Walled Garden Volunteers' Blog July 2026
/The Glorious Meadow
These last few weeks we've tried to keep the Walled Garden looking as good as we can, for visitors to enjoy. So, every morning, as the staff arrive to prepare the Museum for the day ahead, we’ve also been there, in the Garden, rescuing thirsty vegetables and to spot-water the flower beds.
The Meadow (pictured above), we can leave to itself, thank goodness, and it looks glorious. It's about to enter its ‘purple phase’ as Knapweed comes into flower. We are lucky; the Garden looks very lovely in the quiet early mornings before the glare of later sunshine. On these days, blackbirds and sparrows appear and sing to us, knowing there will soon be drops of water to drink - and the big crows which have strutted about the lawn take off as we invade their space (...they think the Garden belongs to them).
We soak the raised beds and vegetables at the pergola with our efficient, porous soaker hose, set up by Sarah, and then wheel out our old, kinky, leaky hose reel (pictured) - It has certainly seen better days and sadly must be replaced soon. We only spot water against a list: all pots must be watered; and the plant holding bays; blueberries, dahlias, dye plants, bamboo, the plants in the ‘dolly tubs’, ferns in pots, the sale plants.
Only the White Border has received regular watering, as we had to do some re-planting there, after attempting to dig out rampant white Camassias in the Spring. The new plants are holding up well, amongst long-established white Phlox (pictured below).
Then we work along the beds. It’s a slow process… and useful. Now we can see which flowers can stand the hot, dry temperatures in the Walled Garden - and we can learn from this.
Pictured below, Achillea Cerise Queen and other achilleas love the sun, as does the Germander in the herb bed - covered in bumblebees, too. Elsewhere, Verbena ‘Bampton’ mingles with Geranium Rozanne.
The roses (pictured below) are rewarding us for our attention … a little water each morning and they are flowering happily in the sunshine.
Meanwhile, Eryngium giganteum ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’ is very happy without a drink, as are the grasses and Stachys in the Mediterranean border.
Elsewhere, plants are showing the strain, with hydrangeas, salvias and even Agapanthus struggling.
But, we can look forward to some sweet grapes from ‘Dame Margaret Weston’s’ vine later this year!
