Autumn/Winter 2019

There’s been plenty of colour in the Walled Garden throughout the summer and now in the autumn, there’s still lots to see. We benefit from the glorious backdrop of the Stratford Park arboretum:  stand on the Garden lawn and look out beyond the walls, to the oaks and beeches, the cedars and hollies. Within the Walled Garden, Cleo Mussi’s planting scheme is delivering all-year round interest…something that is not easy to achieve. 

The pumpkins at the pergola have been much more successful this year, thanks to the help of Sarah Parker (and organic seaweed fertiliser!), including a group of knitters [pictured] lead by Sarah’s mum who created colourful knitted supports for the gourds. While still not as plentiful as Sarah would like, there were enough pumpkins and gourds to provide a Garden Trail at half term and a gloriously bright display at the Auricula Theatre, created by a teenage visitor with help from Garden Volunteer Caroline. We were able to add some of our own collection of heritage apples, too - our first real, though small, crop from the orchard.

Up on the bank below the hedgerow, there are the bright red stalks of the Cornus, red leaves of the Hydrangea Quercifolia, and some wonderful autumn chrysanthemums. As a contrast, the silver-grey Cotton Thistles make for a dramatic introduction to the Garden, surviving through the wind and rain, while up on the White border near the Pavilion, the Rubus and Miss Willmott’s Ghost are striking features as autumn sets in. 

Regular visitors will notice some activity at the Meadow. We’ve had an invasion of knapweed this summer, and whilst the sea of purple has looked lovely, the plant is now very dominant. We decided to experiment and take drastic action and have been hard at work digging out big, well-established knapweed clumps (with tough roots). We will re-seed some areas in a bid to balance the show of meadow flowers next year.

The dipping pond has had a ‘makeover’, too, with the addition of more, larger-leafed water lilies. The aim is to cover the surface of the pond, with the lily leaves and blooms, while the water beneath stays cool and fresh.

Currently we are working with the Collections Assistant, Fern, to create two new interpretation panels for the Garden, to be installed after the Museum’s Winter closure (opening times). Garden volunteers have contributed ideas and photographs for the panels, which will show a few images of the Walled Garden before it was opened to the public.

We had a good crop of runner beans again this summer, which along with soft fruit earlier in the season were sold at reception. The plums and Bramley apples, in contrast with the overwhelming crop of last year seem to have taken a year off maybe as ‘recovery’ or due to the seasonal weather conditions.

We have plans to try to produce more edible plants next year, and linked with this, we’ve begun a new regime for making compost, with the aim of producing enough to serve our needs in the Garden. Geoff has been busy sorting out the compost bays.

Meanwhile, Caroline collected flower seeds, which are available at the Museum, along with plants, some donated by visitors, but mostly from cuttings from the Walled Garden and prepared by Marion with her helpers. The men are busy chopping firewood, always welcome this time of year.

As cold weather approaches, we are leaving stalks and seed heads to add winter interest, for as long as they hold up to the wind and rain. Then there are bulbs to plant, shrubs to trim. The Bobbly border has had a preliminary ‘haircut’ from Cleo’s snippers; we have had to remove one of our Bay trees which was looking very unhappy; and there’s plenty of tidying up to do. Every Monday, the volunteer gardeners move in.

Other news is that we are going to look after the border at the front of the Museum, by the old front door into the mansion. The Park team have kindly cleared the ground for us, ready for some new planting. So- Watch this Space!

Ann Taylor (and the other garden volunteers)