Category: fruit and veg

A town riverside walk

Although we live close to our county town of Shrewsbury we go for months between visits to the banks of the River Severn, in whose loops the town sits snuggly. In the summer the council garnish the river banks with bright coloured plants in all sorts of containers and hanging baskets.

I am not that keen on these brightly coloured bedding annuals but they seem to fit in with their setting so well here. Mother nature herself adds a little subtle planting herself with wild flowers growing close to the water and wonderful waterfalls of reflections.

Our footbridge an old Victorian suspension bridge has recently been completely refurbished and it is looking smart in its new green suit. The builders greatest challenge was to make sure that after the make-over the old bridge retained her sway. As you walk across her she sways from side to side!

This weekend is time for the famous Shrewsbury Flower Show so when we reached the open parkland spaces alongside the river we found signs of the village of tents and rows of arena seats appearing at a great rate of knots. It seemed to be growing up around us as we walked towards the little sunken garden called The Dingle.We now anticipate our day out at the show on Saturday most eagerly. We hope to go in the afternoon and stay until closing time with the magnificent firework display over the river.

And so to the Dingle herself, which is not my cup of tea at all, but it is enjoyed by thousands every year. It is all a bit garish for my taste, but I do admit that it takes a great deal of skill to create and maintain it. It certainly gives pride to the town. Come on a tour with us and see what you think.

We wandered back into the town centre to have a look at how the town council had decorated the Square as part of their “Britain in Bloom” campaign. All the allotment sites in and around the town had planted up mini-allotments small enough to fit on a pallet and these were collected up and put in the square. Local artists crafted two scarecrows from metal to give an extra dimension.

Each post marking loading bays along the High Street had been given a topknot of Ipomaea in two foliage colours. Very subtle and very effective.

Tags allotments, Britain in Bloom, community gardening, foliage, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grow your own, scarecrows, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, town parks

fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening kitchen gardens ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire South Shropshire village gardens

Village gardeners open their gardens for their church

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date August 14, 2013
3 Comments on Village gardeners open their gardens for their church

Recently some of the parishioners in the village of Chirbury in south Shropshire opened their gardens in support of the Historic Churches Trust.

A few of the gardens were on the outskirts of the village so we enjoyed views of the beautiful countryside as we went searching for them with our little map.

These were not like the usual gardens we visit as they were not gardens tended by plantsmen. They were interesting because of their little quirky details as well as some good plant combinations. Come for a wander around Chirbury with us on a warm but blustery day.

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BAC evening out.

A new nursery that has opened this year on the outskirts of Shrewsbury, emailed Jude, the Undergardener recently inviting members of our allotment community to visit them one evening after closing time for a tour of the nursery.

So earlier this week 20 of us arrived in the car park of “Love Plants” and gathered together anticipating an enjoyable evening talking plants. They have a very classy sign!

Susan spotted an interesting plant before she even reached the door. There were so many treats inside. Although we primarily went for a tour behind the scenes most of us were tempted by a few specimens each. Mrs Greenbench, the Undergardener managed to fill a trolley with Hemerocalis, Achillea and Echinacea.

Tim, the Plants Manager, gave us a quick talk about how the garden centre came about. We were delighted to know that plants were supplied by our favourite nurseries, The dingle and The Derwen, both near Welshpool and part of the same company. The Dingle is a pure nursery and its partner The Derwen more of a small garden centre. With these three outlets close by we have access to plenty of quality plants.

All the perennials were laid out in alphabetical order and they were impressive specimens. Likewise the shrubs. The first area visitors find is an area featuring plants currently in flower or with good foliage colour.

There is a good selection of seeds, herbs and fruit and veg plants.

The nursery is sited within a caravan sales centre and even between the caravans meadows have been sown. Topiary specimens impressed as did the new shade area.

Before leaving I spoke to Tim about the possibility of a joint venture where Love Plants could sponsor a new garden within our communal gardens back at BAC and the three linked plant centres supplying the plants. This looks like being an exciting project. Watch this space!

Tags allotments, community gardening, fruit and vegetable growing, gardening, grown your own, meadows, nurseries, ornamental trees, Shrewsbury, shrubs

birds climbing plants colours fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening grow your own hardy perennials herbs ornamental trees and shrubs village gardens

A cottage garden with a difference.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date August 3, 2013
5 Comments on A cottage garden with a difference.

We visited my sister, Penny and her husband, Tony this week and enjoyed a lazy afternoon sat on the terrace under a large awning escaping the afternoon sun as the temperature rose well into the 30’s again. From their front garden, situated beneath Bredon Hill in Gloucestershire, you would believe that a traditional cottage garden awaited you around the back but prepare to be surprised.

The front is a gravel drive and turning point with neatly mown grass areas and gravel gardens, featuring a beautiful stone birdbath.

Move around the back and a wide inviting paved terrace greets you, and the pervading warm scents of herbs emphasises the feeling of welcome. The aroma of coffee brewing and comfy seating under the awning made us feel so welcome. This is good garden design!

Sit and enjoy your brew and wide steps constructed of recycled railway sleepers infilled with gravel entice you deeper into the garden through a lovely Japanese influenced archway

The archway sets the scene of what is to come, or at least in part. But relaxing over coffee and cake afforded us the opportunity to spot little details and elements of decoration and humour. An over-sized ceramic hand acts as a bird feeder, a terra-cotta green man watches us from the nearby fence and a recycled wood burner too large for the house has become a garden heater.

Up the wide steps and through the black wooden archway is a cool shaded garden based on the principles of Japanese garden design. A buddha, a Koi pool,

The atmosphere here is so powerful, there is a feeling of calm and peacefulness. Again – good garden design. The play of light and shade, cool and warm, changes as you walk through from section to section. The planned tea house should add another rich element to the garden.

Glimpses through the boughs of the tree provide clues to what lies beyond, a little productive patch, with fruit trees and raised veg plots. The tomatoes, picked from the vine and eaten while still warmed by the sun were delicious, sweet but with just the right amount of a hint of acidity.

The male and female components of this pine were present at the same time, the cones seemingly glued direct to the trunk and the female flowers wrapped around the stem near the final whorl of leaves. A fascinating little tree.

When you retrace your steps back through a garden it is amazing how you find new surprises awaiting you. The light hits things from different directions and puts the spotlight on objects and surfaces that failed to catch my eye before.

The harsh mid-summer light added depth to shadows and textures emphasised.

Wildlife is welcome, encouraged and appreciated here too as shown by the presence of birdhouses. There is the constant hum and buzz of an ecologically sound space. Stay still and you will hear grass hoppers, bees and the yaffling of a Green Woodpecker, the constant chatter of Goldfinches and Linnets. Butterflies are abundant and entertain with their movement and colours. To prove the friendliness of the garden and the gardeners towards our wildlife a grass hopper landed on my back before alighting on the window behind me.

However good the overall design of a garden is, in the end the little details can add another layer of interest. Penny and Tony have the knack of selecting interesting items that catch the eye just when you think you have discovered the essence of the garden.

This is a great garden to spend an afternoon in, relax and catch up with our sister and brother-in-law. And they present a fine cup of coffee and most excellent lemon drizzle cake!

Tags apples, birds, foliage plants, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grown your own, ornamental trees

community gardening fruit and veg garden photography gardening gardens open to the public grow your own hardy perennials Hardy Plant Society herbs HPS kitchen gardens Land Art meadows National Garden Scheme NGS outdoor sculpture Shrewsbury Shropshire

Allotment Open Day 2013

Sunday July 14th was the day we opened our allotment community gardens for everyone to come and have a look at what we get up to, and to help raise money for charities under the auspices of the National Garden Scheme. We are proud to be part of this great scheme and we love seeing our lotties featured in their famous Yellow Book.

Visitors were greeted by committee members Di and Jill, who took the entry fees and gave out tickets, trail sheets, children’s quiz sheets and competition voting forms (more about that later).

The allotmenteers had been busy the week prior to our opening mowing the grass, edging and weeding the communal borders and ensuring their own plots were looking at their best. And it did look good! As chairman I felt proud of what was achieved that week.

Bunting was hung from sheds and a pair of galvanised watering cans planted up with diascias and blue fescue grasses decorated the entrance to the central grass pathway. We made sure all information signs were clear and visible.

Some members even provided extra little sitting areas alongside their plots with shade over comfy seats. Phil and Doreen created an outdoor lounge. It looked brilliant and drew many admirers and many visitors stopped off for a rest and a chat.

A popular part of our day is the tea shop which we create around our communal huts enhanced with gazebos and an assortment of tables and chairs all brought in for the day by lottie members. Sherlie, an allotmenteer and florist, added beautiful floral decorations to the centre of each table. Members bake all week prior to the event and the array of cakes is stunning and oh so tempting.

A feature of our open days is the involvement of our visitors in selecting the winners of our annual site competitions. Each year we hold a scarecrow competition and the theme this year was occupations and as always our members’ imaginations ran wild. We were treated to the sight of a scarecrow undertaker, a pilot, a school crossing lady, a farm labourer, a lumberjack, a nurse, a doctor a tractor driver

I had the rather over-ambitious idea that I could make a “Biggles the Pilot” scarecrow, which was quite a task and needed the help of gardening mate Pete to put it up on top of our central arbor. Pete is a good foot taller than me!

We persuaded one of our newer members to open her shed for all to see as it has such a beautiful interior. We call it the “Chic Shed”. It is painted all white inside with a storage bench with padded seat on top, a lovely dresser and even colouring books, pencils and crayons etc for her granddaughter.

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Another competition this year was a new one and again we asked our visitors to choose the winners. It was for land art/sculpture and it proved to be very popular with lots of pieces for our guests to consider.

Jude the Undergardener won this competition with her woven twisted willow.

2013 07 15_1959

For the children on our site we held a competition where we asked them to plant up an item of footwear, and we saw colourful flowers grown in slippers, boots and wellies. In the pictures below they are shown lined up in front of the two mini-allotments grown for display in the town square later.

As well as the tea shop we had a plants sale table where Jude, aka Mrs Greenbench or The Undergardener, sold plants she had raised from seeds and cuttings, both herbaceous perennials, herbs and vegetables. We had a display from Linton, one of Shropshire’s Master Composters who answered visitors’ queries concerning their composting.

So just how successful was the day? We had lots of visitors many of whom stayed all day and obviously enjoyed their walk around, helping us choose our competition winners and indulging in the offerings of the tea shop and the plant stall. We raised £1065 to send in to the National Garden Scheme, a figure of which we are most proud.

Tags allotments, community gardening, fruit and veg, gardening, land art, master composters, meadows, NGS, outdoor sculpture, scarecrows, Yellow Book

allotments fruit and veg garden wildlife gardening grow your own July kitchen gardens National Garden Scheme natural pest control NGS Shrewsbury

A lottie visit.

It seems a long while since I featured our allotment plot in Greenbenchramblings and it was from the old green bench on the lottie that my blog was launched, so when I was nominated for a pair of blogging awards I thought it would be a good time to say thank you by taking you for a quick look around our plot.

Firstly thanks to aristonorganic for the 2Awards in 1! I am not a competitive person but I do feel privileged to know that someone appreciates my blog. It brings a smile to my face.

The awards are “Shine On” and “Very Inspiring Blogger Award”.

By accepting them I promise to tell you 7 things about myself and pass on the nomination to other bloggers I enjoy reading.

7 Things About Me

1 I am registered “Bionic”.

2 I want to know what is going on in our garden at night so have just got a live moth trap.

3 I keep a flock of hens at the bottom of my garden and talk to them regularly. I think they talk back!

4 I enjoy our monthly trip to jazz club.

5 I garden with wildlife in mind.

6 I am chairman of our allotment community.

7 I enjoy watching 20/20 cricket.

Bloggers who I wish to nominate are

mybeautifulthings

The Scottish Country Garden

lensandpensbysally

Penny’s Garden

grandparentsplus2

Catherine Howard’s Garden

pbmgarden

So let us go for a wander around our lottie plot. We welcome you through an archway where a “meeter-greeter” awaits your arrival.

Fruit grown as cordons line our paths and here red currants, almost ready to pick, are netted against the attentions of the local blackbird population. We grow flowers with our fruit to bring in beneficial insects which act as pest controllers and pollinators.

Our Runner Beans are in flower providing bright splashes of red whilst below them French Beans give us purples and mauves to enjoy.

We grow Sweetcorn and Courgette together as they are good companions. The large leaves of the Courgettes provide ground cover holding moisture in the soil and creating a cool root run for the corn. Of course it saves space too!

We welcome wildlife onto our plot to benefit us as gardeners and for us to enjoy watching and listening to. Our little pool is alongside our seats. We have little insect hotels dotted around to help us keep our crops healthy and free of pests.

We have a couple of wildflower strips to help our Brassica crops and Blackcurrants.

A barrier of fleece keeps Carrot rows free from the attentions of Carrot Rootfly and the flowers of Heartsease bring in beneficial insects. Growing members of the Allium family close by also helps fool them by emitting strong scents to mask the sweet aroma of Carrots.

You may remember me telling you about making our green roof atop our shed in a post a few months ago and as you can see it is slowly getting established. On the communal spaces near our plot we have at last got the willow dome complete. It has grown enough to train growth over to form a full roof. It is lovely and quiet, cool and shaded in there and it is a popular place for children to sit and read or to look through the woven window and watch the birds on the feeders. We hold our open day at the allotments this weekend, when we open for charity, under the auspices of the NGS, so we can proudly call ourselves a “Yellow Book Garden”.

Tags allotments, community gardening, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, fruit., garden wildlife, gardening, grown your own, insects, NGS, organic gardening

colours fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening grow your own half-hardy perennials hardy perennials Hardy Plant Society HPS ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture roses Shropshire village gardens

A mini-group day out – part one Jill’s garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 19, 2013

“What is a mini-group?” I hear you asking. Well they are area groups within the Shropshire branch of the Hardy Plant Society. We live just south of Shrewsbury so fit into the Shrewsbury Mini-Group but we could equally belong to the South Shropshire group. Perhaps we ought to select the most interesting sounding visits planned by both groups and have extra gardens to visit.

Last month our little group visited two of our member’s gardens plus a garden of a neighbouring house. They were all in the little village of Ruyton-XI-Towns. It is a village we have driven through but never stopped in and once parked up we wandered down looking for Jill’s garden, our first stop for the day. In fact we were parked only a few metres from there. We passed through the front garden which was small but packed with plants with lots of colour and texture and then around the side of the house where again every possible place for a plant had plants in it. Pots and interesting containers were everywhere we looked.

As we reached the end of the house the view that met us stopped us in our tracks. This was going to be a real treat! The garden was full of colour and had strong design elements, with paths that invited exploration, arches and frames to encourage you to go through them and pieces of sculpture and interesting natural objects to stop the eye.

Jill is a gardener who can put plants together beautifully taking leaf texture and shape into consideration alongside flower colour. When we looked in more detail at the planting we discovered a few special plants, ones we couldn’t recognise and a few of those that you have to dig deep into the recesses of your memory to recall their names.

From Jill’s garden we all wandered down the village street to a neighbour who had a garden that was best described as long, thin and wriggling, never more than a couple of metres wide and often only wide enough for a plant fringed path. Despite of this the gardener had packed in dozens of fragrant roses and clematis clambering up any surface or tall plant. This will be the subject of my next post where we will also enjoy the third garden we visited that day, where we ended the day with tea on the lawn. How civilised is that?!

Tags foliage plants, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, gardening, grasses, grown your own, Hardy Plant Society, outdoor sculpture, Shropshire Hardy Plant Society, shrubs

climbing plants colours fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening grow your own hardy perennials Hardy Plant Society HPS ornamental trees and shrubs Powis Powys

A hillside garden near Welshpool

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 25, 2013
4 Comments on A hillside garden near Welshpool

In my last post I invited you to join us on our journeys through two tiny town gardens in Welshpool and promised s different visit to a garden nearby. We found this garden by following narrow single track lanes with passing points and we drove higher and higher above the town of Welshpool and way out into the countryside. Jude the Undergardener’s little car finally turned into the lane leading up to the garden. This lane was so steep the car struggled so we were relieved to finally get parked up alongside other Hardy Planters cars on the little grass verge car park.

Getting out of the car we were met with the most amazing views over farmland and what seemed like a huge sky.

We had to admire anyone who could garden against such odds. An average garden would have been quite an achievement but we were treated to a brilliant garden. The borders were rich with planting with variety in colour and texture.

As with any Hardy Planter’s garden there were some beautiful specimen plants that stopped you in your tracks demanding a closer look. They deserved appreciation.

In the lower section of the garden below the house a poly tunnel housed impressive crops, potatoes, tomatoes and even peaches. It was amazing to see the Runner Beans in flower so early in the year.

I shall finish with a few more shots of this wonderful garden created in such a difficult environment.

community gardening fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens open to the public half-hardy perennials kitchen gardens natural pest control village gardens

Find Peace and Tranquility in a Walled Garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 3, 2013

Geoff, a friend and gardener, recommended Sugnall Walled Garden as a special place to visit. We love walled gardens and always have done for their special unique atmosphere. Peaceful. Tranquil. Enclosed. Calm. Secret.

Sugnall is not pristine, and it is better off not being so. We liked its “shabby chic” effect. It is a mix of productive and decorative borders with lots of paths to follow inviting exploration. But first we had to check out the tea shop! A little plant as a table centre set the scene for our walled garden visit.

There were some very efficient pest controllers working within these walls. Two pairs of ducks were champion slug and snail eaters. Nesting swallows, which appeared and disappeared through a convenient hole in the gable end of the potting shed were seen to be catching insects while in flight to feed to their hungry youngsters.

Now Geoff also mentioned a nature reserve just a stroll up the lane which hosts bluebells! That just had to be our next port of call.

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A Bouquet for May

May has been overall cooler than we expected and wished for and it has been far wetter than we had hoped for and wanted but the garden has loved it, revelling in the dampness and the special quality of the light that late spring/early summer delivers. This light makes the gardener feel happier too. Neither Jude the Undergardener nor I can cope with dull weather very well.

Bluebells and Bowles Golden Sedge sit on the shower room window sill, whilst in the lounge fireplace Aquilegias, Red Campion, Cow Parsley, Bistort and Wallflowers add life to the slate fireplace. These bouquets illustrate how we balance cultivated plants with our own natives.

Growth is lush – greens are rich. Flowers burst with bright colours and are generous with their exuberance. Enjoy my May gallery. Just click on any shot and follow the arrows.