The online forum for the Walled Kitchen Gardens Network with all the latest news, events and musings.
Forum 2020/2022 – Audley End
YES, AFTER A DELAY OF 2 YEARS WE’RE BACK! When looking at what we posted back then we realised that it just needed a few adjustments As you will have read we are returning, by invitation, to Audley End for our Forum this year, to help celebrate the 20th (make that 22nd) anniversary of reopening of the walled kitchen gardens in 2000, following the extensive restoration by English Heritage of the kitchen garden and glasshouses. It is now also 19 years (21 years of course) since the foundation of the Walled Kitchen Gardens Network by Susan Campbell with the late Fiona Grant. The first WKGN Forum was held at Audley… Read more »
One month to go before the start of our European symposium on Kitchen gardens.
The Eurostar can get you from London to Chambord (change in Paris) in just 4 hours of travelling time. Why not take a break and hire a car to explore the fabulous countryside after or before the meeting? Or take the ferry from Portsmouth to do a little wine tasting and replenish your wine racks, we will after all be visiting Chateau Valmer and their prize winning wines are well known in the Vouvray region. A cheaper and slower way to go is to take the bus from Liverpool Street station in London to Paris and then the train to Blois-Chambord. My Trainline app shows fares from around £30 per… Read more »
European Symposium in France, continued. . .
Details for registration
Symposium in France, 23rd June
News from the Walled Kitchen Gardens Network
Dear Friends Now fully into the new year, there are clear signs that spring isn’t too far away. Peaches, apricots and camellias are starting to flower in glasshouses; snowdrops, cyclamen and hellebores are being celebrated at festivals and open gardens from Cornwall to the highlands of Scotland. The winter months have been far busier than we would expect – the zoom legacy of the last (nearly) two years have enabled many more people to become involved in talks, meetings and conferences such as the Chambord Conversations that wouldn’t have been previously accessible for most. (More information below). We hope you haven’t been too affected by the recent storms, and have… Read more »
WESTON PARK Walled Garden. Volunteer Open Day
Thursday 27th January 2022 10.00am Come along and find out more about our exciting Walled Garden project and see how you can get involved as a volunteer at Weston Park. We are working towards bringing our Walled Garden back to its former glory so it produces food and helps with education. If you are passionate about allotment gardening or want to learn new skills to grow your own produce then why not come along to the open day and find out more. Working under the supervision of the Estate Gardens Team the Walled Garden project aims to transform the space to reduce food miles from estate to plate whilst providing… Read more »
Head Gardener Wanted
Head Gardener Location: Pershore, Worcestershire Employment type: Full time, permanent Salary: £21000 – £25000 pa depending on experience The Role: This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Gardener to join the team at a historic walled kitchen garden. The successful candidate will have previous experience in a similar role and the ability to supervise a small team. Duties: Ensuring the grounds and gardens are well-maintained throughout the seasons Greenhouse work Propagation Fruit tree pruning Managing a small team of employees and volunteers Skills and experience required: Experience of mixed gardening – herbaceous and fruit & vegetables A proven ability to supervise a small team Good communication skills Hands-on and practical, with the initiative… Read more »
THE WALLED GARDEN AT WATER LANE
A productive garden Water Lane is an ongoing restoration project in the hands of new custodians Nick Selby and Ian James who bring with them a wealth of food and horticultural passion from their previous business, Melrose and Morgan, a grocery store and kitchen with shops in London’s Primrose Hill and Hampstead. This project and a labour of love and will take many years to fully restore. The Peach Case and Vinery will be restored while fruit trees, such as apples, pears, quince and fig will be planted and grown ‘espalier’ along the red brick walls. Four of the glasshouses have already been restored in 2017/2018, due to a generous… Read more »
News and updates from the Walled Kitchen Gardens Network
European Symposium on the Conservation of Historic Fruit and Kitchen Gardens Dear friends After a very long 18 months we are so glad to hear news from many of you and your gardens, that you have had a more ‘normal’ summer. Visitors have returned and enjoyed seeing and appreciating the extraordinary amount of work that has brought gardens back to great standards despite a very hard start to the year. This year has also seen a few celebrations and we’re delighted to add one from WKGN: our co-founder and chairman, Susan Campbell celebrated a significant birthday this month and we all wish her an enormously Happy Birthday!! It has been… Read more »
Restored Victorian Glasshouse
I’ve received a message from Rob Willets with some interesting information; Mike, I thought you might like this for ‘The Grapevine’. It’s from a Facebook post by Dave Aplin. Dave was the garden assistant employed by the BBC in 1989/90 to help Harry Dodson during the making of the 3rd of the ‘Victorian Kitchen Garden’ series called ‘Victorian Flower Garden’. Until recently, though, he was the Senior Executive of Sharjah Botanic Garden, in the UAE. He now works as an independent consultant. The original post can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/76711321628/permalink/10158262167696629/ “Here is a ‘new’ Victorian glasshouse being erected. The wood is Accoya (Pinus radiata) the cast iron salvaged from an… Read more »