The online forum for the Walled Kitchen Gardens Network with all the latest news, events and musings.
February news from Gilmerton House Kitchen Garden
Our first newsletter of the year, February 2017 Wonderful to see our volunteers back at the garden last week for our first session of this new year. The garden felt wonderfully peaceful – just that point in the year when everything draws breath and you can almost see the natural turnaround towards spring. The snow drops around the house here are stunning and looking so bright and fresh in today’s brilliant sunshine – you can really catch the lovely scent of them in the still air and they are such a welcome indicator of longer days ahead. Our current volunteer session is still on a Thursday afternoon from 1pm till 4pm… Read more »
Lighthouse Gardens
Gillian Blease writes. . . . . We are a small market garden in West Ardnamurchan growing and selling produce to local residents and visitors to the area. The Lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point has 3 wonderful walled gardens – originally used by the lighthouse keepers for crops and livestock – now currently empty – which we are planning to develop in partnership with the the lighthouse trust. There is a disused well in one of the gardens and a stone clamp/cold store in another. It is as far west as you can get on the British mainland with wonderful views and wildlife, and whilst it benefits from the mild temperatures… Read more »
FORUM 2016 at Dumfries House, Ayrshire. 8th/9th Oct.
This year the theme for the Forum was Community Gardens. SPEAKERS. BRIAN CORR, Head of Gardens Dumfries House. KATE RYCROFT, Amisfield community gardens. LOIS AMOS, Bedfords Park walled gardens. MARY DAWSON AND CHRISTINE MBYAE, Bohemia in Hastings community gardens. After registration on Saturday we were treated to talks covering the broadest range of projects, timelines and budgets imaginable. From massive to mini, millions to minuscule and months to ‘work – in – progress’, the speakers were all inspiring. Brian described the huge challenge of getting the then derelict gardens at Dumfries House into a state fit to be opened by Her Majesty the Queen within a very tight deadline. Kate gave us an… Read more »
NOV/DEC 2016 MUSINGS
NOV/DEC 2016 MUSINGS by Maz Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Walled Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire The pumpkins and squashes gathered for Halloween are still frighteningly good, especially the ghostly white ones, which are a talking point. The Autumn colours have been magnificent this year, especially in the Formal Gardens and the Japanese Garden. The person(s) tasked with picking up every leaf from the moss in this garden are not envied. The lawns in Charlotte’s Garden have been scarified and several of the Tuesday Team valiantly raked up huge piles of moss and thatch ready to put on the trailer. In the Kitchen Garden two of us started to sweep underneath… Read more »
SEPT/OCT 2016 MUSINGS
SEPT/OCT 2016 MUSINGS by Maz Gardening Volunteer at Tatton Park Walled Kitchen Garden, Knutsford, Cheshire The first Tuesday in September saw the GB Tour of Britain Cycle Race visit Tatton Park twice. As the roads in the area would be closed when the volunteer team wished to ingress and egress the Park, they reluctantly decided not to turn up for work that day. The Garden Shop experienced a sinking feeling when the floor sank into an old inspection pit used in the past by car mechanics to service Lord Egerton’s vehicles. Fortunately the Joinery Team soon fixed the problem and the Garden Shop was open again quickly for visitors… Read more »
Michael Wickenden : 1955-2016
One of the highlights of this year’s Forum in Scotland was the visit to Cally Gardens. We just missed Michael who was plant hunting in Myanmar. This from the Callygardens website; www.callygardens.co.uk It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Michael Wickenden of Cally Gardens, Scotland. Michael died on the 11th October 2016, whilst trekking in northern Myanmar (Burma). He was 61. A great gardener, plantsman, explorer, photographer, teacher and friend; an inspiration to so many. He will be hugely missed. A funeral will be held close to his family in Sussex. A celebration of his life will be held in Scotland at a later date…. Read more »
Vacancy for Head Gardener for National Trust gardens and landscapes in Surrey.
As the Head Gardener for Surrey Landscapes you’ll be leading a team of gardeners and volunteers to manage a portfolio of diverse landscapes and gardens. This is a new role within the portfolio, so it’s a great opportunity for you to make it your own. The portfolio includes Claremont, a landscape garden famed for its place in history as a Royal palace. Winkworth Arboretum, an internationally renowned garden with unique plants, and large visitor numbers each year, as well as Oak Hurst Cottage, a 16th century home providing a glimpse into the past and Holmwood Common, an ancient common once owned by King Harold and William the Conqueror. Based at… Read more »
Hesleyside Hall. Gardener’s house and Walled Garden to let.
House for long let with walled garden, deep in the Northumberland National Park near Bellingham. A garden-loving tenant is sought for this newly restored south-facing stone house next to its own 2.2 acre 18th Century walled garden and orchard. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 reception, oil CH, greenhouses, a garage and numerous outbuildings. The rent is negotiable in the region of £650 per month. Anna Charlton writes: Hesleyside Hall is the only large historic house in the Northumberland National Park and has been the ancestral home of the infamous Border Reiver Charlton clan since the reign of Richard I. It is getting increasingly difficult to maintain and conserve… Read more »
Vacancy for Gardener at Holker Hall, Cumbria
Holker Hall are looking to recruit a motivated skilled gardener to join our team at Holker. The varied gardens have been developed by generations of the Cavendish family and consist of 25 acres of formal borders, lawns, meadows, topiary, water features, woodland, and plant collections. This is a great opportunity to get involved in the ongoing development of the gardens and improve your horticultural skills and knowledge. Salary £18,500 Closing date 30th September 2016 http://www.holker.co.uk/holker-estate/jobs-at-holker/
Forum update
UPDATE FOR THE WKGN ANNUAL FORUM, 8TH-9TH OCTOBER 2016 Although not officially part of the Forum, on Friday morning, 7th October we are thinking about meeting at Culzean Castle Walled Garden, Ayrshire, prior to the weekend. If enough people are interested we will get a group together to visit this magnificent 18thC Walled Kitchen Garden. On Saturday morning, October 8th Brian Corr, Head of Gardens at Dumfries House, will talk about the Restoration of its Walled Garden. He will conduct tours of the garden in the afternoon. Kate Rycroft from the Community Garden at Amisfield, in East Lothian, will talk about their past work at its restoration there and the gardens… Read more »