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Even in drought the Gardens look beautiful

July 19, 2018

Visitors from Benfleet this week particularly noticed the splendour of the trees in the Gardens and loved the treehouse. They marvelled at how the volunteers have managed to keep colour in the Italian Garden although it hasn’t rained in months. So f ...

Many hands pull thistles more quickly

July 12, 2018

Pulling out creeping thistles before they seed has the added benefit of weakening their root system and they shouldn’t need further re-pulling for two or three years, we were advised this week by Saffron Walden Wildflower Group. So it was lucky that ...

Keep on smiling!

June 28, 2018

The sun continued to shine (will it ever stop?), as we looked back on the last year and celebrated all we had achieved, at the AGM, followed by the volunteers’ BBQ. Gary cooked the Prior’s Hall sausages and burgers to perfection, the salads we ...

Our first summer produce, ready for the Open Day

June 21, 2018

This Sunday’s Open Day will showcase our vegetables and fruit as well as the nature in the Gardens! The walled kitchen garden is filling up and looking really impressive: the veg are growing fast and the soft fruit are ripening. So, we will have pro ...

Bugs in the Gardens

June 14, 2018

We are counting our bugs…come and help us on our Open Day, Sunday 24 June, when we will have help on hand to identify them. This one, on fungi on a tree in the Glade, stumped us … it appears to be eating the fungi. Local expert, Jono Forgham, reckon ...

Now that’s a tongue!

June 7, 2018

Variously called a Devil’s Tongue, Voodoo Lily, Dragon Lily or more properly Dracunculus Vulgaris, this one is very much at home in the Italian Garden! It is an oddity of a plant because it is pollinated by flies not bees. Its shape has given rise t ...

Vegetables galore

May 31, 2018

Each week, Steve seems to plant more vegetables and don’t they look great!! Today, it was runner beans, to add to the maize, leeks, onions, chard, lettuce etc etc. The recent rains have also helped the soft fruit to swell, the fruit trees to put on ...

Broad-bodied chasers and blue damselflies

May 24, 2018

Although busy with volunteers and a team from GSK and a group of U3A visitors, the Gardens were tranquil today, with hares in the Glade and dragonflies and damselflies darting around. Each week there are different colours in the Italian Garden – and ...

Ready for the agile and not so agile

May 17, 2018

The agility ring is in place for visiting dogs for this Sunday’s Fun day for Dogs; the weather is all set fair so there are no muddy paths; the Rock Choir are no doubt as well-rehearsed as ever; and Carolyn is ready with the bacon, cakes and other c ...

Our blousy hanky

May 10, 2018

The Handkerchief Tree was looking magnificent today, with the hankies blowing in the breeze against a clear blue sky, with the Glade framed with the frothy white of cow parsley. Hopefully they will still be looking stunning for the Open Day on 20 May. A h ...

Fresh growth

May 3, 2018

It is an exciting time of year at the Gardens – full of promise for the season ahead! Spring green is making way for summer colour, as we remove weeds and excess euphorbia and make way for fresh planting of additional helianthemums, kniphofia, geums ...

A birthday treat

April 26, 2018

for Steph: laying logs for a new earth seat and with delicious chocolate cakes for morning break, courtesy of Clare and Jacqueline…so much more fun than being pampered on a birthday! Meanwhile: primulas were planted, bringing colour to the entrance ...