The Head Gardener's Office at Scampston

Not only where we able to look around the Gardeners Yard at Scampston Hall, we also got to look ino the Head Gardener’s Office - and while it was set up more as an exhibit rather than a working office, it was still a delight to see.

We made our way in through the Conservatory which was built by Richardson of Darlington in 1894 and restored in 2015 with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund amongst others and now housing a series of exhibition rooms, displays and with a space for community engagement too.

The blue flowered plumbago clambering up the peach wall inside the conservatory definitely drew me in, but turning around the view was just as spectacular and I can see how important it was for the garden to restore the glasshouse to its former glory.

If only all conservatories had this view!

Turning further into the building we found the Head Gardener’s Office, and wouldn’t it just be a dream to manage and plan the garden from here - and I’d especially like that wooden drawer unit to organise my own garden plans.

And while this is a great place for drying onions, garlic and seed heads I think this would be hard to replicate in my own garden setup, and actually I never seem to have much luck with onions anyway, so that’s probably just as well.

But I did see some inspiration on how I could pot up some succulents, isn’t it darling?

Of course I left with some seeds of my own - and actually this post is a great reminder for me to look them out and actually do something with them. I saw some Agastache in the garden centre earlier this week, and I thought it sounded familiar but I couldn’t remember why. Here’s why!

And finally one connection in history that I learnt as we read the interesting information boards around the space. The glasshouse was originally made by Richardson of Darlington, which went on to become one of the glasshouse companies in the Victorian era. It was also the only company to last into this century, rebranding in the 1960s as Amdega. That company finally closed in 2011, but the liquidators sold the brand to Everest the double glazing company, and so the brand lives on with heritage at its heart. I love discovering things like that.

Now I’m off to look out those seeds…

Unearthing great gardening gear

* I was invited to the Garden Press Event, a one day show which connects garden product suppliers with garden media, therefore I’m marking this post as 'Ad’ though as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

I always find this single day show a great event, and a good one to catch up with contacts and suppliers and to see what’s new and coming to garden centres near us this year. This year was no different though it was slightly surreal to arrive to hear the actor who played Carson in Downton Abbey pulling raffle winners, though on a par to having Jekka McVicar join where I was sitting last year to eat lunch.

But anyway, here’s some of the things that caught my eye this year:

HOZELOCK - WITH AN IMPRESSIVE METAL ‘TWIDDLY BIT’

I thought Hozelock’s development of adding a metal ‘twiddly bit’ or more boringly the function selector to a multi-function spray head was a great idea. It’s the bit that gets the most use, and I know it’s the bit that we most often replace through wear.

I was also intrigued by Pro-Grow’s Rockdust. Not only is it a great name, it’s descriptive too as the product does actually look like rock dust.

PRO-GROW’S ROCKDUST LOOKING LIKE ROCK DUST

It’s not just about the new products though, there’s plenty of inspiration on show from the sector’s big names - and on a dull February day it’s great to wander among such gardening displays, and be inside at the same time!

I saw plenty for my own garden too, and these Hex smokeless fire pits are top of my list. I love a firepit - they’re great to sit around, but I’m not so keen on the smell of smoke, or constantly having to move to avoid being in the direct line of said smoke, which always seems to follow me! We have a firepit but it’s larger than we need, so we were looking for something smaller.

I like these as they take real wood, rather than gel which we’ve seen before, and are small enough to be able to fit into a relaxed seating area. The only downside of these for me is that the patterned tops aren’t available in each colour. I preferred the design of the black top, but probably wouldn’t opt for that colourway. I’m not losing too much sleep over that at the moment though, as I think I’ve more to do before I get to firepit stage, but they are lovely and on my wish list.

HEX - SMOKELESS FIRE PITS BY POLLEN

DOBBIES FREE STANDING GARDEN LIGHT

This standalone solar standard exterior light on the Dobbies stand is also on my list. I like the idea of having an outdoor lamp, though of course it’d need to be pretty robust to withstand the wind on our patio, though with more planting we might be able to tame that a bit, or I’m hoping so anyway.

I also fell in love with the dinnerplate Dahlias and was promptly reminded to add dahlias to my ‘to plant’ list. Our nearest Dobbies is most probably Chesterfield or Derby, and we haven’t made it to a store yet, but in the hunt for that light that may just happen, and I may also just happen to wander past these at the same time.

DOBBIES DAHLIA COLLECTIONS

The final thing that caught my eye as I wandered around this show was this vintage inspired metal seed chest. It looks great, is lockable and you can store it in a greenhouse or shed as it’ll keep your seeds safe from pests too. The compartments are seed packet sized and the month dividers are a whole lot more professional looking than my ‘old CDs with the month written’ on versions (though mine can also be repurposed as bird scarers if needed!)

A METAL SEED STORAGE BOX BY CROCUS

I’ve a feeling that once I get my new greenhouse in place I’ll be hitting the Crocus website for some of their storage ideas, as well as the seed trunk above they’ve also got a compartmentalised wire bench top storage unit which looks right up my vintage inspired street.

Trying out Monty Miracle at home

One of the products I’d read about before the show was the Monty Miracle Outdoor Cleaner which launched in this smaller size, which covers up to 4 square metres, at the show. I was keen to learn more as the blurb said it could be used on any outdoor surface, including the coloured Indian sandstone which we have (which is the same as we laid in our London house and were keen to avoid in our new house, but never mind!) and which needed some attention after winter.

MONTY MIRACLE COMPLETE OUTDOOR CLEANER

MOH cares for our patio and it’s a never ending job. This winter seems to have been especially bad for leaving black marks and for generally making the slabs look neglected, despite them being cleaned regularly (though obviously not over winter). Jet washing is a balance as it can be harsh on the surfaces, and so he too was keen to see if this lived up to the promises of being fast and effective. It’s claims are to be eco-conscious, and child and pet safe after rinsing, I think that’s the paving slabs not the child and pets to be clear.

As with trying any new product it’s always worth trying it out in a discrete area - luckily one of the corners of the path around our house is just that, and also pretty filthy. It’s also on MOH’s route out with his bike and he’s been saying how slippy it’s getting so it was worth a try. The instructions say to water any plant life before and after application, but as our test spot was next to the last remaining lavender that needed cutting, having missed out at the end of summer last year, it was a good prompt for me to give that a trim too.

OUR PAVING - A TEST SPOT: BEFORE

OUR PAVING - A TEST SPOT: AFTER

As you can see from the before and after photos above, there’s a marked difference in the three slabs that he used as his test area (which was larger than I was expecting it to be). His verdict is that it cleans well, but does still need some brushing (or agitating as it says in the instructions) but that it’s good to see the results so quickly. Now he’s working out just how much he needs for the rest of the slabs we have and if that bottle will do it, or not. I’m pretty sure it won’t be enough so I’ll be ordering a 2litre container later!

Seeds, Rockdust and a crocheted keyring

I wasn’t expecting to leave the show with a crocheted vegetable that’s for sure, but I love my little mustard squash from FRÿD which is an app which aims to be the ultimate vegetable growing app. It’ll help you create tailored planting plans and get reminders when to sow, plant and harvest so could be invaluable for both new and seasoned growers.

I’ve a couple of packets of seeds from the show including some Dill from the new Gourmet Gardener range at Blue Diamond Garden Centres. Each pack of seeds unlocks a recipe online, for Dill it’s a Creamy Dill and Cucumber salad, the intro for this is printed on the inside of the seed packet, which while it makes sense from an eco-friendly point of view, it does mean to see it properly you need to dismantle the seed packet, which isn’t ideal.

SEEDS FROM THE GOURMET GARDENER, TAILORED PLANTING PLANS WITH HELP FROM FRŸD AND THEIR CROCHETED KEYRING, HERITAGE ‘LETTUCE EMERALD’ SEEDS FROM GARDEN ORGANIC AND MY ROCKDUST SAMPLE

The other pack of seeds I’m keen to try is the heritage seeds of ‘lettuce emerald’ by Garden Organic. It seems that I’ll be in good company as a parcel of seeds from the Garden Organic National Collection of Heritage Vegetables are also being grown at Highgrove. King Charles III has had a long association with them, expressing recently how important the work of the Heritage Seed Library is. He became patron of the organisation which later became Garden Organic some 45 years ago, when it was rescuing heritage vegetables because at the time all the old varieties were being thrown away and weren’t considered worthwhile, which to me today sounds a peculiar approach and it also goes to show that there were people, including the King, who were ahead of their time in areas such as these.

And then there’s the rockdust, which as you’ve seen above looks like dust from rock!

It’s purpose to remineralise our gardens and boost soil healthy ‘by adding macro and micro-nutrients that work with soil and compost biology’. It’s made from freshly crushed ancient volcanic rock which is a by-produce of UK quarrying, so it’s a waste product that’s actually good for our gardens.

With a new build garden I’m yet to really discover what state my soil is in, though I suspect it won’t be the most nutritious, but of course I could be wrong. But even so, the soil that’s currently covered in grass (and weeds) is likely to be an entirely different matter to the already existing beds, and I suspect that’s where my garden will get the most benefit. I only have a small sample, so how I use it will be limited but I’m keen to see how it affects my growing, and I’m hoping that it will do wonders as other gardeners have testified when they’ve used it in compost and top-dressing pots, with worms also loving it. It’s a case of watch this space, even if that’s a small space!

I love going along to this event as it covers the breadth of the gardening industry and it’s great to get insights into what’s coming into the garden centres we love to visit, but also to see the thinking and hear about the research and development for the products in the early stages of their journey to market. Plus the inspiration for my own garden and the opportunity to try some products I might not see any other way, and it becomes one of those rare inspirational and educational days I don’t want to miss.

The Barbican's Community Garden

On a sunny day in April I was down in London with some time on my hands and so I had a wander, and found myself coming out of yet another undiscovered part of the Barbican. I’m sure every time I go I find another way in or out, and so I wasn’t disappointed!

This time though I stumbled across the Moor Lane Clean Air Pop-Up Community Garden created in 2017 as part of the Low Emission Neighbourhood, and completely new to me. The garden intended to raise awareness of air quality in the City and to encourage pedestrians to take low emission routes to the Barbican station, the Barbican Centre and towards Guildhall using the Podium walkways.

Designed by three young landscape designers known as Studio xmpl, they worked pro bono with Friends of City Gardeners a City-based community group of garden volunteers, who now jointly maintain the garden along with the City of London Corporation’s City Gardens team.

The garden has been constructed from 57 galvanised steel pipes and all plants were chosen for their ability to trap particulates and improve air quality, as well as provided cover and forage for birds and nectar-rich flowers for pollinators.

In 2020 poet Kit Finnie and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama worked with local community groups to create poems which reflected on this garden, the pandemic and what the city means to them.

you have the power
to break something.
a common truth but
still. it comes to you
like ice water gulped
at 3am. joy that
streams freely from
the tap and cupped
hands to catch it in.
the air around your
body. all the london
beyond. beyond
that. another truth.
home is the thing
that settles round
your most beloved
person when they’re
still.

It was a garden full of structure, texture and shape with lush greenery and luckily on the day I visited sunlight glinting off the City offices behind. No doubt a great spot for City workers to eat their lunch.

I loved the poetry too, and wished I’d known about this place before - though of course I stopped working in the City in 2014, so a few years before this was created. But it’s the kind of place I’d have loved to escape to with colleagues, or alone, for lunch.

a distant hush is
an opportunity for
abundance. so is
a pigeon. a seed.
a baby animal. a
stranger biking to
the office. the sound
of a drill. a city fox. a
decision to attend.
a steady beat. a
gentle nudge. a
pavement.
new shoes. the
future. therapy. a
crush. printer paper.
wandering. the
climate crisis. your
inhale. your exhale.
this.

Somehow it seemed fitting that one of the ever increasing e-bikes parked up in the garden was green and labelled forest, less so that the building behind was a car park - but as with everything - balance!

inhale. exhale.
resilience is a
circle. a thread that
never ends. later.
you’ll savour this
encounter with
delight as fresh as
aloe. its audacity.
beating green in the
grey heart of your
city. feral moment
in your familiar day.
it will remind you
of the parts of
yourself that are
also a garden. a
poem. a breath. a
single leaf among
many.

I love discovering places like this, isn’t it great?