Author: Ruth Philo

Notes from a riverside garden – January 2022

January 25, 2022

A leafless specimen of Salix acutifolia but with catkins against a blue sky.

You may recall that we had logs piled up awaiting relocation to a higher part of the garden, following the tree surgeon’s visit to remove from the river a large fallen branch, snapped off in a gale from our weeping willow. Many wheelbarrow loads later we had moved the pile to higher ground to season. Very hard work as only a few could be transported each time. The logs were large and heavy and an uphill push to the safe area. The weather forecast warned of heavy rain to come so our task was urgent! The heavy rain fell and the spot where the logs had originally been piled up was the following day under water as the river duly rose. Our logs would have drifted off down river if we had not made the effort.

A leafless bush of Salix Alba glowing in the sunlight

Salix alba ‘Britzensis’ lighting up the riverbank

A female Goosander diving duck has been residing here for several weeks now. She hunts by diving underwater and catching fish with her serrated bill. This Goosander has joined the large group of Mallard ducks in the garden and when not hunting sits with them on the back lawn.

This Christmas I grew Paperwhite narcissi in the way I used to grow them when we lived in Hong Kong. It was a tradition to have a bowl of hopefully flowering narcissi at Chinese New Year. They are a sign of wealth and good fortune if flowering at that time. The bulbs were just grown in gravel and water. In mid-December I partially filled a large glass vase with gravel then added water to the level of the gravel, laid the bulbs on top, with the bases of the bulbs just in the water. Very soon the roots appeared and then the shoots. We had a fabulous display for at least a couple of weeks, the tall stems being supported by hazel twigs pushed into the gravel and then festive white lights woven through for added sparkle. The perfume is superb too. I will definitely do this again next Christmas plus it reminds me of the many Chinese New Year celebrations we enjoyed in Hong Kong.

A close up on Snowdrop flowers and its foliage

Snowdrops making an appearance

After such a grey and grim end to December and the dreariness of January to endure I decided to wander around the garden looking for some uplifting signs of spring. For a change the sun was shining! Beneath the walnut tree I spotted the first aconite flower unfurling from the soil and a clump of snowdrops in bud. Elsewhere bulbs were pushing through and brightly coloured flowers adorned some sheltered polyanthus in the vegetable garden.

On the Island a young mahonia ‘Charity’ shrub has produced its best show of flowers so far. Soft primrose, upright, yellow fingers of flowers which we have been enjoying for some weeks now. Also on the Island, on the millpool bank, salix acutifolia ‘Blue Streak’ appeared to be illuminated with tiny white lights where the white catkins were caught in the sunlight against the blue sky. Close to the house the viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ is putting on a fabulous show of pink flowers festooning its bare branches with the added bonus of a delightful perfume. After my walk around the garden I did feel my spirits had been lifted and that spring was just around the corner. SB

Notes from a riverside garden – November 2021

December 1, 2021

A recent blustery day resulted in a rather large branch from one of our weeping willows, loudly snapping off and crashing into the river. It had made the river virtually impassible for canoeists. We contacted our excellent tree surgeon, who lives in the village, who came the next day to deal with the problem. A visit to our garden to deal with an issue quite frequently involves him having to use a rowing boat to accomplish the task! Very skillfully he managed to remove the large branch piece by piece from the river and we now have a good pile of future firewood on the bank. Our next task is to wheelbarrow the logs to a safer place to avoid all his efforts being washed downstream in a flood!

An equally spaced row of columnar Golden Irish yew, Taxus Bacatta Fastigiata Aurea, line the path to the bridge over the sluice gates. They are festooned in red lantern like berries, which look dramatic against the green and yellow foliage. Although poisonous to us the birds seem to relish the berries and the blackbirds in particular are having a feast. The guelder rose shrubs, Viburnum Opulus, are hanging with large clusters of glossy, scarlet round berries but they seem to be ignored by any bird at the moment. This shrub has a lot of good features and the leaves develop a deep red hue in the autumn.

Viburnum Opulus

The leaves are falling and are being gathered up for the leaf mould bin or to be added to the compost heap. Thankfully, my husband loves raking or mowing up the leaves as he is an avid leaf mould maker! Not my favourite task! I must say the resulting compost is fantastic and well worth the effort and it is added to our “mix” of compost for pots, mulching etc. Much of the leaf material has come from the striking Acer Freemanii ‘Autumn Blaze’, which has been a beacon of scarlet, orange and deep red leaves.

Autumn leaves of red and gold on an Acer tree

Acer Freemanii ‘Autumn Blaze’

The quince tree has produced a very small quantity of large, yellow fruits, only enough to make a few jars of quince jelly. I regularly check beneath the ancient Conference pear trees for windfalls. There is definitely a race between myself and the moorhens as to who gets to the limited number first! The harvest from the orchard as a whole has been very poor this year.

As I write the delicious smell of my Christmas cake baking is wafting through from the kitchen. A reminder that Christmas is only a few weeks away. The pressure is off regarding the demands of the garden during the winter months. We can sit back and relax; plan any changes we may want to make to the garden as there is always room for improvement.

Reflections of trees and bushes with autumn leaves in a millpond

Autumn reflections in the millpond

The wildlife that shares this garden with us carry on with their busy existence. We have the heron who visits every day, accompanied by the seasonally numerous cormorants who create havoc in the millpond, spreading silvery, leaping shoals of fish before them. The kingfishers also regularly perch above the millpond, ready to strike in an instant. Mallard ducks mill about on the back lawn and Island, occasionally accompanied by the pair of swans. Otherwise it is a quiet time on the river; only the early morning fisherman and the dedicated canoeist quietly going about their pursuits. Generally a peaceful and calm time of year for all of us who live along the riverbank. SB

Notes from a riverside garden – October 2021

October 24, 2021

Chicken of the Woods, a yellow fungus growing on a tree.

We have a mature white willow beside the lake on the Island. It is a rather splendid tree, which over the years has had tree surgery carried out to remove a few potentially hazardous dead branches but we try to leave some in safer positions for the starlings that nest in the holes abandoned by woodpeckers. We have seen common treecreepers hunting for food in the bark of the trunk. At the moment a section of the trunk, where the branch above has been removed, is sporting a most fabulous display of egg yellow Chicken of the Woods. It grows in large, overlapping thick, fleshy masses; it is a bracket fungus. Chicken of the Woods supports a host of wildlife. There are some specialist beetles which only feed on bracket fungi. It is also eaten by deer. It grows on dead or dying trees, both deciduous and conifers.

Most evenings the “tu-wit tu-woo” of the Tawny Owl eerily resonates around the garden. It obviously has excellent eyesight but its real strength is its exceptional hearing. I have read that the Tawny owl can hear the rustle of a mouse, even the movement of a worm beneath the surface, from a considerable distance. A Tawny owl will remain in a territory all of its life and the pair bond for life too. The Tawny owl is particularly vocal in the autumn and spring. I have to confess to having been terrified by the song of the Tawny owl as a small child. There seemed to be so many of them hooting away around the farm buildings. One evening, as we were driving home, my father stopped the car and pointed to this rather fabulous looking bird sitting on a fence post, and explained that it made the sound that so frightened me. I was no longer afraid of the “tu-wit tu-woo” from that day on!

There is a plentiful supply of wood mice, also known as the long-tailed field mouse, in our garden. They are fascinating to watch (we have a thermal imaging device for wildlife watching) when they emerge after dark. They resemble miniature kangaroos as they tend to jump about on their large hind feet with their front feet tucked up. They are common prey of owls.

A Blueberry ‘Liberty’ that we planted in a large container has this year finally rewarded us with a good crop of blueberries to enjoy on our breakfast cereal. It has taken a couple of years to bear fruit. This has prompted us to buy three more plants, Blueberry ‘Aurora’, ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Draper’ in the hope that we can extend the season. Three large containers have been purchased in order to plant in the ericaceous soil they prefer. The leaves of the Blueberry ‘Liberty’ are now turning a wonderful red and orange providing a splash of autumn colour in the vegetable garden.

Nerine bowdenii

The clump of Nerine bowdenii nestled against a wall in our front garden are providing a burst of vivid, candy floss pink flowers akin to the finale of a firework display. The final burst of colour before the autumn takes hold in the borders. SB

Notes from a riverside garden – September 2021

October 13, 2021

Ladybird on a clematis tangutica seedhead

Lawn mowing has by necessity continued throughout the summer with no let up due to the absence of any prolonged dry spell. Something I have noticed when mowing are the large numbers of ant’s nests and the resulting eruption of annoyed ants running over my feet as I walk behind the lawn mower. Neighbours must wonder what on earth is happening when I start jumping around, slapping my feet and ankles, removing my shoes and shaking them to remove the ants! Standing stationary for even a few seconds is not advised! The mowing has been accomplished in record times. Principally black garden ants but also, possibly, meadow yellow ants or the more aggressive red ants. We have not seen any green woodpeckers in the garden for some while, no doubt they would help to reduce the number of ants.

A nuisance caused by ants, these are usually the black garden ants, is their preference for making their nests in garden containers. The sure signs of ants in residence are the plant in the container wilting and looking very sorry for itself. Closer inspection reveals an ant’s nest within the container. Flooding them out repeatedly does seem to do the trick, eventually. Repotting is another option. It is a problem in several of our containers here.

An invitation to a sweetcorn party must have gone out to the local badgers as our sweetcorn patch was completely destroyed one night. The remains of the broken plants were strewn everywhere and not a single kernel of corn was left on any of the neatly nibbled cobs. I know this is a commonplace occurrence for vegetable gardeners locally but so very annoying all the same. They seem to know exactly when they are ready for picking too! Thankfully they do not seem to be interested in runner beans and I did get a good harvest from those.

As I write we are experiencing a short period of very warm, sunny days. After a grim couple of weeks or so of overcast, cool conditions it is so uplifting to have blue skies and sunshine again. The farmers have resumed harvesting now that the sunshine and dry conditions have returned. Trailer loads of golden wheat trundle past the house heading back to the farms from the fields.

Clematis flammula

There are two fabulous clematis currently flowering in the garden. One has the most delicate white, starlike flowers in numerous sprays covering the plant and is called clematis flammula. We have it growing up one of the greengage trees on the Island. It also has a delicate, almond perfume.

Clematis tangutica

The other is the more rampant clematis tangutica which scrambles over fencing and through a rose in the vegetable garden. It is cut down to virtually ground level every spring but rapidly covers a large area once in growth. It produces delicate Chinese lantern shaped buds, which open into attractive yellow flowers. These are followed by fabulous silky pale green seed heads resembling delicate sea anemones, when being blown in the breeze. Eventually they reach their final stage of wonderfully tactile soft and fluffy seed heads. SB

Notes from a riverside garden – August 2021

August 15, 2021

Ligularia dentata plant with yellow flower growing through Petasites japonicus (butterbur)

One never quite knows what type of creature may make its way into our garden through our front gates. In the past a couple of pigs, busily investigating the garden, were discovered upon our arrival home, with the garden gates shut behind them! Obviously a kind soul had shepherded the escapees in off the road for safe – keeping but rather a shock to us! Recently, a very kindhearted local lady, was seen herding a swan in through our front gates! The swan had been found wandering along the road and was in danger of being hit by a motorist. How it came to be in the road, some distance from easy access to the river, remains a mystery. My husband, seeing the efforts being made to guide the swan in through the gates to our garden, went out to assist. The swan was encouraged into our vegetable garden and then left to find its way back to the river, which was easily accessible from that point. Soon it was spotted in the millpond. We were anxious about the safety of the newcomer as the resident cob is particularly territorial and the millpond falls into his patch. For a couple of days all seemed to be well and the newcomer spent his days happily in the millpond. However, this calm was soon to change and I found the newcomer badly beaten with a bloodied head, smeared with mud and looking decidedly unhappy, tucked as high as he could get into some reeds on the edge of the millpool. White feathers were strewn about in the area where the attack had taken place. The poor thing just lay there with his head firmly tucked over its back, resting and recovering from the onslaught. We kept an eye on the situation and when the aggressor returned, as he did a couple of times, swimming up and down close to the reeds, we rushed out and scared him off. We didn’t know if the newcomer would recover as he was in a poorly state. The following morning the injured swan had gone, no sign of him in the millpond and we eventually found him on the Island, looking stronger but still muddy and with the wounds on his head. He remained on the Island for a few days and thankfully did return to good health following much resting. The story doesn’t end there however, as a few days later he was joined by another swan, a female. Was this a romantic drama playing out in our garden? Had they been separated somehow and found each other again? (Have I been reading too much romantic fiction!!) They took up residence in the water garden on the Island and looked stunning in the pool together along with the waterlilies in full bloom. Then, to our amazement, two became three as yet another female joined the pair! All three were then in the water garden area for a few days, doing an excellent job of clearing some unwelcome water weed for us during their stay. All three did eventually move on, hopefully finding a safer place up river, with not such an aggressive cob to cope with.

Red Admiral butterfly on Hemp Agrimony.

The riverbanks are so attractive at this time with the wildflowers in bloom, these notably include Hemp Agrimony which, on sunny days, is a magnet for butterflies and insects. We have much of this plant and apart from looking fabulous it is so beneficial for numerous insects. Purple Loosestrife is a stunning plant and compliments the Hemp Agrimony when growing adjacent to each other. Nature is the perfect flower arranger! We only cut a small area of the riverbanks in the garden to enable us some clear views of the river. Elsewhere we leave the rampant growth as much as possible and the rewards are well worth it.

Purple Loosestrife plant on the riverbank.

Purple Loosestrife on the riverbank.

The time has come to scythe down the unmown areas left around the garden. These wild patches have been vastly more interesting than the surrounding neatly mown lawns. We were delighted to find a Piramidal orchid in amongst the tall grasses in one uncut area. We have also found evidence of hedgehogs around the edges of these wild patches, no doubt they have been foraging within. The cut vegetation is left to dry in piles and then used in a thatch like way on top of our several stick and log piles, hopefully making the hideways cosy in the winter months. Perhaps the hedgehogs benefit too. SB

Notes from a riverside garden – July 2021

July 27, 2021

At last the cool, wet weather has changed to warmth and sunshine, such a welcome change. Not least for the hope that the growth of the lawns may subside as keeping on top of the mowing has been challenging to say the least! The Island being particularly troublesome as the grass is lush and as quite enclosed by trees and riverside plants, it takes some while to dry off to a suitable level for mowing. However, by dodging the rain and making the most of dry days we have managed to keep everywhere mown. The areas we leave unmown are still looking spectacular with the seed heads and the variety of grasses with different heights and seed head shapes forming a feature of their own. We were delighted to find a single orchid bravely making its debut appearance in one of the uncut areas. We think it is a Piramidal orchid.

Pyramidal Orchid

Elsewhere the weeds have also benefitted from the high rainfall with hedge bindweed entwining itself around so many plants and extending its range with stems which seem to be far longer searching for the next plant to climb. On the plus side the herbaceous borders are looking fabulous, despite the attempts of the hedge bindweed in some, to steal the glory! The border on the back lawn is a mass of vibrant colour, hard to belief a few months ago it was frequently underwater during the floods!

It has been a distressing time watching the struggles of the ducks to raise their broods, very few have made it to maturity. We watched a duck bravely fighting off the attentions of a carrion crow as it attempted to carry off a duckling. Sadly I think it eventually succeeded as there was one less in the brood of three a short while later. There have been terrible territorial battles amongst the swans with fatalities. We have never known such a time of intense territorial encounters in all the years we have lived here. However, on a more positive note I noticed yesterday a new brood of moorhen chicks and a duck with four small ducklings.

Clematis

We have been thrilled to find hedgehog droppings in various parts of the garden. With slugs and snails, now munching their way through dahlias, runner bean plants and brassicas, there is much food available for the hedgehogs. We have never used slug pellets in this garden, nature usually keeps everything balanced.

On warm, sunny days I have encountered one or two grass snakes, curled up sunbathing on tops of low walls and on pathways. I’m afraid they always give me a start as their camouflage is so effective when they suddenly slither away as one approaches! We have seen one swimming in the river too. Strangely we rarely see any frogs, despite having what appears to be the perfect conditions for them in this garden, perhaps the number of grass snakes may account for this. We do see the occasional toad. SB

Notes from a riverside garden – May 2021

May 30, 2021

Camassia ‘caerulea’ beside the lake. A spring success!

The overnight frosts and cold of April have taken their toll on several plants in the garden. New leaves on hydrangeas shriveled; flowers on both the magnolias ruined, such a shame as the trees had been covered in buds and flowers this year. The Pacific Dogwood, Cornus nuttallii, whose flowers have been turned to a crisp brown, instead of the fabulous display of white flowers we were looking forward to.

Life continues despite the frosts and cold with the starling pair now to and fro with food for their vociferous young. The parent makes good use of our television aerial as a pausing spot before swooping in under the garage eave with the food. The swans have built a nest in the lake on the island in the preferred spot. The female is still sitting on her eggs and can be seen gently turning them with her beak periodically. She sits there, in the open, through all the weather conditions nature can throw at her. The incubation period is 35 – 41 days and the cob will also help to incubate the eggs.

Mute swan nesting in the lake.

I wrote of the duck nesting in amongst the thyme on our terrace last month. The day after writing the piece I looked out of the kitchen window to see a duck with seven newly hatched ducklings in the thyme, she was in the nest and the ducklings were out and about, clambering through the thyme stems and exploring. It seemed very soon for the ducklings to have hatched but we assumed she must have been there for a longer period on the nest than we thought. It is always a joy to observe the antics of tiny ducklings who are so independent and busy pecking at everything so soon after hatching. I left the happy scene and returned to boiling a kettle for some coffee, just happened to glance out again a short while later to see another duck sitting on the edge of the occupied nest! There didn’t appear to be any hostility, so I assumed all was well. However, very shortly after this a dispute developed and the newly arrived duck was physically throwing the ducklings out of the nest and attacking the mother duck. It was quite horrible to witness, particularly the young being tossed about and trampled on in the melee. Despite knowing one should not get involved I couldn’t just stand there watching this unfold, so I did tap on the window and the “imposter” flew off. Thankfully all the ducklings seemed to be unscathed following their rough treatment and soon after the mother duck and ducklings wandered off towards the river. However, this was not the end of the drama as within a short while the “imposter” duck returned, climbed into the nest and proceeded to settle herself down. We had in fact got the situation completely wrong and the mother duck with ducklings was not the terrace duck but an interloper herself, trying to take over the prime position in the thyme! She did come back a while later with the ducklings and another tussle broke out but eventually, she left. What drama!! Unfortunately, after such a traumatic day for the terrace duck things did not improve and during the night her nest was raided by a badger we suspect, destroying all of her eggs. Only the mangled, chewed up remains of her eggs lay strewn about the area in the morning, which is the telltale sign of a visit from a badger.

The mother duck and seven ducklings did continue to come to the terrace for food and to drink and swim in the water tray. Surprisingly she never ventured into the thyme now that the nest had been abandoned. As is so normal at this time of year the duckling numbers reduced each day until she was left with one. Another brood that frequented the terrace was slowly reduced to two but they failed to survive. We named this remaining duckling Solo, not a good idea to name a wild creature but all our hopes for one survivor from all the ducklings we had seen in the garden were pinned on this little chap. Every morning we would check to see if it was still with its mother in the garden, or on the river. It was frequently left alone and we would hear it cheeping until its mother could return to it following yet another pursuit by drakes forcing her to leave the youngster. I guess you know what is coming but one morning, in early May, there was no sign of the duckling and sadly only the mother came for food that day. It really has been a most terrible early spring for the ducks and also for the moorhens who seem to have lost their chicks too. We can only hope the second broods have better luck in the perilous world they inhabit with so many predators around them coupled with the very cold April. The ducks, however, carry on as normal despite the awful losses and no doubt will soon be nesting again.

Syringa Vulgaris ‘prince wolkonsky’ on millpool bank.

On the island there is an ancient white willow with several dead branches amongst its healthy branches, left in situ, we have removed obviously hazardous branches in the past. I recently witnessed a treecreeper swiftly ascending the trunk in search of food. On another occasion a great spotted woodpecker was drumming high up in the tree on a dead branch. A great joy was the arrival of the reed warblers whose distinctive melodic warble fills the air around the stands of bamboo in the garden. Another sound of spring was hearing the cuckoo in early May. SB

New Festival Campaign – 30 Days 30 Miles

May 21, 2021

30 Days 30 Miles campaign image of blue water in the River Stour

We’re pleased to announce that we have a new initiative for 2021 and invite you to take part, whether you are someone who loves to eat good food, a grower or producer. 30 Days 30 Miles – Tastes from the Stour Valley encourages everyone to source their food more locally, support small and independent businesses and help care for our local landscape and health of the planet. The Stour valley is a great place for food and agriculture and we believe that it will be possible to source a good portion of what we eat from within a 30 miles radius of where we live throughout the 30 days in September.

The aims of the project are to:

form a network of growers and producers working in the valley
develop an awareness of where to source local food and drinks
encourage people to grow and forage their own food
further an understanding of the seasonal aspect of growing
connect with nature to help slow climate change locally and globally
together keep our local landscape an outstanding area of natural beauty
encourage a reduction of our individual carbon footprints and plastic usage

As a local food producer, shop, or trader we invite you to be a part of our online local register, that includes a map to help people discover what is on their doorstep, reduce food miles supporting local businesses.

As a local resident we encourage you to use this register to help source your food in a more sustainable way and welcome you to add to the list so that we can all share and take part in this initiative.

We also invite submissions to our blog and your events and promotions, that we can share through our festival mailing list and social media platforms. If you would like to participate please drop us a line at riverstourfestival@gmail.com

Apples by Dave Hodgson

May 8, 2021

Apple trees in bloom at Old Hall Community in East Bergholt.

Apple trees in the snow at Old Hall Community in East Bergholt.

In the foreground of the above photo is a Blenheim Orange and behind to the left, a Bramley. Further back is a D’Arcy Spice. To the right is a James Grieve then behind that is a Sturmer Pippin. There is a Monarch off in the picture to the left. Five days after I had finished pruning these trees, the snow came and settled on every branch and twig. I could not resist a photo opportunity.

The varieties of apple tree you see in this photo are five of the twenty varieties of apple we manage here at Old Hall Community here in the Stour Valley. A total of ninety apple trees in three orchards covering about six acres. Most of the trees are over forty five years old and with careful management will continue to bear fruit for years to come. No chemical fertilizers or nutrients have ever been used on these trees to encourage growth, combat disease or increase storage time. Not since I have been here and that is thirty two years. Some varieties of apple, like for instance the Monarch, are prone to canker attack. Canker is not going to kill a tree if you prune it regularly and cut away cantankerous growth. After forty five years our monarchs have survived and the older the tree the more resilient it becomes. It might look ugly but the trees learn to live with it.

Most of the apple varieties you buy in shops these days are produced for mass consumption. Indeed did you know that many supermarket apples that are sold as fresh can be up to a year old. What keeps them looking fresh is the use of 1-methylcyclopropene. A so-called safe chemical used to prohibit ripening for up to a year from harvesting. However this synthetic chemical that is marketed as being ‘no risk non toxic’ to humans, animals and the environment is strictly regulated regarding its application. Despite it being explosive when warm it is restricted for use in an enclosed environment only, not outside. The people working with it must wear protective PPE and when finished, must not enter the space for thirty minutes after the environment has been vented. It has been found that two of the impurities found in the chemical are also carcinogenic. So much for ‘no risk non toxic’. Since it was first patented in 1996 1-methylcyclopropene has been used extensively on a whole raft of fruit and vegetables found in our supermarkets across the world. Indeed on any perishable goods that need to be stored and transported long distance and across borders to reach our supermarket shelves. All the more reason why we should strive to eat organically grown locally sourced produce. So this wonder chemical is ‘no risk if you wear PPE’ and ‘non toxic if you don’t release it into the environment’.

Back to our own trees starting with the Monarch apple, no longer available in shops. Between the years 1939 and 1947 people in Britain were allowed five teaspoonfuls of sugar per day or two pounds of sugar per month. This level of rationing made it very difficult to make cakes and fruit jams, blackberry, plum, greengage and the like without sugar. Enter the monarch apple. One thing the monarch has is a very high sugar content, in fact the highest sugar content of all culinary apples. This fruit was grown extensively during the war making it the most popular apple around. It makes an excellent baked apple too. Sadly now in the 2020’s it is known only to the apple enthusiasts. We have two trees of this variety both producing good biennial crops.

The Blenheim Orange was found in about 1740 in Oxfordshire near Blenheim Palace. It is one of the most vigorous of all apple trees and if not kept in check will grow to thirty feet (ten metres) or more in height. Hence it needs heavy pruning every few years to keep it down to a manageable height for picking. It produces a heavy crop but about once in every four years will take a rest. Good for making a puree for freezing or to eat with yogurt.

The Bramley needs no introduction. The UK’s most important cooking apple. The original tree in Nottinghamshire was grown from seed in 1809 and is still standing despite it being knocked over in a violent storm in 1900. More than two centuries later this tree is still bearing fruit though sadly in 2016 it was reported to be dying due to a fungal infection.

Next is the D’Arcy Spice. Found around 1785 near Colchester this is our most indigenious apple. A small biennial yellow russetted fruit traditionally picked on Lord Mayors day November 9th. Has a nutty flavour.

The James Grieve was first recorded in 1893. A lovely tasting apple but prone to bruising and should be handled carefully. Very good for juicing. Moderate cropper. Should be ready early to mid September. Prone to canker.

Lastly the Sturmer Pippin. Another native variety was found in 1827 near Haverhill close to the Suffolk border. A late fruit which if looked after and stored well will keep into the following spring. It should be picked in late October or Early November when it is hard, green and almost inedible.

I hope you have enjoyed this little potted history of a few of our apples here at Old Hall Community. I leave you with a photo of the blossom on a Discovery apple. Eat well.

Apple trees in bloom at Old Hall Community in East Bergholt.

Valley Farm Kitchen Garden, National Trust, Flatford by Brian Willis

May 2, 2021

Rhubarb growing in plot number 2, Valley Farm Kitchen Garden at Flatford, Suffolk.

About ten years ago, when the National Trust leased Valley Farm to The Field Study Council, it was discovered that a completely overgrown piece of ground behind the farm building had clearly once been a kitchen garden. A grant of £1,000 was awarded in 2010 towards the restoration of this garden, as part of National Trust’s ‘Eat Into Green Living’ initiative, a task undertaken by National Trust volunteers. During the restoration, original brick paths and box hedges were uncovered.

Ever since, volunteer gardeners have worked to maintain and develop the garden – or gardens, to be more precise. As far as possible, we try to maintain the gardens in as traditional way as possible, respecting the garden’s heritage. At the moment, we have four teams of gardeners, working on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

It is an idyllic place in which to work, set, as it is, in the heart of John Constable’s beloved countryside, in the beautiful and historic hamlet of Flatford. Tucked away, the garden remains unknown to many, even locals, some of whom, when they do discover us, remark that they’d been coming to Flatford for years, without realising we were there!

Valley Farm at Flatford, Suffolk. Valley Farm is a mid-15th century, medieval Great Hall House that was home to wealthy yeoman farmers up until the early 1900s.

Photo credit: Jemma Finch

We grow, organically, a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, much of which is used by the Tearoom in their recipes. Two of my all-time favourites are the rhubarb and ginger, and the raspberry and white chocolate scones! Produce which is not needed by the Tearoom is offered for sale to the public on our market barrow outside Bridge Cottage.

What do we grow?

Broad beans, runner beans, French beans, potatoes, red and white onions, Spring onions, garlic, leeks, courgettes, squashes, rhubarb, herbs, salad crops, including lettuce, beetroot, tomatoes and cucumbers. Have you ever tried ‘Crystal Lemon’ apple cucumbers? They’re delicious!

We also grow flowers, such as Sweet Peas, Dahlias, Cornflowers, Sweet Williams and an interesting variety of poppies. We collect seed from some of the flowers, including from our spectacular poppies, which we also offer for sale on the barrow. We also have a soft fruit garden, in which we grow raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, loganberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and gooseberries.

Visitors exploring Valley Farm Kitchen Garden at Flatford, Suffolk.

Photo credit: Trevor Ray Hart

On Open Days, we organise activities for children, and, among new schemes in the pipeline, we are planning to set aside two of our raised beds for children to tend, grow crops, and learn about gardening and nature.

The gardeners are always glad to welcome visitors to our garden between 10 am and 12 noon on our working mornings. The entrance to the garden can be found just past Willy Lott’s House.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Brian Willis, volunteer gardener
National Trust, Flatford