A Trip to Yeo Valley.

Yeo Valley Organic Garden is one of very few gardens with Soil Association organic certification, and is just down the road from us in Bristol so on a warm, sunny May Sunday when it was open for the National Gardens Scheme, we decided it was too good an opportunity to miss and off we went.
Now it has to be said I know this garden relatively well having visited on a few occasions and am always knocked sideways by how well it is kept considering it relies solely on people power. In fact I posted a photo on Instagram of the veg garden and one person almost refused to believe it could be so tidy in an organic system. It is, of course, down to a truly committed team of highly skilled, professional gardeners and their tireless work and it's also proof that you can garden completely organically and still have a stunning garden.
It was amazing to see the garden so busy, with car loads of folk arriving to see the garden, particularly as it was a day that was benefiting the National Gardens Scheme. The garden is also open throughout the season so it's worth looking at the Yeo Valley website and seeing when and popping along
So here is a walk through the visit with photos.

Those yellow signs never fail to make my heart sing!!

The stunning vegetable garden with views of the rolling Somerset hills.

The herbaceous borders that lead from the veg patch to the meadows. Alight with the freshness of lime green Euphorbia, tulips and fresh spring growth. The darkness of the Pittosporum Tom Thumb really makes these colours zing.

The meadow, full of stunning flowering Camassia. 

The Crab Apple walk which was alive with bees, who's hives are in the adjoining field, full of flower and the promise of the harvest to come. 

The main garden is full of colour, again all with a nod to pollination but also in a very designed, modern herbaceous border way, that really lends itself to the landscape behind it. The large pond, just out of shot, echoes Chew Valley Lake which is the other side if the wall.

Purples and pinks abound in Spring,making the freshness of the spring foliage particularly bright and zingy.

Wisteria features heavily in this part of the garden, covering walls, fences and pergolas and again supporting the bees that live so close.

I love a good piece of garden sculpture and this, I think, is lovely. It sits at the end of a new piece of garden where you can sit and look out at Chew Valley Lake.

Mint and other herbs sit on the patio outside the cafe, in containers of all types. As the Yeo Valley dairy is next door, there is an emphasis on using the recycled containers used in milk production.

The promise of the year ahead....

Tulips in pots adorn the outside area of the most spectacular greenhouse!

The greenhouse. Closed on really busy days but I have been allowed into these hallowed halls and what an amazing space, full of non hardy tropical type plants that come outside in the summer.

Garden Visits!! Truffles.

This afternoon, having spent the morning potting on plants, we toodled off to Bishop Stanton, a hop, skip and a jump away, to see a garden called Truffles. We always try to see as many gardens that are open for the National Gardens Scheme as possible, but with Mr V's back being so poorly last year we visited almost none, so there's some catching up to do.  

I don't have to go on about why I love the NGS as I've spoken of it often and the statistics in terms of their fundraising speaks far more than I ever could. I do think it's worth saying though that having worked with various people who have opened their gardens, it is akin to opening your soul for all to peer in, and not at all an easy thing to do, so I applaud each and every person who does so.

Anyway, here's a walk through the garden via photos. I'm going to do more blogs like this over the year; less words and more garden beauty!! So I'll shut up and give you Truffles.....

 

Arriving and seeing the yellow welcome signs always makes me smile.

 

A beautiful pond greets you, surrounded by marsh marigolds and this quite magnificent Gunnera. 

 

These 3 Silver Birch lead the visitor from the pond out into an expanse of lawn planted with beautiful raised beds of tulips. The predominant colours used are yellows and blues with forget me nots and stunning yellow tulips everywhere. 

This is a wildflower area and the photo really doesn't do it justice! Primroses, fritillaries and camassia which were on the verge of opening, jostled with clovers and vetches. A true labour of love I would think and I would love to see it in late Spring to see how it progresses.

 

And the veg garden. This was a superb use of space, as it is really in a hidden dell that I suspect gets wet and sodden in the rain, but the raised beds will counteract that. The beds are quite high and even now had some crops in them.

 I

The veg garden from another angle. The garden is full of slopes and twists and turns which lead you from one area to the next, with no clue as to what is coming. Little did we know that the best was yet to come.....

 

A beautiful woodland glade meanders through the garden at the same level as the sunken veg patch. Filled with ferns, hellebores, bluebells and a carpet of wild garlic it is a stunning space.

 

Whilst this area looks quite wild in the first instance, it is quite obviously managed tightly to stop the weeds from creeping in. 

 

This is both the beginning and end of the woodland glade. To the left the visitor goes around a corner to the sunken veg patch and to the right back up to the lawn area at the back of the house. 

 

A circular herb garden welcomes the visitor back to the area behind the house with the silver birches across the lawn. Not spectacular now but I do like this design for herbs and will be a thing of beauty in a few weeks.

Heading into the front garden here is a much better view of the magnificent veg garden with its great compost bins. I think these are cleverly placed as it would be possible to drop compostable material in from the top as well as in front of them.

 

And finally Tulip Burnt Sugar is placed in several areas in the garden and the scent is extraordinary!! 

This garden has been made, as in designed, built and planted, by its owners over a 20 year period as they have added to their plot with land surrounding it. I think it's a wonderful garden, and one well worth a visit. Plus, the cake was magnificent.....

It's National Gardening Week!

It's National Gardening Week, but what does that mean? To my mind it ought to be all about amplification of the things us gardeners, rich or poor, urban or rural, young or old, are doing across the UK in this week. The world of gardening is so rich and so diverse there is absolutely something in it for everyone and I would hope that this week gives us the opportunity to really get that out across the channels of social media through our blogs, our photos and by asking people to join in, to get involved and get excited about gardening. After all we are known as a nation of gardeners so let's make it clear that that is exactly what we are and that we are proud of that title.

So Sara, I hear folk ask, what are you doing this week to support National Gardening Week?

Well, aware as I am that I haven't blogged for a while firstly I am going to be a bit better at that. I often find I have so much to write about that I end up writing nothing so this week I am going to concentrate on catching up with all of that, so watch out for book reviews, some pieces about favourite plants and lots and lots of social media engagement around those blogs and more. I hope you don't all get bored with me...

But I am also going to be doing some gardening that I will take you all with me to do. Firstly I will be leading a session in the Incredible Edible Bristol Bearpit Garden with a group of volunteers from the horticulture team at Bristol University. We'll be planting climbers and hops and vines and a perennial meadow whilst having a great time and drinking a whole lot of tea. I am super excited to be linking with Bristol University as it's a direct link with Bristol Botanic Garden, which without doubt is one of my favourite places in the city as well as becoming a botanical masterpiece. If you haven't been then please try to get there-it's well worth a journey. I will be there on Friday with some students taking in not just the beauty of the garden, but also the extraordinary plant collection which I absolutely adore.

Then I will be leading 2 smaller sessions on Thursday where I will be supporting groups in their gardening journey. One of these groups is taking over a space from a volunteer who very sadly lot her fight with cancer just before Christmas. Jackie's Garden as we are now calling the space, will be a memorial to a lady who was passionate about Incredible Edible and about getting people outside and into the fresh air, talking about food and growing to anyone and everyone as she went about her days. I miss Jackie at every session;she was a fierce friend both personally and to Incredible Edible and I hope this group can make her vision reality.

For Jackie, for my own mum and for all the other people involved in our world who have lost their fight with or are fighting with cancer, I will be supporting the National Gardens Scheme this week in any way I can. I hope to find a garden or two to visit over the long weekend and I will be sharing their social media posts like a crazy woman. For those of you who don't know the NGS supports cancer charities and also Perennial, the gardeners benevolence charity amongst others. Last year they had their best year ever, supporting more and more people through those amazing people who both open and visit their gardens for them. Those who open their gardens do so completely voluntarily and the funds made go directly to these important causes. Why not get involved?

Then on Saturday I will be again in an Incredible Edible Bristol garden, this time in Redcliffe on the Urban Food Trail, gardening in a park that we are now looking after. There will be the inevitable weeding and clearing, along with some compost turning and lots more, as well as an Easter Egg Hunt and games for kids of all ages!

So a busy week ahead but also one that will be filled with love, laughter, tea and amazing people, all of whom will be gardening and at the same time working at creating social change by supporting a change in the way the public realm looks. The fact that all these folk come along, in all weathers and despite the issues in their own lives, never fails to humble me and make me realise that I am the luckiest gardener alive.