Wednesday 7 May 2014

Garden Visiting In May - Part One

I'm visiting a garden each month during 2014 and last weekend, Mick came up with the idea to visit Cannon Hall. It's a country house museum about five miles from Barnsley, and has its own Georgian walled garden which has been restored to show the working gardens that would have served the Hall during the Georgian and Victorian periods.

As we walked through the gate in to the walled garden, I could see that it's well tended. What I didn't realise was just how big it is. It's thought to have been built around 1699 and around 1760, it was expanded to the size it is today.


On the wall to my right were espaliered trees.


I love these old brick coldframes, there's plenty of space there to harden off seedlings.


They were being well used. There's lots of seedlings waiting their turn to be planted out.


Some beds have already been planted up. The wire cages which cover the brassicas are a good idea to stop any plants from being nibbled by rabbits.


The greenhouse is obviously well used, but out of bounds to the public.


This greenhouse houses a cactus collection.


A few areas are still awaiting some attention, including this old greenhouse.


This espaliered tree is impressive, they must harvest plenty of fruit from it, it's huge.


More espaliered fruit trees, they really make use of every bit of space. The gardens house a grand array of fruit trees and bushes including plums, cherries, gooseberries, currants, hazelnuts, peaches, nectarines, quince, strawberries, raspberries and pears.


There's ornamental areas within the walls too, with plenty of space for a stroll.


Pretty pink tulips and polyanthus.


The clematis was flowering over the brick arbour.


Hundreds of tadpoles were swimming about in the pond. I'm sure the frog population will be welcomed in a garden this size to help keep the slugs under control.


They even welcome deer here, of the willow variety.


A guardian angel.


As well as being functional, the garden has some really pretty areas.


A lovely place to sit and ponder, looking out across the garden.


This is a rain gauge. It's linked to a computer through a telephone line, all clever stuff.


We noticed the huge number of pear trees growing in the garden. The collection contains nearly forty varieties, some of which are thought to be nearly two hundred years old, such as Williams' Bon Chretien, Laxton's Early Market, Pitmaston Duchess and Conference.


I can recommend this garden to anyone with an interest in fruit and vegetable growing, and everyone else too as there's more to Cannon Hall than just the walled garden. Check out my Cannon Hall post on my Through The Keyhole blog.

Admission to the museum, grounds and gardens is free, though there's a nominal £3 charge to park the car. Dogs are allowed, which is great as we had Archie with us, but they have to be kept on a lead in the walled garden. There's a garden centre across the road from the car park which is worth a look round. The prices there were on par with other garden centres, though I didn't buy anything on this occasion. There's also a few plants for sale in the walled garden but nothing took my fancy.

I'll be taking you on a magical garden visit in my next post. Something a bit different.

40 comments:

  1. That looks like a lovely place to visit. I really like the old coldframe. That's unusual to allow dogs, Moss wouldn't be very good because he hates being on his lead

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    1. Those coldframes are wonderful, what I'd give for something like that in my own garden. I'm always pleased when places allow dogs as we usually take Archie on days out with us and we can only go if they'll allow him in. I find that most dog owners are responsible, it's the odd one or two who don't clean up after their dogs which spoil it for the rest of us.

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  2. Beautiful garden.....I love the willow artwork, something I would one day, like to try.
    Not sure how it would work out though:)

    Like the idea of the wire cloche to keep away rabbits, now there is an idea. I could maybe try that in the garden.

    It is always good to see a garden you have never visited, as you can often take ideas home with you.

    Tku for sharing.

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    1. It's a fabulous garden. My photos only show a taste of what's there, there's so much more to see. I liked the wire cloches too, though they won't keep the butterflies from laying their eggs. I wonder if they'll net their brassicas once they've grown a bit. I think there's always ideas to take away from any garden you visit.

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  3. Looks like a great place to visit. I'm very impressed with all their beautifully trained fruit trees.

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    1. It's amazing how much fruit they've managed to pack in by training the trees against the walls. They've done a fantastic job, and they're all labelled too so that you know what they are. Very impressive.

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  4. The walled garden is great, so much productivity going on, they must have masses and masses of fruit come harvest time! xx

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    1. I agree, they must have a huge fruit harvest. I don't know if you can see in the first photo, but there's a sign asking not to pick the fruit as it's for use by schoolchildren. They'll definitely be getting their five a day.

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  5. What a fantastic garden, I loved the brick coldframes and that huge espaliered tree is a feast for the eyes!
    Those willow deer and the guardian angel are absolutely delightful!! What a lovely post!xxx

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    1. It's a fabulous garden, I shall definitely be making a return visit. The huge espaliered tree is wonderful, it must be very old but it still looks very healthy. It's nice to see some ornamental features mingled in with the serious business of food production.

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  6. It looks a lovely place to visit, I could do with some of those cold frames if only I had the space.

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    1. It was so interesting looking around this garden. The coldframes are fabulous, I'd love one of those myself.

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  7. Its a great place isnt it Jo? We have been a few times.

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    1. We'll definitely be making a return visit. I'd like to see the walled garden later in the season when it's harvest time.

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  8. Wouldn't you just love a walled kitchen garden like that? You are giving us a problem though by introducing so many lovely local gardens and dog friendly ones at that. Doesn't it make you wonder why if ones like this don't see dogs as a problem so many ones do.

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    1. I love walled gardens, there's just something secret gardenish about them. I can definitely recommend this garden if you're looking for one to visit, you'd love all the fruit they're growing and I bet it's really interesting later in the year when the veggies have got going. It's great that Archie was allowed in too, he usually comes on our days out with us so we end up giving places which don't accept dogs a wide berth.

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  9. A lot of work must go into keeping the garden maintained.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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    1. It must, but we didn't see one gardener there on our visit. It was Sunday though so I suppose they're allowed a day off.

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  10. Oh now that looks like the sort of garden I like to visit Jo. Name duly noted for future reference.

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    1. I really enjoyed looking round this garden, there's so much to see, and it's great that all the different varieties are named too. I can definitely recommend a visit.

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  11. Beautiful tree! Great on the landscape! Thanks for sharing the beauty

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    1. There's so many lovely trees in this garden, and so many are trained beautifully along the walls. It's truly inspiring.

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  12. AnonymousMay 08, 2014

    That looks to be one heck of a walled garden judging by your terrific photos. It's certainly a place that I'm sure I'd enjoy looking round as much as you did. Flighty xx

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    1. It's a huge garden, I don't think you can judge just how big it is by my photos. I'm sure we'll have missed lots of things as there was so much to see. We'll definitely go back, it would be nice to see some fruit on the trees and veggies waiting to be harvested.

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  13. A very interesting post as Cannon Hall is just a few exits up the motorway from us and worth a visit for the walled garden alone. I wonder if they do talks and tours as it's a shame the glasshouses are out of bounds. I love that old lean-to one that's crying out for
    restoration and that huge fruit tree is amazing - must be very old yet going strong.

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    1. The main reason we visited was to see the walled garden, but there's so much more there too. I'd like to go back so that I can look round the museum, and to see how everything progresses in the garden too. I know they do tours in the hall, but the website doesn't say anything about the garden. It's definitely worth visiting if you get the chance.

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  14. What a wonderful garden, I love to visit places like this. Thank you for sharing

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    1. It was a really enjoyable day, so much to see. We'll definitely be going back.

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  15. I love visiting other gardens and always find it inspirational. There are some lovely features in this garden. Looks like a good way to spend a day.

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    1. We enjoyed our time looking round this garden, there was so much to see. As you say, visiting other gardens can be inspirational, there's always something you can take away with you.

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  16. Beautiful. I wish my allotment was as neat as that! xxx

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    1. I do too. I could tell that lots of hard work goes in to keeping this garden looking so good.

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  17. I do pop over here from time to time, but must come more regularly. All that fruit sounds perfect to me, as I love it. I too think that walled gardens are so welcoming and sort of cosy and secretive. Take care.

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    1. I think it was my love of the book, The Secret Garden, as a child which started my love of walled gardens. The descriptions were so vivid that I could picture the garden in my mind's eye. I think there's something quite romantic about them.

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    2. That was one of my all time favourite books too as a a child.

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    3. I remember sitting with my mum while she read it to me, and I did the same with Eleanor too.

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  18. I love those little wire cages for the brassicas - very ingenious.
    The place itself seems like one I would enjoy. Perhaps a little less formal than some, which is good. Mellow brickwork like that is particularly attractive. I'm surprised you didn't buy any plants though (maybe your collection is complete already???)

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    1. The wire cages are great for when seedlings are first planted out. It's a lovely walled garden, large enough to devote some areas to vegetables and some for leisure. I'm sure I missed loads of things so I want to go back and explore some more. There wasn't a huge selection of plants for sale, nothing that took my fancy. I'm getting more selective in what I buy these days.

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  19. What a lovely garden, looks like you had a nice day for the visit too.

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    1. It's a wonderful garden, so much to see there. It was a bit of a dull day but it kept fine, which is the main thing.

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