The Walled Gardens at Croome Court
Britain's largest Georgian walled gardens and the meticulous restoration project of the Cronins since 2000. Open in partnership with National Trust Croome.
A long bitter winter, short dark days and relentless log cutting, leaves us barely enough time to make a snow man. Fortunately, Roy concentrates on more important things. With the ever popular ‘Rose Garden’ in his focus, much of the ground works are now complete and the shape is ‘taking shape’.
Moreover, the centre piece is now finally in place, but that’s for a story to follow. It’s time to get started on the new vegetable beds.
Our new vegetable garden is now ready for planting. It’s so large that the far end is over 100 yards from the nearest source of water, and more than six feet higher. We need to find a reliable and sustainable solution for irrigating the entire plot which doesn’t involve carrying watering cans up and down the slope. An underground brick built tank, that used to be part of the Orchard House, becomes key. If we could redirect the rain water from the back sheds into the tank, then dig a trench up the length of the main pathway, lay a new pipeline, add a few stand pipes and taps, submerge an electric pump into the tank and then cover it all up again,,, that should do the trick.
Well, perhaps refreshed would be a better way to describe these ones. We discovered one of them as we were removing the dense growth of ivy from the walls in the early days. It was situated on top of one of the brick columns supporting the main garden gates. Expecting to find it’s counterpart, we eagerly set about clearing the other side. Sadly it was not there. However, it was uncovered some time later amongst a pile of stonework near the Mansion. With much more pressing issues on our minds at that time, we decided to reinstate it after we had completed the restoration to the walls; as a milestone on our quest.
It’s our pleasure to welcome members of the Worcester Rotary Club on their first visit to the gardens. The weather remains favourable as we enjoy a gentle stroll, sharing ten years of progress with the newcomers. We hope to see you all again soon.
The recently laid pipework, which will provide the main source of irrigation for the vegetable beds, needs a source to draw from. A conveniently placed underground tank, situated within the remaining foundations of the Orchard House, serves the purpose well. But first it needs to be revived. As the silt and debris are gradually cleared, we begin to see the shape of the old brick built tank. A new feed pipe is installed to channel rain water from the roof of the back sheds along with an electric pump, which will push the collected water up to the needy plants. Pretty cool stuff…
