tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44295989167304517082024-03-13T06:47:23.831+00:00The Walled Garden blogOrganic gardening and nature notes from Northumberland's leading garden writerSusie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-10850296638702549392011-04-16T16:27:00.009+00:002011-04-18T08:39:47.179+00:00Spring at Great Dixter<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwGXPQggUCzhuXJF8hBwYpDxnC2IxajiWqG7w_1aBNOL_waomYP7RBui72NlQaQ4rvnriHKL_ZfICl6m4Y-y052OhGDN21MAu3AhCtxiHQuAWyZ19LjD17RITecoqW13vUnVJOv_GJbSQ/s1600/thewalledgardenblog.great+dixter+tulips"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwGXPQggUCzhuXJF8hBwYpDxnC2IxajiWqG7w_1aBNOL_waomYP7RBui72NlQaQ4rvnriHKL_ZfICl6m4Y-y052OhGDN21MAu3AhCtxiHQuAWyZ19LjD17RITecoqW13vUnVJOv_GJbSQ/s400/thewalledgardenblog.great+dixter+tulips" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596219078284694258" /></a>This week I went to see a garden that is weeks ahead of mine!! Being at Great Dixter reminded me what a huge difference there is between Sussex and the North; here we have trees just starting into leaf, there I saw a bluebell wood full out under hazel coppice. The journey back on the train was like seeing the progression of the seasons in reverse.<br /><br />What a joy it was to visit Dixter. I felt so at ease there, so relaxed, lulled by the washes of colour, the unpretentious and happy mixture of bulbs, perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, topiary, wood and stone. The tulips were at their best, here subtle combinations of purple with silver foliage of cardoons, there jazzy orange with blue. There is such a sense of playfulness and exuberance in the way it is planted, Christopher Lloyd's spirit infusing the place, yet not static like a historic garden that remains stuck in a planting plan and never changes. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby0zJndFHrVkAmfMsF23h6iU1kg9P7RSThEYL71rUCMVzjtBkQacjwOfl6-gZGGWbjwKP5i667aCSNeQUCx9hAWwaKjHm9Dr8DkZYI6jyowIgHKQufWQ_eSgbgN5t3VmL7-7SSIizzqo/s1600/thewalledgardenblog.greatdixter.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby0zJndFHrVkAmfMsF23h6iU1kg9P7RSThEYL71rUCMVzjtBkQacjwOfl6-gZGGWbjwKP5i667aCSNeQUCx9hAWwaKjHm9Dr8DkZYI6jyowIgHKQufWQ_eSgbgN5t3VmL7-7SSIizzqo/s400/thewalledgardenblog.greatdixter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596218982479190850" /></a>I loved the use of aged, silvered wood, tall poles to support honeysuckles, or to grow clematis behind espaliered fruit trees as in this photo. The wooden staves have sagged and settled like a ship, split lenthways providing gaps that ladybirds can overwinter in, giving a rhythmn and patina to the dry wood.<br /><br />I came home inspired and dissatisfied with my own garden at the same time!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-50091307762410320192011-03-16T13:57:00.003+00:002011-03-16T14:16:26.946+00:00Lovely Amdega summerhouse<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzzKI7l_VT6NWcExm5umsP4iZtJWfGVqUiy72pt632onVablGQ2EALdLBkgI3YMtkrCJatjjW5INvQs65J8bUa8nwQEwmoghbnxtNt14UOKiY80y67kVaY6z0Xk4owEIj4nILLpBkTdk/s1600/Bridge+Eal+-+Aug+%25C2%25A9+Tom+White+Blog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzzKI7l_VT6NWcExm5umsP4iZtJWfGVqUiy72pt632onVablGQ2EALdLBkgI3YMtkrCJatjjW5INvQs65J8bUa8nwQEwmoghbnxtNt14UOKiY80y67kVaY6z0Xk4owEIj4nILLpBkTdk/s400/Bridge+Eal+-+Aug+%25C2%25A9+Tom+White+Blog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584677268071214690" /></a>Our lovely Amdega summerhouse has been the perfect place to get out of the cold March winds at the tail end of a winter that just seems to have gone on and on... It is painted a soft, pebble grey, like the colour of collared dove's feathers, a colour that fits harmoniously with the plants around it; on one side is a collection of greyish hostas, on the other (not yet filled out) are pale yellows and blues from eryngiums, roseroot, coreopsis and an unusual lemon coloured clover. <br /><br />The roof is made of cedar shingles, tightly fitting together, which age to a lichen grey. They give a lovely scent, woody and evocative, and the evening light comes slanting in from the west through the pretty windowpanes. I love the way the roof line flicks up gently at the eaves, a subtle piece of design. It is hand made from Western Red Cedar which is known for its durability and resistance to warping and shrinking - very necessary to cope with the sort of winter we have just come through! All in all, it is a thing of beauty as well as being a restful place to sit out of the wind.<br /><br />For more pictures of Amdega summerhouses go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/59596608@N04/ and here is a press release from Amdega below -<br /><br />PRESS RELEASE<br /><br />Indoor living, outdoors<br /><br />Handmade, cedar summerhouses from the world’s oldest supplier of bespoke conservatories<br /><br />AMDEGA, the world’s oldest maker of conservatories and orangeries, launches new summerhouses for 2011.<br /><br />Part of the quintessential country garden for generations, and more and more an urban retreat from the pace of city life, summerhouses are the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors whatever the season. <br /><br />The new summerhouses from Amdega feature eleven different designs made to the highest standard, each with their own unique detailing that can be adapted for a variety of purposes including a tranquil home office, inspirational studio, gym, or even a den for the kids.<br /><br />Split across two core ranges, ‘The Chelsea’ and ‘The Hampton,’ customers can choose the design, colour and size that reflects their own individual style and matches their home and way of life. <br /><br />The ‘Chelsea’ range, the more luxuriant and traditional of the two, bears Amdega’s signature style with distinct features including high cedar shingled roofs with elegantly cambered eaves and original hand leaded lights made from individual panes of glass. <br /><br />The ‘Hampton’ range offers more contemporary designs with functionality, ease of installation and durability at the forefront of their design. Each model offers clean, contemporary lines incorporating Georgian style window panes, cedar slatted roofs and double doors.<br /><br />With a reputation built upon delivering the highest quality available in the marketplace, Amdega has chosen the finest materials, working closely with its in-house team of craftsmen, from joiners to glaziers, in the creation of the new products. <br /><br />With this in mind, each of the new summerhouses are hand-crafted from Western Red cedar and other sustainable timbers, offering customers durability and protection against adverse weather conditions which can often lead other woods to shrink, warp or twist. <br /><br />In line with the launch of Amdega summerhouses, the company is also launching a new website focused entirely on its summerhouse range.<br /><br />Amdega summerhouses start from £2,760 and are available in a range of colours and decorative stains including Slate Green, Zinnia Red, Nigella Blue, Walnut, Mahogany and Maple (Amdega’s exclusive Botanical Colour Palette). <br /><br />For more information on Amdega summerhouses please call 0800 980 0797 or visit <br />www.amdega-summerhouses.co.uk<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-33247412911662296602010-12-09T13:19:00.003+00:002010-12-09T13:45:47.983+00:00Monty Don returns to Gardeners' World!I am just so delighted that Monty Don is returning to Gardeners' World! In the midst of all this snow misery it is such good news to me and to so many gardeners I know. It's not that I don't respect Toby Buckland's extensive knowledge (which knowledge I felt he was never allowed to really show by the programme makers) - he has worked in horticulture since leaving school and trained and supervised at Cambridge Botanic Garden. I just hated the falsly chatty, quick topic change, plant up a pot in 30 secs kind of programme that it happened to become just as Toby took over. But Monty Don's return <em>must </em> be because the Beeb now realise that they alientated so many gardeners with that style of programme and that Monty Don will bring back the viewing figures.<br /><br />Monty Don is equal in my pantheon to Geoff Hamilton (whom I still miss). I pray that the producers won't devalue what he says by making him have to fit in with some cosy, cup-of-tea, jokey style. If they think that it appeals more to younger <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PRkL39cu2MGMZd467HHy1Nw1uTZlJo5xZVBGKnlHqy0iG64UQp5WSdBq4jxn1ab5QlnC-fA7qJBpBKtvCb3aAInt1u_1UWuXezD2SZrysm2i2zVm8-gJyxzlzyHlNz5VE18Zl-2taGs/s1600/thewalledgardenblog.snow+dec+10"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PRkL39cu2MGMZd467HHy1Nw1uTZlJo5xZVBGKnlHqy0iG64UQp5WSdBq4jxn1ab5QlnC-fA7qJBpBKtvCb3aAInt1u_1UWuXezD2SZrysm2i2zVm8-gJyxzlzyHlNz5VE18Zl-2taGs/s320/thewalledgardenblog.snow+dec+10" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548677845165487874" /></a><br />viewers, I think they have that wrong. My daughter has her first allotment and has been watching Beechgrove Garden online rather than Gardeners' World. I would love to see more satisfying looks at gardens (ie not too quick a glimpse) and focus on different plants of the kind that Carol Klein has been doing. The most absorbing programmes in recent years have been the Gardeners' World Specials - Carol Klein's recent look at botany & science for example - and my favourite of all, Allotments presented by ..... Monty Don.<br /><br />So thank you for cheering up my snowbound weeks and here's a picture of snow just to show that I really can't do any gardening!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-81565252216367662112010-12-02T12:05:00.003+00:002010-12-02T12:08:47.162+00:00Snow!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nr5C5oZe568SCDC_aij71hpm4auVRcb_7Qp8hoAFny3mWo2C0J-3EyQUwK1oXOz23TVlJLUIDEuqrQ15OgXwZP4F4UC2f6PnAjUNYoISmO9441X41IjeOthRCjJ9yuZqrYmmxXBwTJI/s1600/Compost+bins+in+snow+-+thewalledgardenblog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nr5C5oZe568SCDC_aij71hpm4auVRcb_7Qp8hoAFny3mWo2C0J-3EyQUwK1oXOz23TVlJLUIDEuqrQ15OgXwZP4F4UC2f6PnAjUNYoISmO9441X41IjeOthRCjJ9yuZqrYmmxXBwTJI/s320/Compost+bins+in+snow+-+thewalledgardenblog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546054893083456274" /></a>With snow up to my knees, it looks like gardening will be on hold for a long time. Even last winter there wasn't such a depth of snow. Just look at the compost bins with their swags of white - and to the right - the spade which had been left stuck in the soil of the vegetable garden!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-82740629171749797362010-11-21T11:48:00.003+00:002010-11-21T12:08:16.628+00:00Garden art and bread<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfA74FmjVhjXoKpcQthbfPM2iPDr2xkK-7uhYPy1f-5R_YuIbNuiwudGYNpuOYcxRJHQL72B75nMiyqiDTeS2Ij1vcqGvry22VHVB4-fVMqDiMJnQC94AzWPDNEJbFVAxFoJ2w2LLnh8g/s1600/thewalledgardenblog.bakery+exhibition"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfA74FmjVhjXoKpcQthbfPM2iPDr2xkK-7uhYPy1f-5R_YuIbNuiwudGYNpuOYcxRJHQL72B75nMiyqiDTeS2Ij1vcqGvry22VHVB4-fVMqDiMJnQC94AzWPDNEJbFVAxFoJ2w2LLnh8g/s320/thewalledgardenblog.bakery+exhibition" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541969529058052850" /></a><br />I had a lovely comment from an anonymous person (thank you) on my last posting who offered a memory of being in Chesters Walled Garden amongst its amazing and tame wildlife. Memories of the garden live on in all sorts of different ways and from now until nearly Christmas you can see Kim Lewis's quite wonderful prints in the lovely setting of Allendale Bakery and Cafe. It's not really as if you need an excuse to visit this warm, cosy cafe on a winter's day with its fresh baking smells, bowls of home made soup and the best scones I have ever tasted. Kim's work looks so right in this setting and is being much admired.<br /><br />The prints show 12 iconic plants from the walled garden, plants I chose to represent each of the four walls. I wrote 50 words of text to go with each (keeping to few words is harder than writing lots...) and we talked together about the plants natures, what they FELT like, what they meant to me, and Kim has got all this miraculously into her linocuts. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9JCIVQ_uULlNFuYrsgeV6F0-qgK1w98xrqSwmEPShxjq6kB7SGRol61edelyfAJ80pE3abTcRPjWKqOvMKWwfxGdf6VqXOJBcs2E1Y9Xv3iziGjKE9FF8C4NcV4Jc9HyPSZjqXqD23hc/s1600/thewalledgardenblog.bakery+exhibition+2"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9JCIVQ_uULlNFuYrsgeV6F0-qgK1w98xrqSwmEPShxjq6kB7SGRol61edelyfAJ80pE3abTcRPjWKqOvMKWwfxGdf6VqXOJBcs2E1Y9Xv3iziGjKE9FF8C4NcV4Jc9HyPSZjqXqD23hc/s320/thewalledgardenblog.bakery+exhibition+2" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541972422985322594" /></a>This is the second airing for the exhibition after being seen at the Queen's Hall Arts centre in Hexham this summer. In addition to the prints of Chesters (which Kim entitled 'Sanctuary') she is showing a set of prints of lilies also very beautiful. You can read about the Bakery and its breadmaking courses at www.allendalebakery.com - there is lots of parking or you can park in the marketplace in Allendale and walk for one mile along the river to get to it. The footpath goes past the hollow into an old mine working where a stream issues out of the stone entrance. A great thing to do on a winter day.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-64960389394141201502010-11-09T14:59:00.004+00:002010-11-09T15:33:32.570+00:00An autumn trip to Scampston<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNyODmduXJRk8KbiV591vLernekB2zt7fDt1vAKyP0NkwPzPwqnR0z3LP6aZ0rX7HUgd8dsQcDEyEdCb0GszVKte02LburPnIyVQ0Z2iIV8TEJAAgLHy3LZ9MlPP6CKMhX0JPK0nfNgg/s1600/Scampston+Oct+2010+-+Susie+White+%252830%2529+Perennial+meadow+with+Katsua+Grove+behind.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRNyODmduXJRk8KbiV591vLernekB2zt7fDt1vAKyP0NkwPzPwqnR0z3LP6aZ0rX7HUgd8dsQcDEyEdCb0GszVKte02LburPnIyVQ0Z2iIV8TEJAAgLHy3LZ9MlPP6CKMhX0JPK0nfNgg/s320/Scampston+Oct+2010+-+Susie+White+%252830%2529+Perennial+meadow+with+Katsua+Grove+behind.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537567147752934018" /></a> It's a three hour journey from Northumberland but recently I went down to see the walled garden at Scampston in Yorkshire - for the first time. Up til now I have been too busy working to be able to go but when my friend Jill suggested a trip, I jumped at the chance. Reminded how lovely it is at this time of the year by an article in Country Living, we set off, knowing that when we arrived we would also get a good cup of coffee - the restaurent has a reputation for its food. It didn't disappoint and there were files of press cuttings so we could read about the garden at the same time.<br /><br />The recommended path around the garden takes you on a journey inside the walls but separated from the various compartments that it is divided into by a line of pleached trees. So we emerged at the far end to look into a garden of curving grasses. Having seen so many photographs of this, I had expected them to be taller and have more impact. We enjoyed the contrast though with the silent garden in the next enclosure, a large, sky-reflecting and serene pool, its surface glassy because it was a still day. The gardeners must have been in the middle of clipping the yew cylinders that are regularly planted in this green space because there were strange wooden structures that provided a template for the shapes. Hinged and made of curving wood they reminded me of whalebone corsets! Perhaps the gardeners were having a break, but the downed tools amplified the silence.<br /><br />There is much to see at Scampston wihtin the high walls of the garden - cutting garden, vegetable garden, a delighful greenhouse that we could tantalisingly only look into from outside as it needs repair, long strips of perennial plantings backed by yew hedges, shrubby areas, undulating yew hedges and a viewing mound to see the patterns of it all. But the most anticipated was the Perennial Meadow and it was very lovely. From every angle there were different combinations of seedheads, grasses and exciting forms, and we ended up spending a long time just wandering around it taking in the planting details. <br /><br />At one end of this stands a Katsura grove, a shimmering of autumn leaf colours from multi-stemmed Cercidophyllum trees and as the leaves die they give off a heady and evocative scent of burnt sugar. Its sensuality was enhanced by a great circle of grasses, the tall variety 'Transparent' waving over our heads. Lunch was simply delicious; I had a tremendous Ceasar salad, one of the best ever, beautifully put together and balanced. The long drive back over moor and dale was lit by evening sun so we didn't mind the travelling quite so much and it had been a good day.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-16077322686364878222010-08-11T08:59:00.003+00:002010-08-11T09:29:56.573+00:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-8sA8FUSiFgdQP8G4nW_X2RDj861ZnYoCUbHeVDQmfX36e33B1PuvsglYhkpxwnrV-8SfOQMTar-_wnaNQ6N-XJxi_pl60yLvPyfvBUbGESx6e2q1tuYyTaJ3UXib1_qC47m1yNDhnI/s1600/Carrycoats+Hall+apple+path+blog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-8sA8FUSiFgdQP8G4nW_X2RDj861ZnYoCUbHeVDQmfX36e33B1PuvsglYhkpxwnrV-8SfOQMTar-_wnaNQ6N-XJxi_pl60yLvPyfvBUbGESx6e2q1tuYyTaJ3UXib1_qC47m1yNDhnI/s320/Carrycoats+Hall+apple+path+blog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504076960829412850" /></a>With Chesters Walled Garden now closed, I am concentrating more on my garden writing and there are several articles out at the moment; in <span style="font-style:italic;">Amateur Gardening</span> is a piece on a remarkable garden at 10 Low Row, North Bitchburn, Co. Durham, which is open for the National Gardens Scheme, where 95% of the plants have been grown from seed or cuttings by Ann Pickering. In the current Northumbrian magazine is an article on Newbiggin House, where Daphne Scott-Harden has created an amazingly rich garden at 1,000 feet up - and in the previous issue of the magazine I wrote about the garden at Carrycoats Hall. This garden is open this coming Sunday when the annual Thockrington church fete is held there.<br /><br />It's the only chance in the year to see this Northumbrian garden, a garden made in a wild and empty seeming landscape, typical of the uplands of this area. The trees that shelter it nestle in a slight dip in the land, so it is always a surprise to me to drive along the narrow road in the featureless moorland and see the house and its two walled gardens. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5AEgETMaY2eT3ps_QRIE4I975OHmh17wtr-Be7KELGTLOeYQWFfgnLXoZORWoCXmL_8A5_2A6P80EX0-WJhJxEVB0uxDRyGn99-RojaC6AvAI0cfSFWQzVDThmBX4K6rFhUGPbeuKZYw/s1600/Carrycoats+Hall+border+blog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5AEgETMaY2eT3ps_QRIE4I975OHmh17wtr-Be7KELGTLOeYQWFfgnLXoZORWoCXmL_8A5_2A6P80EX0-WJhJxEVB0uxDRyGn99-RojaC6AvAI0cfSFWQzVDThmBX4K6rFhUGPbeuKZYw/s320/Carrycoats+Hall+border+blog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504076607364993266" /></a>One has a very productive crop of vegetables and fruit, the other a country mix of flowers and vegetables with old fruit trees and box hedges. It's unpretentious and lovely, come about by a slow evolution and has a feeling of quiet seclusion. <br /><br />Throckrington Church Fete is on August 15th starting at 2.30pm. There are teas, stalls, raffle, games, plants, and you can wander in the walled gardens, shrubbery, woodland walks and see the new perennial garden.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-85131974561682452042010-06-09T08:49:00.004+00:002010-06-09T09:12:36.095+00:00Chesters Walled Garden exhibition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVp8JFL5PdzwwdBfBY5iqhMy4o_BMP6ZOKJtkkfMWS-GFeZkrXQGtuaFdf_qqB_Lte0W4zWQHBFQ2v3rMTB6K8IIKdpHz7UWkwUPedOvzDnEMmX8leDJbMPm8EQgtvAEtfPA_tSZfwNrc/s1600/Chesters+Walled+Garden+exhibition.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVp8JFL5PdzwwdBfBY5iqhMy4o_BMP6ZOKJtkkfMWS-GFeZkrXQGtuaFdf_qqB_Lte0W4zWQHBFQ2v3rMTB6K8IIKdpHz7UWkwUPedOvzDnEMmX8leDJbMPm8EQgtvAEtfPA_tSZfwNrc/s320/Chesters+Walled+Garden+exhibition.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480694383387736210" /></a> I have thought of several creative projects to celebrate the life of the garden rather than just let it peter out as it closes and one of these happened this week. The Queen's Hall arts centre in Hexham is hosting an exhibition of work inspired by Chesters Walled Garden, with artists, printmakers, photographers and a ceramic artist putting work into a wonderful mixed show. The preview was last week and these photos show just one aspect of it - a collaboration between me and my long time friend Kim Lewis, who is well known as author and illustrator of children's books. Kim entitled it 'Sanctuary'.<br /><br />I chose 12 special plants to represent all the planting in the garden and selected 3 for each garden wall, north, south, east and west, writing a short piece of text, just 50 words to express what I felt about them and the memories that they hold. Kim then illustrated them in her delightful, expressive linocuts, each one getting to the essence of the plant's nature. We discussed them as she went along, so that they have exactly the right 'feel' for the plant's way of growing and the emotion that it evokes in me. Using a square format to echo the four walls of the garden, they are like arts and crafts tiles, very lovely and much admired at the preview. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMxh8mUAF1aG502BYWpel0o1mAVuZFCLX9Vhinq_F2UUBi4KX2l5aeZ73FyJAm4D1d5fkinX-1mBj6BbTmotlMjbFuPuCYe_vNk15xJ18W0ZnOCCd_vzkoJhFTHEM5msaNJfiYawLTBb0/s1600/SANY1397.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMxh8mUAF1aG502BYWpel0o1mAVuZFCLX9Vhinq_F2UUBi4KX2l5aeZ73FyJAm4D1d5fkinX-1mBj6BbTmotlMjbFuPuCYe_vNk15xJ18W0ZnOCCd_vzkoJhFTHEM5msaNJfiYawLTBb0/s320/SANY1397.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480693546725601234" /></a> <br />A leaflet with all the text and prints on it, which Kim has called a 'keepsake', a lovely word, is on sale at the Queen's Hall for just £2, a price only possible because of the help from the printers, Alphaset Design in Chillingham Road, Newcastle. I wanted it to be a low cost so that as many people as possible bought it as a memory of the garden. http://www.newcastleprinters.com/<br /><br />As well as Kim and my collaboration, there is work by Northumberland artists: Birtley Aris, Beryl Dixon, Karen Melvin, Brian Waters, Margot Waters, Tony Jolly, Janet Dickson, Eileen Heywood, Rosalind Reid, Mary-Ann Rogers, Jane Veitch and Rosie Villiers-Stuart. Photographers Simon Fraser and my son, Tom White, have also put work in and Jo Aris is exhibiting a series of meticulously made beads that she has fashioned from the soil of the garden collected from various places important to her. Like tribal artefacts they are laid out in a glass case alongside the memories book to which people are invited to contribute. Add to all this the memorabilia on display and it has resulted in a magical evocation of the garden. It runs until 3rd July.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-40455281707902454532010-05-02T15:35:00.002+00:002010-05-02T15:57:50.785+00:00End of an era<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxa2m3MsHvBE8FEGF5ks__JN2yP2B3KFpJaSgCyEdDgcJrFKAt-gKJl14VhXsyVae7-vxHmb4XzA1JzN1suvTvVzMXgn1QGm6dwqcpKr_N3wUhWkYDlVMiqsNVWylqZc5zhRnyayog1s/s1600/chesters+walled+garden+-+daffodils+-+blog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxa2m3MsHvBE8FEGF5ks__JN2yP2B3KFpJaSgCyEdDgcJrFKAt-gKJl14VhXsyVae7-vxHmb4XzA1JzN1suvTvVzMXgn1QGm6dwqcpKr_N3wUhWkYDlVMiqsNVWylqZc5zhRnyayog1s/s320/chesters+walled+garden+-+daffodils+-+blog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466697356696071730" /></a><br />It had to come sometime, but I have now handed in the keys to Chesters Walled Garden, and the door is closed. It was a lightly sunny morning and I had a last cup of tea, listening to the jubilant bird song and sitting on a large stone block by the hundred year old espalier apple trees. With no plants in lines in the sales area, the benches taken out and the signs down, it had a feeling of unreality for me, like a seaside resort in winter. <br /><br />I have divided up and taken out a lot of plants, but much remains. What I can never substitute is the wonderful, crumbly soil, the product of two hundred years work and the vibrant, diverse and often surprising wildlife that I encountered every day - the wren landing on the visitors book in the shop, the stoat I met on a path in winter, the duck who led her ducklings into the sunken greenhouse, the pheasant chicks that so delighted the visitors. Irreplacable and precious.<br /><br />What I take with me are the things that the garden has taught me and which I can now use to make a new (though private) garden, plus the knowledge I have gained from those 23 years that I can use in writing magazine articles and in my lectures and courses. The plan is that my new garden will open just for the National Gardens Scheme, when the blank canvas I am working on is good enough for people to look at. I shall carry on blogging and writing about the wildlife, gardens and joys of gardening in this special part of the world.<br /><br />If you are able to come to Hexham, the Queen's Hall Arts Centre is having an exhibtion of the work of some of the artists who have been inspired by Chesters Walled Garden over the years - painters, printmakers, ceramic artists, photographers and more. This starts on May 29th and runs right the way through June. My contribution is a collaboration with the printmaker (and well known children's book illustrator) Kim Lewis; entitled 'Sanctuary' it is a series of 12 of Kim's very beautiful linocuts to accompany text that I have written about some of the iconic plants of the walled garden, the things that made it special. It would be lovely to have as many people as possible visit the exhibition, and there is a special Garden Memories book on display for which contributions are invited. Susie<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-43012649868640451012010-03-06T10:42:00.004+00:002010-03-06T11:15:05.053+00:00A long winter and update at last!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1oWc0hyphenhyphenuQN3n37g1CFWLOd0EoYHYns_ATP-Dh04Aw8yM6KsMb7jTZN8Xq4yHBtoC8rGZdazh5ChyvrwElhAhoPQK6xmBVBHeQpJhwvNCN6Sqqxpg1SZOG5q8itEjU8x9rhFG8cwXio4/s1600-h/Moving+-+Chesters+Walled+Garden+blog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb1oWc0hyphenhyphenuQN3n37g1CFWLOd0EoYHYns_ATP-Dh04Aw8yM6KsMb7jTZN8Xq4yHBtoC8rGZdazh5ChyvrwElhAhoPQK6xmBVBHeQpJhwvNCN6Sqqxpg1SZOG5q8itEjU8x9rhFG8cwXio4/s320/Moving+-+Chesters+Walled+Garden+blog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445472947181285842" /></a>It has been a long time since I last blogged, I know, but I think that all those people who care about the garden will understand why it has been such a difficult time for me. And what a winter! So here at last is some news of what is happening at the walled garden.<br /><br />After several weeks of digging up plants, I was helped by a wonderful team of volunteers in mid November to move them in a ragtag collection of boxes, trays and every available sack and bag to a temporary location. Thanks to the generosity of a local landowner, who not only has given my plants this refuge, but even had the ground rotavated and prepared, I was able to take specimens of many of my favourite plants and settle them in before the winter cold. It was just in the nick of time too, as I hadn't realised then that it would turn out to be the hardest winter for a long time. It started raining on November 17th and hardly stopped for a month making the ground really unworkable, then of course there was snow from late December onwards and many people up here were snowed in. Following that, a month of hard frosts and the ground undiggable for a different reason....<br /><br />In January, the English Garden magazine published a five page article that I had written which was not only about my history at Chesters Walled Garden but about what it is to leave a garden, with its memories and associations held by the plants and the sense of place. It was a cathartic thing to write and is one of a number of artistic projects that help me and others to come to terms with the loss of this special place. In late May, the Queen's Hall arts centre in Hexham will have an exhibition for a month that brings together some of the artworks - paintings, prints, photographs and ceramics - created by artists in response to the garden over the years. It will also preview a collaboration that I am doing with the book illustrator and printmaker, Kim Lewis, called 'Sanctuary', a series of 12 linocuts and text of 12 plants that symobilise the garden and my feelings for it. In addition, there will be memorabilia and a chance for visitors to add to the Garden Memories Book.<br /><br />Right now, I am embarking on a project to make a new garden which will only be open in a very limited way for charity .... but which at the moment is mud, stones, boulders, weeds and hasn't been cultivated for many years. Hard work and much preparation has to be done to get the ground ready for the plants to come back from their temporary storage but with the help of friends and volunteers, it will somehow get done!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-47330958667094835572009-10-19T14:13:00.004+00:002009-10-19T15:20:55.563+00:00Herbal ointments<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVUPoMchGBWvbuetjA7_tiWSOlGe2ThCzNaAYCLpXCMz0K3XNnNONfSQJdl-mm4ezWy8aaW3qPYryp62ffxTFBHBf3nRVmviL1lluIH4AK-pSdWiF9tSiSt-5oftdXovgxb2jTX1Ehow/s1600-h/Calendulas+walledgardenblog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVUPoMchGBWvbuetjA7_tiWSOlGe2ThCzNaAYCLpXCMz0K3XNnNONfSQJdl-mm4ezWy8aaW3qPYryp62ffxTFBHBf3nRVmviL1lluIH4AK-pSdWiF9tSiSt-5oftdXovgxb2jTX1Ehow/s320/Calendulas+walledgardenblog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394324663814172338" /></a>One of the things that visitors say they will miss from our shop when the garden closes is the range of herbal creams that we have sold for the past nine years. Made in Scotland, with simple, unpretentious labelling and organic, straightforward ingredients, they will be missed by me too. So I thought I would let everyone know where they can still get them, especially as Jacqui who makes them, has just had her own website made. <br /><br />We've always found the calendula ointment great for sunburn. Petals of <span style="font-style:italic;">Calendula officinalis</span> - see picture - are steeped in sunflower oil and mixed with beeswax, lavender oil and benzoin (which is also a natural ingredient) ... and that's all. There's a comfrey ointment too - it's a light green colour from the comfrey leaves, and the midge ointment has always sold well when I took groups round in the evening! Not only was it effective at repelling midges (tested in Scotland! but due to some rules has to be called Summer Evening Balm), but it smells delicious, a mixture of lavender, thyme, citronella and peppermint oils in aloe vera.<br /><br />Jacqui's website is www.organicaj.co.uk and there are lots of other products to buy as well as our favourites.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-80115160336255861472009-10-03T18:45:00.003+00:002009-10-03T18:57:26.368+00:00Delicious baked tomatoes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Hac_G8hOBzXkIB7NAd9Fhz-p5QrLML00tsbQ7vAGTsaW0v0QvnYgFgI2AJMl0Lh_JYl3Oj7c6lHlKwRzj2QWx5fzsTINH2np5kR6pJeKtJlCUZwLecX5xFij2ZGUrUfJRoq-H27kg7Y/s1600-h/Tomato+%27Gardeners+Delight+%C2%A9+Susie+White+thewalledgardenblog.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Hac_G8hOBzXkIB7NAd9Fhz-p5QrLML00tsbQ7vAGTsaW0v0QvnYgFgI2AJMl0Lh_JYl3Oj7c6lHlKwRzj2QWx5fzsTINH2np5kR6pJeKtJlCUZwLecX5xFij2ZGUrUfJRoq-H27kg7Y/s320/Tomato+%27Gardeners+Delight+%C2%A9+Susie+White+thewalledgardenblog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388447021699563970" /></a>There are so many tomatoes at the moment that we have them baked several times a week and they are just wonderful. David has grown our favourite variety, the small and sweet 'Gardener's Delight', plump little tomatoes on long tresses. We have them baked in the oven to a recipe from Monty Don's book 'Fork to Fork', a much thumbed book in our kitchen which has recently been reissued. I shall really miss them when they are finished but at the moment they have been producing for ages and I just don't get bored with them. At lunchtime, we pick them, hot with sun, straight from the vine.<br /><br />The garden is amazing for butterflies at the moment. Fallen plums on the grass are being feasted on by red admirals who obviously know a thing or two about grog. You can smell the tinge of alcohol as you walk by! They are so laid back that it takes them a while to lift from the ground, then some 20 or 30 take to the air. They are all over the asters too, loads of them, followed by visitors with cameras!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-70656907024128329302009-09-25T08:53:00.002+00:002009-09-25T08:59:14.789+00:00Late season colour<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigB0HS99wVFi1_RytiucpmumisKapfJYKI-TVwHhKtCGxg7JIWGem9jeoKJiEeENWcHTzZIbSk9g_D0nXDIDkPaye3XnXmsPlymeKMdoAFUJ1gweWGP0YMGgWZetAMybmsvnccdZfbnlM/s1600-h/Dahlias+thewalledgardenblog.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigB0HS99wVFi1_RytiucpmumisKapfJYKI-TVwHhKtCGxg7JIWGem9jeoKJiEeENWcHTzZIbSk9g_D0nXDIDkPaye3XnXmsPlymeKMdoAFUJ1gweWGP0YMGgWZetAMybmsvnccdZfbnlM/s320/Dahlias+thewalledgardenblog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385326236626895682" /></a> I had to put in this picture of the dahlia and cosmos bed because it is looking so colourful at the moment - a last dash of exoticism before the first frosts. With the nearby beds of sweet peas (my favourite is 'Cupani') and double orange pot marigolds (Miss Jekyll's favourite, see previous blog posting), this part of the garden looks wonderful at the moment.<br /><br />At Chesters Walled Garden we have a series of square, box-edged beds and one of these is given up to dahlias and cosmos. All the dahlias were grown from seed this spring and are a variety known as ‘Bishop’s children’. This produces a glorious mix of heady, hot colours; red, rich pink, yellow, burnt orange and apricot. It is surprisingly easy to grow dahlias from seed each year; the results are some unexpected colours but that in itself is fun. This particular seed mix has all the gorgeous dark, purple black foliage of ‘Bishop of Llandalf’.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-19874194380164531912009-09-14T16:19:00.003+00:002009-09-14T16:46:20.875+00:00Miss Jekyll appears in Whalton Manor Garden<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOOeR-c6dChrwvkv1vhFd7CIX3sJSl1yi8fritkhvtL3rNccpfVLTUIr9KGYK7t4NAU2Iw8IAw_bqF-f-_yXq9qnwcgRubO7jILTYutM_bbmkijoA0l15rGqRxmNCj2P-H9B28wEWYSE/s1600-h/Traces+garden+shot+.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOOeR-c6dChrwvkv1vhFd7CIX3sJSl1yi8fritkhvtL3rNccpfVLTUIr9KGYK7t4NAU2Iw8IAw_bqF-f-_yXq9qnwcgRubO7jILTYutM_bbmkijoA0l15rGqRxmNCj2P-H9B28wEWYSE/s320/Traces+garden+shot+.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381358794299320162" /></a>Yesterday I went to Whalton Manor Garden to see a 'theatrical dance production' which was inspired by the house, garden and people who have lived or worked there. I didn't really know what to expect so went along without any preconceptions and was delighted by what was a magical performance. Numbers were strictly limited out of necessity because the dance moved between one part of the garden and another, the small 'audience' moving with them. The production was directed by Cinzia Hardy who lives locally and who initially asked the sculptor Julia Barton to install her three 'phyto-forms', metal sculptures that have growing plants which I last saw when she exhibited them at Levens Hall in Cumbria, the famous and ancient topiary garden. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUCcMRrAVOsUCW2mDqfgy4V7t3EFSZdU1W4TCiVBPMQjs7kOV3vwfVhIB1bsYkNihCKxYgWLUx9UFYFFx9ZhvtdeiQ7Ef4P3PDgZPeqbNvYGGCFcwoJgVFDvE00iJSXNdt3Anut00R6c/s1600-h/Julia+Barton+sculpture+-+walledgardenblog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUCcMRrAVOsUCW2mDqfgy4V7t3EFSZdU1W4TCiVBPMQjs7kOV3vwfVhIB1bsYkNihCKxYgWLUx9UFYFFx9ZhvtdeiQ7Ef4P3PDgZPeqbNvYGGCFcwoJgVFDvE00iJSXNdt3Anut00R6c/s320/Julia+Barton+sculpture+-+walledgardenblog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381358684263435794" /></a>Taking the sculptures as inspiration (their forms influenced the design of the costumes) and weaving in the story of Gertrude Jekyll's association with Whalton Manor, the piece evolved to be something very special to the place itself.<br /><br />Whalton Manor dates back to the 17th century and was altered by Sir Edwin Lutyens - this of course is where Gertrude Jekyll comes in and between them they laid out 3 acres of gardens. Her sunken rose garden doesn't exist any more but we could imagine it during the dance production because it's site was pegged out on the lawn. Various characters from the history of the house appeared or danced, threading their way through the separate garden areas, dancing under trees, stepping out of giant picture frames, retracing the steps of the site of the former ballroom, with music from a rustic band led by a green clad man who embodied the spirit of the garden. There was even a horse ridden by the present owner of the Manor, Penny Norton, who rode between bucolic dancers under the parkland trees and then cantered off in a graceful arc. <br /><br />It felt like we were glimpsing another world, becoming part of a shifting film set. It had echoes of Alice in Wonderland and the Draughtsmans Contract as well as the history of Miss Jekyll's association with the garden. There was something very gentle and charming about the hour long performance and, with the plan that it might tour in the future, there will hopefully be other opportunities to see it.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-52819536700795526172009-08-19T16:38:00.009+00:002009-08-20T16:09:35.542+00:00A very special walnut tree<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_miW53ZA2NuLwP-RKCHF_qeYL1G_ouzGOT2YLF1T-cdZqOl_kiyuPupVO1MFvcbgbu4GZBiiQh-xl0TX3arIesGRhyphenhyphen0sm9t5qnoLrroBW1Q_ywAGvDpAzNyH-Io2ydiTRHvtyhjReMs/s1600-h/Chesters+Walled+Garden+-+Walnut+blog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_miW53ZA2NuLwP-RKCHF_qeYL1G_ouzGOT2YLF1T-cdZqOl_kiyuPupVO1MFvcbgbu4GZBiiQh-xl0TX3arIesGRhyphenhyphen0sm9t5qnoLrroBW1Q_ywAGvDpAzNyH-Io2ydiTRHvtyhjReMs/s320/Chesters+Walled+Garden+-+Walnut+blog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371715546753307026" /></a>I received a very special gift the other day from a Dutch nurseryman, Ton Friesen, who visited Chesters Walled Garden last summer. We have a rather fine walnut tree in the garden which amongst other things I will be very sad to leave, but Ton has given me a tree for the future, a walnut that he has bred which produces nuts very early on in its life. We had to wait 20 years for the tree in the walled garden to start producing nuts! <br /><br />At Ton's nursery, they graft walnut cultivars bred especially for the Dutch and north German climate and so they are probably suitable for northern England too. Their website lists an amazing 33 cultivars of <span style="font-style:italic;">Juglans regia</span> alone. Ton sent me one of their hardier plants, a tree which is grafted and that amazingly takes only two or three years to bear its first nuts. This cultivar is named after the daughter of his friend and colleague, Cess Barnewald and is called <span style="font-style:italic;">Juglans regia</span> 'Chiara'. I met Chiara when she came here with her parents a couple of weeks ago and we all spent a happy hour wandering about the garden. Ton's website is at www.smallekamp.nl and he is currently working on an English version of it.<br /><br />Although we have abundant wildlife at the garden as any follower of my blog will <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxB7M-ooGyYGQzKQdmOW6gLlZG0i0kS739pXGpKza_X97RvoEGZtPJ0V0K4Vyo1bCNW6I48NAI0PdNaCVMLZeUxR_vNTzHPlO2wO-vpdQX7S2aHnDGy0cjzvC3uWI1dUjcaU4O5rGkqg/s1600-h/Grasshopper+-+Chesters+Walled+Garden+blog.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxB7M-ooGyYGQzKQdmOW6gLlZG0i0kS739pXGpKza_X97RvoEGZtPJ0V0K4Vyo1bCNW6I48NAI0PdNaCVMLZeUxR_vNTzHPlO2wO-vpdQX7S2aHnDGy0cjzvC3uWI1dUjcaU4O5rGkqg/s320/Grasshopper+-+Chesters+Walled+Garden+blog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371715383074121858" /></a>know, one thing we don't often see is a grasshopper. When I was a child there were grasshoppers everywhere in the long grass on the edges of our garden and I loved watching them rubbing their back legs together as they clung to grass stalks. Even on walks I see very few nowadays, so I was very happy to see this one sitting on our old roller. If anyone knows what species it is, I'd like to know!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-73828518687452594932009-07-31T17:45:00.005+00:002009-08-01T10:15:59.776+00:00A handful of pheasant chicks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9iz3UAmrmQADozS2YNUJqNJWJVHZEXMAxYNvWjU2V2_bOPmH0N5WM_f7bSET7cEQfsQk-stwj9hkM2sW60Zexjv36mRo1j0RKb6AKaoc0pHvuRVwuqRsXe14tG7ylASZi9x4VSunKlw/s1600-h/3775336540_24bdbba8fb_m.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9iz3UAmrmQADozS2YNUJqNJWJVHZEXMAxYNvWjU2V2_bOPmH0N5WM_f7bSET7cEQfsQk-stwj9hkM2sW60Zexjv36mRo1j0RKb6AKaoc0pHvuRVwuqRsXe14tG7ylASZi9x4VSunKlw/s320/3775336540_24bdbba8fb_m.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364682249918090690" /></a>Pheasants are not the cleverest of birds and, as usual, this is a tale of maternal incompetance. Every year a female pheasant (a different one each time, of course) lays eggs in the garden, somewhere hidden in a border despite all the visitors, (that bit is clever), hatches out a large brood and then proceeds to lose most of them. One year a pheasant hen led them to the pond and three drowned, another let them get scattered all over the lawn attracting the attention of the sparrowhawk and more than once they have been left on the wrong side of a wall. <span style="font-style:italic;">(See previous blogs May & July 07)</span><br /><br />That's what happened this year again; the pheasant, having reared up the young in the garden, flew over the bottom gate and expected her brood to somehow rejoin her. Some had made it and others hadnt! It was a visitor who alerted me to their predicament, and her Australian friend, Christine Harris, managed to photograph <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqL6EUKT1MNahESik9KAkSBGP_s-hRAs29C9mFVDdztBK-JrqMECCLmPpR51dnN2UHEzLUpulM48LUoGh7qyoRyLfuF_8KZedeDnXU-tUu_lgZ6qYXip5kPXJEL00JTUkybp3Xwr1iG7I/s1600-h/3775322988_34099831cc_m.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqL6EUKT1MNahESik9KAkSBGP_s-hRAs29C9mFVDdztBK-JrqMECCLmPpR51dnN2UHEzLUpulM48LUoGh7qyoRyLfuF_8KZedeDnXU-tUu_lgZ6qYXip5kPXJEL00JTUkybp3Xwr1iG7I/s320/3775322988_34099831cc_m.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364682356803834562" /></a>three of the chicks hopelessly trying to squeeze through the wire on the gate. I scooped up all three at once (see Christine's second photograph) and popped them over the gate with the mother who was clucking every now and then from under a fuschia. All's well that ends well, this time....<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-8758436667941365992009-07-26T16:15:00.003+00:002009-07-26T16:25:05.476+00:00Pot marigold, the wonderful Calendula officinalis<span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNk38EHefORz-Op3hIa-H2m9nwGrvM0WkVl_6eTGAx5whniY5XJDb6WJLvdv8MZyNCOoz2bfpmBUw5Ki4lMr5LKyWlxmGyxwmLbHflvCR10R3x4nAKWxzdFaDlnw48whX0NqztQXTw_eE/s1600-h/Calendula+row.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNk38EHefORz-Op3hIa-H2m9nwGrvM0WkVl_6eTGAx5whniY5XJDb6WJLvdv8MZyNCOoz2bfpmBUw5Ki4lMr5LKyWlxmGyxwmLbHflvCR10R3x4nAKWxzdFaDlnw48whX0NqztQXTw_eE/s320/Calendula+row.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362803615053407282" /></a>I wrote in an earlier blog about how I lost an entire line of pink lavender in the late winter (except for 4 plants). I deliberately hadn't pruned the old flowers off last year to give the plants more protection in the winter, but even so, the frosts that we had in the late winter were enough to kill all the lavenders. Making a virtue of a necessity, We replanted the space with a long line of that wonderful healing herb, pot marigold or <span style="font-style:italic;">Calendula officinalis</span>, thinking it would look good with the different tone of yellow from the golden yarrow. I'd given a week's worth of work experience to a lad from the Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham and showed him how to lay out the seedlings in a staggered double row, seedlings which had all self sown from a previous lot of marigolds that I had let grow by the side of the drive. In the vegetable garden we grow Gertrude Jekyll's favourite marigold, 'Golden King', as a companion plant for beans and other veg, but these paler, buttery flowers are also very lovely.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-30655791795449500992009-07-08T16:32:00.004+00:002009-07-08T16:46:13.960+00:00The garden's future?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDm5Qj9OPtSol0SgMEnfeV5qLt3rH8g7WUnv3H9E0klvRSxitVQ-Zu4vL945n0mkcTkhtzLLp7e4ArQ_1q8NNXs1Ra7Qia9ToCdLszXhzcEgTkiixN-OKta9bAmnWrA-NbGeaugbGrq4/s1600-h/Long+Border+June+evening+-+network.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFDm5Qj9OPtSol0SgMEnfeV5qLt3rH8g7WUnv3H9E0klvRSxitVQ-Zu4vL945n0mkcTkhtzLLp7e4ArQ_1q8NNXs1Ra7Qia9ToCdLszXhzcEgTkiixN-OKta9bAmnWrA-NbGeaugbGrq4/s320/Long+Border+June+evening+-+network.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356128363812894290" /></a><br />It is so sad to be at this point after 23 years of working this wonderful, wonderful garden, day in day out, season by season, but the garden will have to close by May next year. This makes it the last time that anyone can see it in summer and autumn which is why I wanted to let everyone know and the response from the media has been hectic, a media storm albeit it regional. Headline of the Journal on Saturday (must be rare for a garden to take the front page, next to Andy Murray), filmed for BBC Look North on Saturday, live radio on Sunday and filmed for Look North again on Monday (in the pouring rain this time!). The garden has been busy with people coming to see, to give their commiserations, to enjoy it while they can and I have to face other people's sadness as well as my own.<br /><br />My principal worry is where I can go from here, how to save plants that I have loved and nurtured for years and which tell stories of the people and places they have come from. To help others as well as myself, I have a book of 'Garden Memories' which anyone can contribute to in any form. The garden gives so much pleasure to so many people, has been written about worldwide, been in every national newspaper, most gardening magazines, in books and frequently on television. We have supplied thyme plants to Prince Charles, had visits from famous people, won awards, been in cookery programmes, you name it! The wildlife is amazing, the soil is unique, irreplacable, and the atmosphere that has been created is very special. I'm afraid that is all I can say for now at this stage but I just wanted to write something personal on my blog.... Susie<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-62194135107538915992009-07-04T09:18:00.002+00:002009-07-04T09:25:54.743+00:00They've fledged!It <em>would </em>happen on a day when I wasn't in the garden but I've just heard that the great tit chicks have flown the nest, negotiating their way out of the cupboard! One was perched, cheepily, on the back of the bench in the greenhouse, another was on the vine and the third flew out of the door which I had left open last night as I was sure today would be the day (hunch correct). The parents were adept at coming and going through the grille above the glass but I thought this might be too much for the youngsters. What a relief after the panics (see previous blog entry) and all the toing and froing of visitors including a couple of coach parties. It's amazing what birds are capable of when they get used to having people around the whole time and although I shall miss seeing them nipping in and out of the cupboard when no-one was looking, I'm glad that they've made it!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-73823579266371495302009-06-26T19:06:00.002+00:002009-06-26T19:17:09.202+00:00Update on the great tit chicksI promised an update on the great tit nest so here it is.<br /><br />When I checked the cupboard this morning I found that the catch had been moved by someone and, seeing one or two flies going in through the gap above the door, I feared the worst. I had to open the door to see what damage had been done and found a dead chick outside a very ragged, mossy nest on the shelf and three very subdued chicks tucked in a corner of the nest. Concerned that the parents had abandoned them to starve because of interference, I feel desperately sad. <br /><br />Still I waited from a distance and after a while there was one of the great tits bringing food again, thank heavens! I felt such relief, having watched them for so many days. I'd decided not to put a sign on the cupboard saying 'do not open, birds nesting' because that would very likely make someone want to open it.... but apparently there was a family with a teenager late on Thursday & he had come in the shop and said 'did you know there was a dead chick in the cupboard?' to which the person who was working questioned 'you didn't open it did you?' which he denied ... but it would be the only way of knowing. Anyway, drama over for now, and the birds must be tougher or more used to people than I thought. I've now put some discreet but strong poly tunnel mending tape over the catch to make anyone think twice about opening it.... <br /><br />wait for the next installment...<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-65635092481599046792009-06-18T17:19:00.005+00:002009-06-19T12:43:36.096+00:00Of peonies and quirky birds nests<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZE8exnxyNG8NUWCAUCH2tW2RQc5otRnJgkxFHtCSREICPqe2sJtwKJLa2mgBlcfBqcHYLv8saOGjPk-xVVKELxZQDAbtOL3IECndBQdksel5j0RdcSyPGDNbf12eEBSIry7aX95Reno0/s1600-h/Peony+-+Network+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZE8exnxyNG8NUWCAUCH2tW2RQc5otRnJgkxFHtCSREICPqe2sJtwKJLa2mgBlcfBqcHYLv8saOGjPk-xVVKELxZQDAbtOL3IECndBQdksel5j0RdcSyPGDNbf12eEBSIry7aX95Reno0/s320/Peony+-+Network+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348718889278781266" /></a>Just now the peonies are in bloom, sumptuous bowls of cupped petals with yellow stamen hearts and gorgeous foliage. There are some wonderful rich colours, deep, deep red, crimson, sugar pink, white and salmon and the wilder natured herbaceous plants flow in and around them (pretty <em>Geranium </em><em>asphodeloides</em> for example, with its tracery of stems and stars of pink and white). The lady's mantle is at its absolute best, frothy green flowers lapping over the gravel of the paths, breaking up the edges to create instant informality. As soon as it starts to go over, I will be cutting it ruthlessly back to prevent self seeding and to bring on new foliage.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfYuFy0hBBeH7q5iI71wSJwAKMoZKdumkis-9osAlmIbGNU_CzSXraoE972Ln1w3jGTBG4B9IGZGkAA11buV7ZFaCNBWfFGVyCB_ivY5E_8U24rPUVxvy83K2IbFXqGAX7eITy3cLbFo/s1600-h/Great+tit+Chesters+Walled+garden+greenhouse+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 243px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfYuFy0hBBeH7q5iI71wSJwAKMoZKdumkis-9osAlmIbGNU_CzSXraoE972Ln1w3jGTBG4B9IGZGkAA11buV7ZFaCNBWfFGVyCB_ivY5E_8U24rPUVxvy83K2IbFXqGAX7eITy3cLbFo/s320/Great+tit+Chesters+Walled+garden+greenhouse+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348722757870267890" /></a><br />Everywhere our abundant wildlife can be seen, blackbirds and thrushes eating the cherries (happily sacrificed to them in return for all the good work they do), blackcaps singing in the walnut, newts lazing in the pond and in the greenhouse a nest of great tits ..... in the cupboard. The birds get so used to visitors that they become very tame - our bird feeder is a great place to get close to nuthatches. And every now and then a bird nests in a quirky place - wrens in an old compost heap, duck on top of one of the walls, pheasant right next to the path. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqEtfm1c7v7vl53Bhe3g6sCoFQid5dtw0QZVhjM3R1M6Li8r_kW6pswj1EEfjpV00xg0vaLMBHWefOPrsYOtcJ9m0vtY_U0lzf_kTe5Qr0dzHjnT3JGu96F9v8CDu3lSX_56mDB-qH8E/s1600-h/great+tit+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 253px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqEtfm1c7v7vl53Bhe3g6sCoFQid5dtw0QZVhjM3R1M6Li8r_kW6pswj1EEfjpV00xg0vaLMBHWefOPrsYOtcJ9m0vtY_U0lzf_kTe5Qr0dzHjnT3JGu96F9v8CDu3lSX_56mDB-qH8E/s320/great+tit+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348718664237969506" /></a> This year it's a great tit that has nested in the old wooden cupboard and flies in through a gap above the door! You can hear the chicks cheeping inside and I darent put up a notice saying 'do not open door because of bird nest' because if I draw attention to it, someone may do just that. They nip in and out when people are not looking, even though there is lots of coming and going in the greenhouse. These are not brilliant pictures but I didn't want to disturb them too much.... I'll give an update when they fledge!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-45787157694559014982009-06-03T17:13:00.006+00:002009-06-03T17:38:09.021+00:00Scented clematis and gypsies on their way to Appleby Horse Fair<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBpXLB-VMJAKgYRAbeV4b2o4Lj-EbXxCPjb6ovJvIJ1uZrU9DXU_pEq3e1FoZMOrcskwzY2pQxnMCir8PKnogpBhSxiUwcgLh8ojE1mggLsX9CxQRp6ZhQzyr07m3uX903wYha_kh3p4/s1600-h/Clematis+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBpXLB-VMJAKgYRAbeV4b2o4Lj-EbXxCPjb6ovJvIJ1uZrU9DXU_pEq3e1FoZMOrcskwzY2pQxnMCir8PKnogpBhSxiUwcgLh8ojE1mggLsX9CxQRp6ZhQzyr07m3uX903wYha_kh3p4/s320/Clematis+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343151915174418866" /></a>I went over to the Lake District to see some gardening friends and the weather over there has been Mediterranean hot for some days. It has made some plants go over quickly and brought others out into flower, though watering has been a problem... not something normally associated with that area of the country! They have a beautiful clematis with a fabulous scent - <em>Clematis montana wilsonii</em> - that scrambles amongst shrubs below a tall retaining wall so that you stand at eye level with it and the scent wafts up to you. It's usually described as smelling of chocolate but I think it is spicy rather like sweet rocket.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JoKGuChLaypqCLjKqBIstGihj-HHG8Zx8dYahsIKVG3J7ZjvO70gJhcQckxV_Cyhgq6LtM0A5jdThATw0YU7Yyyw4-k42lxlJLsJCPFaTEQnVvtXVZ1nTeAS1ZnTbpuSSNQUzRfFPw0/s1600-h/Horse+at+Melmerby+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4JoKGuChLaypqCLjKqBIstGihj-HHG8Zx8dYahsIKVG3J7ZjvO70gJhcQckxV_Cyhgq6LtM0A5jdThATw0YU7Yyyw4-k42lxlJLsJCPFaTEQnVvtXVZ1nTeAS1ZnTbpuSSNQUzRfFPw0/s320/Horse+at+Melmerby+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343151998461396994" /></a> <br />Coming back through the village of Melmerby at the bottom of the Pennine escarpment, large numbers of gypsies and travellers were camped on the green, their horses tethered in the long grasses. It's a traditional stopping point after descending the long, twisting road from Hartside. The gypsies are on their way to the great Appleby Horse Fair, a place where families from all over the country can meet up and buy and sell horses amongst other things. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdvcJgfy1Jw019CMJkW1aTTHiN5DAy7B_9Ej1yPvj51GyiToZSyE9Fsod3_lN0-l_WKBiUk0036ru_EZ1UnectJS6EfC5oSp7Xwu-z7e3HR1lW6P60uiIn_w5uTN7AVtBoY4d1zzPsoE/s1600-h/Melmerby+caravans+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdvcJgfy1Jw019CMJkW1aTTHiN5DAy7B_9Ej1yPvj51GyiToZSyE9Fsod3_lN0-l_WKBiUk0036ru_EZ1UnectJS6EfC5oSp7Xwu-z7e3HR1lW6P60uiIn_w5uTN7AVtBoY4d1zzPsoE/s320/Melmerby+caravans+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343152063078041442" /></a> <br />The main weekend of the Fair is always the first in June and this year Cumbria County Council have a series of school workshops and visits from Roma artists, storytellers etc. in the run up to the event. The Horse Fair is the largest in Britain and an amazing and vibrant event.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-31146540445412351532009-05-22T08:43:00.003+00:002009-05-22T08:56:26.952+00:00The garden comes second in Gardeners' World Magazine vote<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1A5fEqTKvfwgt69IZSFkAdAEh82HFhPPRc99_m5nJN-_a8tHqemhjXUT6ZIKBzHtU1Sv6horvSrt6Xw1iPNkQXi7rvBgi6Lg7aaQsu1hB3O4-Q4SWuKnkn09w8ZFy4h1hqe8SYIvqmo/s1600-h/Long+Border+June+evening+-+network.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1A5fEqTKvfwgt69IZSFkAdAEh82HFhPPRc99_m5nJN-_a8tHqemhjXUT6ZIKBzHtU1Sv6horvSrt6Xw1iPNkQXi7rvBgi6Lg7aaQsu1hB3O4-Q4SWuKnkn09w8ZFy4h1hqe8SYIvqmo/s320/Long+Border+June+evening+-+network.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338567545232505218" /></a> Fast forward to June and this picture sums up the atmosphere of the walled garden, a lazy summer evening with backlit profusion of the wild and the cultivated mixed together. The garden seems to strike a chord with people; earlier this week our postman of three years had to deliver a parcel and, finding the shop door closed, opened the magical, paint-peeling door in the high wall. He stood transfixed by the garden, bowled over by it, saying 'I never knew what was behind the wall'. I loved that, it was like the secret garden, the sudden discovery, the enchantment.<br /><br />Anyway, here is how The Journal reported the news that the garden was voted 2nd in the north in Gardeners' World magazine.<br /><br /><strong>Small garden is a big hit</strong><br /><br />A GARDEN in Northumberland that is dwarfed by North of England rivals has seen off the big boys in a national competition.<br /><br />BBC Gardener’s World magazine ran a contest in which more than 6,000 people voted for their favourite garden in each region.<br /><br />Of 28 gardens in the North, Chesters Walled Garden at Chollerford in Northumberland came second in the poll.<br /><br />The two-acre, 18th Century garden on the line of Hadrian’s Wall was bettered only by the 56-acre RHS Harlow Carr Garden in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, which attracts 220,000 visitors a year.<br /><br />In the top five, Chesters was chosen above Newby Hall in Ripon, North Yorkshire, which has 25 acres and 115,000 visitors, Liverpool University’s Ness Botanical Gardens at South Wirral with 64 acres and 100,000 visitors, and Castle Howard in North Yorkshire on 1,000 acres and 200,000 visitors.<br /><br />Chesters also came above top Cumbrian gardens Levens Hall, Muncaster and Dalemain.<br /><br />The Northumberland garden has been cared for by Susie White for the last 23 years.<br /><br />Herbs are a major feature and it holds the national collections of marjoram, thyme and burnet.<br /><br />Susie says: “I am chuffed to have done so well and amazed that we came above gardens of the size, quality and history of places like Castle Howard .<br /><br />“Chesters is miniscule compared to some of the Northern gardens, which have big visitor databases through which people can be encouraged to vote.<br /><br />“I think people feel relaxed here and have an affection for the garden.<br /><br />“ I know that the garden touches a special place in people’s hearts because of its atmosphere, natural planting, with wild flowers among the rare perennials, wildlife and the scent of the herbs, and this is reflected in what gets written in the visitors’ book, but I was thrilled and surprised that so many people had voted for the garden as their favourite place.<br /><br />“ As an example of the amazing wildlife, a wren came into the shop and stood on the visitors’ book.”<br /><br />An annual bird count has been carried out once a month for 12 years by a local ornithologist and has just topped 70 different species.<br /><br />“That is not bad for two acres and shows that what and how we plant is successful,” said Susie.<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-74178909267046541422009-05-07T17:23:00.003+00:002009-05-07T17:33:28.161+00:00Walled garden bird count reaches 70 species!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEXpVglNE_giM6Y8EM6OH7hT6930LTXnRVJ_BQIticmNuVTu-Q9E3j4C7SqKUvGhXp1Pyi8xoxShiqMsuvOekJQ4jjC0PN18rAQf1VycL1uQCzw7bwIHKegjjumT0FryJsBzQnbtIOd8E/s1600-h/robin+thewalledgardenblog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEXpVglNE_giM6Y8EM6OH7hT6930LTXnRVJ_BQIticmNuVTu-Q9E3j4C7SqKUvGhXp1Pyi8xoxShiqMsuvOekJQ4jjC0PN18rAQf1VycL1uQCzw7bwIHKegjjumT0FryJsBzQnbtIOd8E/s320/robin+thewalledgardenblog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333135192525566130" /></a>The walled garden, as regular readers of this blog will know, has the most amazing wildlife, encouraged by the range of plants, nest sites, hollow walls, nectar plants and sheer fullness. For many years, ornithologist Alan Todd has conducted a regular bird count, chronicling the monthly occurrence of different species, a fascinating record. the number has been creeping up and has now topped 70 species!! He saw a crossbill in the late winter and that has added to the dynamic list which includes hawfinch, long tailed tit, green & greater spotted woodpeckers, flycatcher, brambling.... I won't list them all here but if you come to the garden, there is a laminated sheet of Excel in the shop showing which months the different birds have been recorded. <br /><br />There have been oddities over the years: the mallard who decided to nest on top of the ivy covered wall, another mallard who let her ducklings drop down into a sunken greenhouse so we had to put a ramp in, the pheasant in my previous blog with her large brood amusing the visitors, a pheasant who laid eggs right next to the path by the pond (not many brains), the amazing site of 7 nuthatches on the feeder at once. What's in a number, really, but with the list stuck at 68 for a while, I was delighted when we suddenly made 70!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4429598916730451708.post-59837736927511939032009-04-25T15:53:00.006+00:002009-04-25T16:34:46.313+00:00Harrogate Spring Flower ShowThe day after my trip to Harlow Carr (see previous posting) I went to the Harrogate Spring Flower Show, a visit I haven't been able to make for a few years because of being so busy running my own garden. After winter, it felt fabulous, all those <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hx3xFR2RINA4IlvSm6ScBGbU7CQHUyp-2fJG2NRXv5gcrkIsuIW8pEUjpzYZeIU8sJ1FjcLzZ66PGFA1VtY1MpuBxH6rG6Wd-1JJ8416xLugp9Uyt-jUMCKl22TQ4U4iEFt_MdqJ-Iw/s1600-h/Grow+with+Joe+-+thewalledgardenblog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hx3xFR2RINA4IlvSm6ScBGbU7CQHUyp-2fJG2NRXv5gcrkIsuIW8pEUjpzYZeIU8sJ1FjcLzZ66PGFA1VtY1MpuBxH6rG6Wd-1JJ8416xLugp9Uyt-jUMCKl22TQ4U4iEFt_MdqJ-Iw/s320/Grow+with+Joe+-+thewalledgardenblog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328664316541031106" /></a><br />colours and scents, enthusiasm and contented looking crowds enjoying great weather. There was so much to see that I was there all day, six hours on my feet, so no wonder I got diverted at one point from the plants to buy a pair of shoes from my favourite company, El Natura Lista, a Spanish firm that make amazingly comfortable eco shoes, dyed used plant material. In the exhibition halls there were banks and banks of colour from tulips, daffs, agapanthus, pelargoniums, carnations, lilies, all blowsy and immaculately presented. But it was the softer plants that I really <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQtLHGag4MP8c9ZbRve2cUhyS1P8omjkuNjvx8GXBel1zKck0dSrrA5uT9JD5zvNNJlZf4bIYHJLSWfruDLPdga59l1E8P66L53VG9F4WuLBUwPkUDJm_DT5iF4l1W2LnWSi76bZ_wtNE/s1600-h/Rogers+of+Pickering+-+thewalledgardenblog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQtLHGag4MP8c9ZbRve2cUhyS1P8omjkuNjvx8GXBel1zKck0dSrrA5uT9JD5zvNNJlZf4bIYHJLSWfruDLPdga59l1E8P66L53VG9F4WuLBUwPkUDJm_DT5iF4l1W2LnWSi76bZ_wtNE/s320/Rogers+of+Pickering+-+thewalledgardenblog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328664103686494754" /></a>focused on, delicate woodland plants set off amongst moss, dry leaves and wood, and the sumptuous displays of vegetables too. A stand that particularly caught my attention was from Grow with Joe, a company from Leeds, who based their theme around India with a red fabrics and an image of the Taj Mahal in front of which rose tiers of garlic, chillies, aubergines, all full of colour. There was a definite trend towards edible produce, vegetable growing and even soft fruit - Rogers of Pickering, who also displayed bulbs (see photo) created a display of fruit bushes, rhubarb, strawberries, figs, quince, vines etc for the first time at a spring flower show in response to the enormous demand they have recently had for all types of fruit. If you want to read more about fruit and vegetables and the rest of the show, just copy & paste this link on The Journal website if you want to see what I wrote in the newspaper about the show.... http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2009/04/24/harrogate-spring-flower-show-61634-23468045/<br /><br />I thought there was some tat in the outside stands, obvious imports from China, naff <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmI0AyNIE0czXENC0AlpuBnxP5L5tNsKO2CHkUlieWPBj4u5bBZgZrAx1Z2_zQZtRdqoovh4XGj71D3GxqroTyTARzKBdoF0D3Fd588TXkX0AclbqZUvYAfTpcPiO0fPSoA_bTZwGpliM/s1600-h/Nick+Hamilton+-+Barnsdale+Gardens+thewalledgardenblog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmI0AyNIE0czXENC0AlpuBnxP5L5tNsKO2CHkUlieWPBj4u5bBZgZrAx1Z2_zQZtRdqoovh4XGj71D3GxqroTyTARzKBdoF0D3Fd588TXkX0AclbqZUvYAfTpcPiO0fPSoA_bTZwGpliM/s320/Nick+Hamilton+-+Barnsdale+Gardens+thewalledgardenblog+%C2%A9+Susie+White.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328667068805892738" /></a>garden figurines and a surprisingly small amount of eco products. I found a system for distributing rainwater round the garden, a producer of beautiful split oak & hazel panels, a seaweed fertiliser from Shetland and one or two other good quality and interesting products but I thought there might have been more. It was inside that really was a delight with stalls such as Nick Hamilton's from Barnsdale Gardens (the late Geoff Hamilton's son who now runs the garden with his wife, Sue). Others were the faultess display by the Alpine Garden Society, euphorbias by Goldensfield, grasses from Eversley Nursery, such variety and too much to squeeze into one blog. More on the Journal website and good luck to anyone going tomorrow when the plants are sold off in late afternoon!!<div class="blogger-post-footer">chesters walled garden</div>Susie Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11629948945983143355noreply@blogger.com0