so its back to the drawing board; I think I’ll level off the base with mortar and drill some pilot holes for the bolts, then try placing these in a resin compound that my builders’ merchant says will ‘do the trick’! We shall see….

‘m getting a bit anxious about all the things building up for me in the next few months, not least remodelling our lounge (just had a bit of a shock with the builder’s quote on this) and getting the place ready for our Daughter Lindsey’s wedding reception…and of course all the other arrangements that go with this!

Add to this my usual round of Green Flag judging (I have 4 parks and open spaces to visit in London, including Clapham Common, plus two in East Anglia) and a new project; I’ve been asked to help the Grow Organisation with a design for a show garden at the Sandringham Flower show on the theme of ‘A young person’s journey to wellbeing’. This is being commissioned by The Prince’s Trust. This is an exciting prospect as I will be working with a group of young people to co-design and co-produce the garden.

Volunteering at Blickling Hall continues and most recently I had a very pleasant few hours edging the paths with some of the other volunteers. As you can see there’s also a lot of work being done to restore the Orangery- I had an interesting chat to one of the workmen, who explained how badly decayed a lot of the woodwork is, but it will look splendid once more, in the, hopefully, not too distant future!

And I’m very pleased to report a great success for the Reepham High School and College Allotment Project, where I’m one of the community volunteers; they’ve just won the Norfolk and Norwich Eco School award, which is very well deserved as it is fast becoming a major centre of school and wider community life, exemplifying the principles of permaculture and recycling. I was pleased to be involved in the visit of the Orchards East project, three of whose personnel came to see the orchard and provide some very useful advice on pruning and management; hopefully they can help out with some extra fruit trees next winter to fill a few gaps and diversify the types of tree in the orchard.

So, once again sorry for missing you out in thedepths of winter, old friend; I was pleased to hear that our mutual mate, Les popped in to see that you and Ferdy were keeping well, and I gather he stocked you up with food and few beverages when you were snowed in, too! You can probably tell my anxiety levels on on the rise, so hopefully by next month I will be able to report some real progress in Old School Garden as well as in the many other areas of my horticultural life! Keep well!

Old School Gardener

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Tags: allotment project, blickling, eco awards, food, garden, gardeners, gardening, gardens, grow organisation, haveringland, kitchen garden, letters, norfolk, old school garden, princes trust, reepham high school, walter degrasse, winter

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Dear Walter: letter from Old School Garden, 31st January 2018

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31/01/2018

To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

Well another New Year! It’s been rather mixed here, weather -wise, of late. Today is windy and cold with some squally showers, but it looks like it will clear a bit later, so that’s when I’ll get outside…

In the last week I’ve been re -erecting the trellis panels in the Kitchen Garden, with a mix of old and new posts (this time concreted in), to provide a clear boundary to the main garden. I’m pleased with the result, though yesterday, in an attempt to refix one post (in a metal clamp) to some concrete, I managed to burn out my electric drill, so that little adjustment will have to wait until a new drill arrives in the next few days.

I’ve also fixed the posts to hold the rope swags I’m planning along the entrance to the Kitchen Garden, up and along which will be trained the six ‘Compassion’ climbing roses I put in last year. The whole thing looks a little unkempt at present due to its original cream paint being covered with mildew. Once Spring arrives I will clean off the woodwork and repaint (in a light grey). I’ve also relocated and tied up the Blackberry to run along the back of this plot (which was previously the home of the raspberries). Here are some pictures of how things look at present…

I’ve also bought seeds for the Kitchen Garden as well as some annuals with an eye on flowers for our eldest daughter’s wedding in July; and some Early Potatoes are chitting (‘Swift’ and ‘Charlotte’).

Having had a satisfying day yesterday tidying up and burning off a lot of the debris from last year’s garden, planting a new Blueberry in a sunken pot and a few other bits and pieces, I feel that I’m making progress…still a lot of major structural work has yet to be done as well as continuing the tidy up.

In my regular visits to Blickling Hall I’ve enjoyed the company of fellow volunteers and the gardening team. Our jobs have included cleaning out the Shell Fountain and pond where the Irises had invaded the pool and over grown the lilies, requiring a major job of cutting out, splitting and replanting (I’ve brought home a few spares for my own pond). Here are some pictures taken on the day…

Most recently I went in early and worked with fellow volunteer Rory to clear leaves in the Secret Garden and then with a few other volunteers to mulch the main borders in the Parterre…it was a lovely sunny day and the Orinental Planes looked especially impressive in the winter sun…

I’ve continued my small voluntary input to the local High School allotment project where, with the students, I’ve finished creating some new raised beds and begun the process of mulching all of these with some rather rich compost and farmyard manure. A number of projects are underway here and I’m pleased to have helped arrange a visit of the local Orchards and Apples project to provide some advice about the orchard.

And speaking of orchards I’ve just been sent my data and other guidance to carry out a survey of historic and other orchards in the parish by the project Orchards East. This same project is also visiting the Grow Organisation in Norwich where hopefully they can help establish a new orchard as part of a wider ‘Fruit Forest’ area, complete with underplanting of fruit bushes, ground cover and other plants. The aim is to create ‘plant guilds’ to help establish and develop this important part of the master plan for the site. I’m popping over to them next week to help with designing a strip next to the Hub Building as a wildlife garden, sensory area etc.

Well, that’s about it as far as the past month is concerned. As we are spending a couple of weeks away towards the end of February (including four days in northern Iceland!), I think it will be a month of pottering and odd spells of tidying up rather than anything more major. I think I will also hold off sowing seed until early March….and then things will begin to take off big time!

Old School Gardener

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Tags: blickling, food, garden, gardeners, gardening, gardens, haveringland, kitchen garden, letters, norfolk, old school garden, walter degrasse, winter

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Dear Walter: letter from Old School Garden, 28th December 2017

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28/12/2017

To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

I hope you and yours have had a great Christmas! We have here with immediate family and some friends to help us celebrate.

As you will appreciate the last month hasn’t seen much action in the garden; mainly clearing leaves (the oaks have yet to give up all their leaves), and planting out of a few choice plants bought (on offer) recently; including some Verbena rigida and a white form of ‘elephant’s ears’. I’ve also managed to get hold of some Monarda (spares from Blickling), some of which I’ve planted out alongside the Kitchen Garden, others potted up for planting later.

I’ve been buying the wood needed to finish the Kitchen Garden so if the weather allows I shall get out and put up the trellis and other structural timber work in readiness for the new growing season.

I mentioned that I’d cleared back some trees along the western boundary and have since planted out a mix of native hedging (Beech, Dog rose, Hawthorn etc.) to fill gaps in the slowly forming hedgeline here.

As there isn’t much to show of Old School Garden, here are a few shots from Blickling taken over recent months. We finished off the year here with lovely party for the garden volunteers and I’m looking forward to another productive year here, especially as the Walled Garden is now pretty much into full production.

So, old friend, we now look forward to lengthening day light and the chance of increasing activity outside. Here’s wishing you, Ferdy and the family all the very best for 2018!

Old School Gardener

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Tags: blickling, food, garden, gardeners, gardening, gardens, haveringland, kitchen garden, letters, norfolk, old school garden, walter degrasse, winter

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Dear Walter: letter from Old School Garden, 29th November 2017

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29/11/2017

To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

Having finally completed this years work at the local church I can now turn my full attention to Old School Garden. But I’ve been feeling a bit tired and lacking strength recently, perhaps a hang over from the chest infection I couldn’t seem to get rid of, or that and all the physical efforts at St. Peter’s?

The restructuring of the Kitchen Garden is progressing, albeit rather slowly. I’ve completed the boxing in of the oil tank, and in the last couple of days have dug up the remaining old raspberry plants and cleared away a site and replanted the blackberry bush….this will now be positioned to run along the edge of the wood on our northern boundary.

I’ve also laid the remaining slabs at the rear where the new shed will go (I’ve made a start on cutting the wood for the base and frame for this, but I’m thinking it may be the Spring before this is completed). I’ve also repositioned the compost bins so that they take up less space in the working areas of the garden.

Before…

..and after

Repositioned compost bins and the slab base for the new shed

A work in progress..old raspberry bed being cleared and blackberry relocated…

The ‘great leaf collection’ has begun too..a job that seems never-ending as the last trees to lose their leaves (usually the oaks) continue to shed their golden foliage.

The western boundary has been fully cleared and there are just a few bits and pieces of wood etc. that need tidying up, this will open up the edge of the garden to more light so opening up new planting possibilities.

I hope that if the weather is kind, I might get the trellis work relocated in the next month or two, which will also enable me to prepare the old raspberry bed for a new planting of potatoes in April.

My input at the local High School continues and even though the lunchtime sessions are short we manage to get a reasonable amount of things done. Last week I joined two lads in constructing a low raised bed which will expand the planting possibilities at the Allotment Project.

Reepham high School Allotment Project…

Broad beans sown in two large raised beds…

A new raised bed created in just 30 minutes….

The site….very damp

I’m still doing about a day a week at Blickling Hall, and am conscious I haven’t posted much about this of later. needless to say there is a lot or repetition as the seasonal jobs roll around. I’m looking forward to visit the gardens nearer Christmas, having seen the enormous effort being put in to lighting up the grounds- it should look spectacular.

Blickling’s squashes and gourds pictured earlier this year…

…complete with artwork…

I’ve run my two shredders over the Grow organisation as I think they will make better use of them than me, and it wa pleasing to see that the project is really taking off now that it has a steady set of staff and a good number of volunteers and participants on its ‘green therapy’ sessions.

As you were there you know how successful our Remembrance Day event at the church was, with nearly 300 people attending and wide range of activities and features. You can see photos a report and also an ITV Anglia News item on this on my sister site www.haveringland.wordpress.com. Having realigned a few of the trees in the ‘Avenue of Remembrance’ the setting of the church is much improved and the ornamental pears ‘Chanticleer’ have begun to turn a cockscomb red as their name suggests.

Avenue of Remembrance…

…realigned…

and some ‘Legacy Tree’ plantign nearby…to celbrate the new ‘Charter for Trees’…

…four Hornbeams planted along an historic path

Well Walter, as the days shorten and the weather worsens I guess it will soon be time to curtail my gardening activities, but hopefully we will still have some days when- if other activities allow- we can get out and continue the restructuring of the Kitchen garden so that its ready for the finishing off in the spring.

I hope that you and Ferdy are getting prepared for Christmas. we visit my mother in Law shortly in devon for a few days and after that we will be into December and the preparations can seriously begin!

Old School Garden- the western edge…

…newly stored wood and leaves

Cornus starting to colour up…

….crab apples definitely red..

…keeping the wildlife happy

.. fruit bushes pruned and hardy annuals sown…

Old School Gardener

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Tags: autumn, food, garden, gardeners, gardening, gardens, haveringland, kitchen garden, letters, norfolk, old school garden, reepham high school, remembrance day, shed, st.peter's church, walter degrasse

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Dear Walter: letter from Old School Garden, 30th October 2017

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30/10/2017

To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

It’s been a busy month, but not much has been going on in Old School Garden.

though I’ve planted out onions and sowed Broad Beans as well as some hardy annuals, scarified and fertilised the main lawn areas, I can’t claim to have moved on much on the home patch. Still, today I plan to spend a good time putting up fencing to hide the oil tank and possibly also laying the final slabs where the new shed is going. And hopefully I can at long last make a start on that this week, before the bad weather sets in. Despite a cold start today we’ve had things quite mild here recently and it looks like the rest of the week is also going to warm up a bit.

Front garden still looking good

Nerines looking colourful

a new ‘beehive’ water butt for our courtyard- awaiting fitting

Broad beans poking through

and onions

and garlic

Echeveria- soon to be put under cover for the winter

Colour starting to come on this Liquidambar

The next job..fencing in the oil tank, with gate

I spent a couple of short sessions over at the local High School Allotment project helping to cut out grass and weeds from around the orchard trees, and I hope to get back there to help in the next couple of weeks. It will be good to get the orchard into some kind of managed state.

Well, having said what I haven’t been doing at home, I can move on to report some major progress over at the local church, where you’ll recall I and others are gradually taking the churchyard and surroundings into more active management, including the churchyard itself as a meadow habitat.

Over the last three weekends (plus a surprise session on Saturday) the ‘Community Payback Team’ have been over to help us tackle some major projects. These are people who have broken the law in some way and have been sentenced to giving time back to the community for free. They, plus a few local volunteers, have put in a tremendous effort and the result is a transformation of the church surroundings. Here are some pictures which illustrate the key achievements, including planting an ‘Avenue of Remembrance’ to commemorate the closure of RAF Swannington (Haveringland) 70 years ago in November, the cutting and raking off of the churchyard, clearing the ‘French Drain’ that surrounds the church walls, strimming the perimeter of the church and the nearby access road and car park, planting many narcissus bulbs (donated by local businesses) and plenty more.

I have been very impressed with the effort and good-natured attitudes of those who have helped us and we have achieved so much more than I was expecting. Things look very promising for the major Remembrance Day service on Saturday 11th November; and I’m especially pleased that you and Ferdy can join us.

Old School Gardener

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Tags: autumn, food, garden, gardeners, gardening, gardens, haveringland, kitchen garden, letters, norfolk, old school garden, remembrance day, shed, st.peter's church, walter degrasse

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Dear Walter: letter from Old School Garden, 27th September 2017

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27/09/2017

To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

Another month goes by and some major steps forward at Old School Garden.

I think the biggest change has been the considerable lopping operation on our western boundary, where the trees and shrubs have been progressively closing in the view. Once more we can enjoy the sunsets from spring through to autumn as the distant horizon is visible! I was slightly worried about how far to go with this, but on the whole taking down a few old conifers which were crowded together as well as raising the crowns on some other trees is a big improvement…

I’ve also been reshaping the kitchen garden, replacing some old raised bed edges and realigning paths. We’ve continued to harvest fruit and a few other things like ‘New England Sugar Pie’ Squashes (shown ripening below). Here’s next year’s planting plan with the new fruit areas shown…

Oh, and I mustn’t forget the major effort our neighbour and us have put in on the ‘no man’s land’ that is the boundary (very soft) between us. Having cut back and cleared unwanted growth and weeds I’ve filled out the planting and added quite a few spring bulbs for good measure. I look forward to seeing how things develop in the coming year…

Now is the time to get on with the replacement shed, something I’ve not got round to for a couple of years. Today I’m finalising the design and working out a cutting list which I’ll then check against the spare timber I already have…and then it’s a trip to the local sawmill for the rest, and work can begin…

In my gardening work beyond home it’s definitely been a month of great progress. As I told you last month, the ‘Grow Organisation’ have received funding from the local Mental Health Trust to run a gardening therapy programme for people with mental health issues. This is now kicking off and is a great step forward; and hopefully will lead to other agencies stepping up to fund similar programmes. And the trees have been ordered for the ‘Avenue of Remembrance’ to be planted on the path up towards the local church as part of our commemoration of the airfield closing 70 years ago. 29 in total and all a reasonable size with planting kits supplied; all courtesy of the Norwich Fringe Project, so a big thank you to them!

The Remembrance Weekend is going to be a very special time as we welcome relatives and dignitaries from across the country to celebrate the airfield’s contribution to the War effort. in the next couple of weeks we’ll be putting in a community effort alongside a group on the Community Payback scheme to prepare the ground for the trees as well as the annual cut and rake off in the church yard etc. I’m looking forward to seeing the church and it’s surroundings much improved for the big weekend.

Next week I’m going over to the local High School to help out with a group of youngsters involved in the Allotment Project that I’ve told you about before. I’ll be helping them prune the orchard trees and develop ‘plant guilds’ around the trees, a key feature of permaculture design.

It was good to see you and your good wife Ferdy, the other week. You both look very well, and I was interested to hear about your new diets which seem to be having a great impact on your general health and wellbeing.. I’ve just read an interesting article about how important 7 hours sleep a night is, even for us ‘oldies’, so….. eat well, sleep well and keep fit..obvious really? To finish here are a few shots of the garden picking up the newly planted containers and some other interesting early autumn colour..

Old School Gardener

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Tags: autumn, food, garden, gardeners, gardening, gardens, haveringland, kitchen garden, letters, norfolk, old school garden, shed, walter degrasse

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Nigel Boldero aka 'Old School Gardener'
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Tag Archive: haveringland

Two and a half acres of beautiful gardens and an award winning conservation churchyard and other attractions are on offer on Sunday 19th July.

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To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

I’m so sorry to have not written last month, but hopefully you’ll understand how busy we’ve been preparing for our daughter’s wedding and more recently the Show Garden I helped with at the Sandringham Flower Show.

Over the last few days a more unsettled weather pattern has arrived and the garden (and us) have had some very welcome ‘usable’ rain. However, it looks like the week is going to become increasingly dry and hot again so I can’t put away the hose pipe just yet.

Apart from keeping Old School Garden in a reasonable state, the past couple of weeks have seen some focused effort going into the Show Garden at Sandringham and, oh, picking up an award…

Old School Gardener

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To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

So apologies (and to my other blog followers) for being a bit absent on the blog front recently…it’s down to lack of time with everything else going on. Still as they say ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ I’ll show you a few select shots of the garden at its spring time best…

I’ve also been over to Blickling which is looking splendid…

And the Sandringham Flower Show Garden is progressing nicekly…we are sourcing pretty much all we need from generous companies and others, but have yet to find some largish trees to add height and structure to the design.

I was over at the church yesterday cutting the grass pathways through the rapidly growing meadow environment and recently we had the fantastic help (once more) of the Community Payback Team, who cleared the ‘triangle’ near the church and on which I’ve sown a meadow seed mix….

This was just before another major gathering at the church, this time the 100 Bomber Support Group (our local airfield was part of this), held part of their annual reunion with us…there was music, cake and plenty of memories and history on show..a great time was had by all……..

I hope you and Ferdy are enjoying the warm sunshine as are. sometime I must tell you about our trip to Ireland, which was a great adventure with some wonderful sights and sounds (and Guinness of course). To round off here’s one picture of the Giant’s Causeway, a magical place..

Old School Gardener

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To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

I’m writing this on one of a number of very sunny and warm days, recently -up in the high 20’s C in fact which is very unusual for April.

On reflection its been a very busy but also productive month in Old School Garden.

I’ll come to the garden shortly, but first I thought I’d update you on the progress with the Sandringham Flower Show garden; you recall I’m designing this for the Prince’s Trust and Grow Organisation?

Connecting- all about relationships

Giving- in this case to nature

Learning- this will focus on creating willow garden features

Active- this will show ways of growing your own food

Mindfulness-being in the moment and reflection

Now we are focused on sourcing and making elements of the design and I’m pleased to say that a local Nursery, Woodgate in Aylsham, have agreed to loan us the majority fo the plants and other items.

Due to other commitments my sessions at Blickling Hall have been somewhat curtailed recently. but I had a very enjoyable morning there last week initially planting some Asparagus and later edging the borders in the Parterre. It was good seeing my fellow volunteers once again.

To finish off, then here area few pictures of the garden as its is today, just the tidier areas of course!

Old School Gardener

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To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

So sorry I missed my letter to you in February! Without wishing to make excuses, it’s down to an incredibly busy month or two …and it seems there’s worse to come!

Let’s begin with the couple of weeks away we had- a few days in each of Iceland and Devon, both very snowy and windy as it turns out!

Our return to Iceland some 34 years after our first visit (in the summer), was something of a ‘saga’ you might say, mainly down to bad weather affecting both of our flights, to the effect that we had added an 8 hour coach journey each way due to flights being diverted.

And the return leg was further complicated by bad weather at our new airport destination (Keflavik)…this resulted in a day’s delay and further complications which all in all rather over shadowed the wonderful experience of northern Iceland in winter.

Old School Gardener

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To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

Well another New Year! It’s been rather mixed here, weather -wise, of late. Today is windy and cold with some squally showers, but it looks like it will clear a bit later, so that’s when I’ll get outside…

I’ve also bought seeds for the Kitchen Garden as well as some annuals with an eye on flowers for our eldest daughter’s wedding in July; and some Early Potatoes are chitting (‘Swift’ and ‘Charlotte’).

Most recently I went in early and worked with fellow volunteer Rory to clear leaves in the Secret Garden and then with a few other volunteers to mulch the main borders in the Parterre…it was a lovely sunny day and the Orinental Planes looked especially impressive in the winter sun…

Old School Gardener

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To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

I hope you and yours have had a great Christmas! We have here with immediate family and some friends to help us celebrate.

I’ve been buying the wood needed to finish the Kitchen Garden so if the weather allows I shall get out and put up the trellis and other structural timber work in readiness for the new growing season.

I mentioned that I’d cleared back some trees along the western boundary and have since planted out a mix of native hedging (Beech, Dog rose, Hawthorn etc.) to fill gaps in the slowly forming hedgeline here.

So, old friend, we now look forward to lengthening day light and the chance of increasing activity outside. Here’s wishing you, Ferdy and the family all the very best for 2018!

Old School Gardener

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To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

The ‘great leaf collection’ has begun too..a job that seems never-ending as the last trees to lose their leaves (usually the oaks) continue to shed their golden foliage.

The western boundary has been fully cleared and there are just a few bits and pieces of wood etc. that need tidying up, this will open up the edge of the garden to more light so opening up new planting possibilities.

I hope that if the weather is kind, I might get the trellis work relocated in the next month or two, which will also enable me to prepare the old raspberry bed for a new planting of potatoes in April.

My input at the local High School continues and even though the lunchtime sessions are short we manage to get a reasonable amount of things done. Last week I joined two lads in constructing a low raised bed which will expand the planting possibilities at the Allotment Project.

I’ve run my two shredders over the Grow organisation as I think they will make better use of them than me, and it wa pleasing to see that the project is really taking off now that it has a steady set of staff and a good number of volunteers and participants on its ‘green therapy’ sessions.

I hope that you and Ferdy are getting prepared for Christmas. we visit my mother in Law shortly in devon for a few days and after that we will be into December and the preparations can seriously begin!

Old School Gardener

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To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

It’s been a busy month, but not much has been going on in Old School Garden.

I spent a couple of short sessions over at the local High School Allotment project helping to cut out grass and weeds from around the orchard trees, and I hope to get back there to help in the next couple of weeks. It will be good to get the orchard into some kind of managed state.

Well, having said what I haven’t been doing at home, I can move on to report some major progress over at the local church, where you’ll recall I and others are gradually taking the churchyard and surroundings into more active management, including the churchyard itself as a meadow habitat.

Old School Gardener

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To Walter de Grasse

Dear Walter,

Another month goes by and some major steps forward at Old School Garden.

I’ve also been reshaping the kitchen garden, replacing some old raised bed edges and realigning paths. We’ve continued to harvest fruit and a few other things like ‘New England Sugar Pie’ Squashes (shown ripening below). Here’s next year’s planting plan with the new fruit areas shown…

Next week I’m going over to the local High School to help out with a group of youngsters involved in the Allotment Project that I’ve told you about before. I’ll be helping them prune the orchard trees and develop ‘plant guilds’ around the trees, a key feature of permaculture design.