Walled Garden Volunteers' Blog September 2026
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This month, the Gardeners are celebrating the success of our (unofficial) photographer, Philippa. Along with others from the Walled Garden team, Philippa entered some of her photographs of irises into the West and Midlands Iris Group Virtual Show 2026.
She was very successful; her iris photographs have been awarded 1st and 2nd prize in the ‘Garden section’ of the competition! Congratulations , Philippa!
Sue and Penny represent us at Iris Society meetings, and in 2025, the Walled Gardeners were given the first ever ‘group’ membership of the Society. We have a wonderful collection of irises in the Garden and the Society is very supportive.
If you visit the The West and Midlands Iris Group website and go to the ‘Virtual Show 2026 - Garden section’ you can see Philippa’s winning photographs alongside all the other entries.
And so, back in the Walled Garden, we begin the autumn tasks.
The plums ripened very early this year but were over quickly, as was the pear ‘Doyenne de Comice’. The other pear tree produced no fruit at all this time. We gathered as many plums as we could, though some were impossible to reach, and we’ve since had remedial pruning carried out. And we did have some grapes!
A few of the apple trees have not done so well, but the Bramley Seedling is laden – plenty for apple pies! Francis, Simon and Gary came to scythe the meadow last week, giving a different feel to that corner of the Garden, revealing the orchard trees.
Nearby, our herbs have thrived under Nicola’s careful attention, while at the pergola, Aramanth and pumpkins loved the sunshine.
Overall, the Garden is recovering well now that we have had rain - which also means that weeds are appearing at an alarming rate! – But, the Daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance’, much admired by visitors, succumbed to the heat and old age. A nursery owner has told us that this plant is usually short-lived. ‘Eternal Fragrance’ was one of the first plants we put into the White Border, near the Summoner sculpture, in 2016, and it had flowered every year without fail.
Soon, we shall be celebrating again, to mark the 10 years of the Walled Garden at the Museum being open to the public after the project to rescue it from dereliction. Perhaps we should begin events to mark the success of the Garden with a new, sweet-scented, Daphne.
