“The Professional Gardeners’ Trust provides professional gardeners with the opportunity to learn skills and gain qualifications by funding part-time training courses and short-term work placements. ” See the website at www.pgtrust.org
UPDATE FOR THE WKGN FORUM AT CROOME COURT 3rd -4th OCTOBER 2105 Arrivals commence at 9.30 on SATURDAY, 3RD OCTOBER with registration, refreshments and welcome in the entrance hall of newly restored Croome Court. At 10.00 we go through to the beautiful Long Gallery where Susan Campbell will give an introduction to the weekend, followed at 10.30 by our first speaker. Lunch and refreshments are included on both days, as well as access to Croome Park itself. Lunches will be in the walled garden with our hosts Karen and Chris Cronin.
MAY/JUN 2015 MUSINGS by Maz Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Walled Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire After the sunniest April on record, May begins with high winds and heavy rain. After 11 years of volunteering, the special needs married couple, Kathryn and Stephen, are moving down to Gloucestershire to be nearer family, and hopefully to find another National Trust property to continue their good work. The Tuesday Team put on a farewell buffet at lunchtime, and afterwards the weather picked up so some work in the Kitchen Garden was achieved, mainly placing peasticks along the rows, and the inevitable weeding. It is interesting the different weeds we get, presumably brought in… Read more »
MAR/APR 2015 MUSINGS by Maz Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire “March many weathers.” However, the first Tuesday was a lovely sunny day, but with a biting wind. The hazel and alder catkins were dancing merrily to the accompanying tune of a Pied Wagtail sat on top of one of the walls. March is known as Mulch Month, and most of the Team were in the American Garden, spreading a thick mulch of leaf mould to nourish the ground. In the soft fruit area, March is also known as Hoe Month, and the rest of the Team hoed the large bed of red and white currant bushes… Read more »
In November 2014 the Halesowen Abbey Trust, a registered charity, purchased the Leasowes Walled Garden located within the grounds of the internationally renowned Leasowes Grade I Garden created by Wiiliam Shenstone. The purchase was achieved with donations from a local firm of builders, A J Mucklow, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Councils community forums, the Friends of the Leasowes and individuals. The garden was purchased for the public in perpetuity. Our aim was to own the property and bestowe it with some desperately needed tender, loving, care. Along with our wonderful, enthusiastic volunteers we are doing just this. We are currently creating a dedicated website http://www.leasoweswalledgarden.co.uk. This is only the beginning of… Read more »
JAN/FEB 2015 MUSINGS by Maz, Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire It has become a tradition on the First Tuesday in January for the Tuesday Team to walk from the Mansion Stable Yard through the Park to Knutsford, have a coffee and chat at a lovely café, and then walk back to the Stable Yard for lunch in the Restaurant there; most enjoyable with good company, if a little wet until the afternoon. Weather permitting we start work on the second Tuesday. I hope you all did your ploughing on Plough Monday and that you will enjoy Wassailing at the weekend following. Our first Tuesday of… Read more »
NOV/DEC 2014 MUSINGS by Maz Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire The first Tuesday in November was unbelievably warm and sunny. The day was spent doing an ‘archaeological dig’ to find the Victorian edging tiles to the path in front of the Pinery (or Pineapple House) which had become buried under ‘the lawn’ and the hoggin on the path which had slid down the camber over them. I was assisted by the special needs married couple I have mentored over the past 10 years, and we made a good team: I made the mess and they picked up the turves and swept the path. The tomato plants… Read more »
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 MUSINGS by Maz Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire The first Tuesday in September was absolutely glorious, warm sunshine and in the morning what I call an Australian Sky – no cloud. By late afternoon we were wilting somewhat, but revived by an ice lolly. The Pear Rust is harder to find, but still present, especially on the branches too tall to reach. The Pear and Apple espaliers have all had their extension growth tied in. No sign of summer bird visitors. Next, Raspberries. On another gloriously sunny day two of us commenced pruning out the fruited canes of the summer raspberries; unfortunately for me,… Read more »
With weekly shopping bills on the rise, increasing numbers of communities are joining together to grow their own. Home Grown Community Owned (HogCO) is a BIG Lottery funded project that seeks to strengthen the food-growing communities of rural Devon, and with them the local food resilience of the county. We offer free advice, training, small start-up grants and a forum in which people can share their skills and assets. We are currently working with the owner of Burnville Farm who has a beautiful Victorian walled garden which is in need of some TLC. For the last year a couple of green fingered volunteers have been managing the garden but unfortunately… Read more »
Our11th Forum ‘Private Kitchen Gardens in Suffolk’ took place on the 6th and 7th October, with talks on the Saturday at Helmingham Hall, and visits to privately owned walled kitchen gardens on the Sunday. Once again we were blessed with two days of glorious sunshine.To see our informal report on the Forum Notes on Forum take a look at the blog from Alitex, our sponsors on http://www.alitex.co.uk/newsandevents and there are some more photos posted on our Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/wkgn/