Luton Hoo Walled Garden Visit

It has been some time since I visited Luton Hoo, to the Walled Garden Project, and after clearing the desks I set off via Slip End. As I was approaching Pepperstock very low overhead swept a Red Kite – what a wonderful sight, sadly it was not until I got to the Motorway bridge above the M1 could I park up and grab the longest lens I had with me!

Well, you can imagine the rest, but in case you think luck was on my side, let me say, it glid around me as I got out my 90-200mm, and then soared ever higher and more distant as I got my camera out and and focussed upon him. I waited for a while in the forlorn hope it would return, but after five minutes spent watching a diminishing speck, I gave in and drove the rest of the journey to Luton Hoo. But when s/he was close, what a magnificent bird and to see his/her full wingspan and forked tail…!

The Potting Sheds are undergoing refurbishment to the roof in part, due to earlier high wind damage that rendered it unsafe, so I made my way in via the greenhouses and into the garden, aiming for the Mushroom house to see how the handcart was faring, but as I walked along the bed beside the long greenhouse I spotted several young Allium that was an airport for hoverflies. Out came my 100mm Macro with 1.4 converter to see what chance I had of capturing these phenomenal pilots in flight. I was there, rooted to one spot for probably ten minutes trying to capture contrasting coloured backgrounds to these hovering insects and as close as I could to reveal their fascinating detail.

After that I spoke to the two men who were doing the conservation and restoration of the handcart from old oak to replace the woodworm-eaten sections, trying to capture their handiwork.

I then returned to the garden to capture some of the blooms in the central growing area. I got chatting to some of the volunteers from I learn that the week before they had a visit by a humming-bird hawkmoth, a specimen I had spotted the year before, but never managed to photograph, but with very little sunshine, it was nowhere to be found this afternoon; I did mange a cricket. There was a lot of colour today, and even here in the main growing area, an abundance of hoverflies, so they feature strongly within this gallery.

The 2nd Open Art Exhibition at Luton Hoo

Preparations are well under way for this year’s Open Art Exhibition being held in the The Conservatory, a semi-permanent Marquee within the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo. The exhibition opens on the 18th March, and continues till 20th. Full details can be found at: http://www.lhwg.org.uk
I went along to the gardens and to the former Mushroom House, but there was less activity in these areas than normal, partly due to my somewhat late arrival, and also the weather was far from conducive. Work upon the Boiler-House drains was being undertaken by two keen lady volunteers at the front, where the grilles above what I soon realised were windows from the cellar, were being cleared of several wheelbarrow loads of soil and stones! At the rear two men were at work trying to clear a sump at the bottom of the stairs, of several years’ worth of oily sludge.
Out in the gardens a lone female was later to be seen tilling the soil with a hoe.

In the marquee were numerous people hanging paintings, assembling the bar area, up ladders attending to the spotlighting, whilst around the schools exhibits children, their parents and teachers were putting the finishing touches to their chefs d’oeuvres. I have tried to capture the overall picture of the displays and some of those beavering away to make the show a success.

I look forward to taking a closer look in the evening at the Preview to which I have been invited.

Still Very Much PreSeason at Walled Garden

On this my second visit to Luton Hoo’s Walled Garden this year, it is obvious that the weather has taken its toll; some of the polythene covering on the greenhouses has been shredded by the winds, and the incessant rain has puddled much of the roads and paths, and growth has been held back. Despite this there are the signs of Spring, and the volunteers have done sterling work in clearing the beds for the new season. There is also new paving for the tree-lined path to the greenhouses.

In the former Mushrooom House, the handcart restoration is progressing from the stripped-down kit of parts I saw on my earlier visit; the wheels have been treated for woodworm been filled and were being sanded down, and a new end piece for one of the sides was being shaped. Next door, a staging was being prepared for one of the propagating sheds; it was taking shape from reclaimed wood and later being trimmed to fit against the large pipes.

The sun was very intermittent, but in a brighter moment I brought the previous year’s restoration project, the Apple or Egg Cart, out into the courtyard to record it in all its glory.

In the greenhouse, which had been Rosetti’s Studio in the TV film ‘The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’ a couple of far more recent garden benches were being given a new white coat. In the gardens, raspberry canes were being dug up and consigned to the smoke and flames of a bonfire just outside the walls of the garden. Along the Potting Shed wall the first signs of Spring growth were to be seen below the windows, and along the tree-lined walk were some flowers from last season alongside snowdrop clusters, and soon with a bit of warmth the daffodils will come into bloom.

Luton Hoo Walled Garden January

January is nearing its end, and so I paid a visit to Luton Hoo’s Walled Garden for the first time in 2011. England’s recent weather has done it no favours, but it was still very obvious that both employed and voluntary workers had cleared the detritus of the past season readying the garden for next year’s growth. Taking photos within the walled garden in the gloom and fine drizzle would not have shown the efforts, but simply filled a viewer with sadness.

As I walked around beyond the wall towards the Boiler House and beyond, I could hear animated conversation. As I came to the former Mushroom House I met the team who over at least the last two years had restored the Apple Cart. I learnt that the next projects were to continue work on the dragsaw, and start on a small handcart. I was shown some of the parts, and the start being made, but there was nothing beyond a series of early faded photos that showed how it had once looked during its former working life.

In the smaller room next door a parcel from America was being slowly unpacked to reveal some goodies rescued from a ‘Bone Yard’ – what we English would describe as a ‘Scrap Yard’! However the contents revealed a delightful cornucopia of parts that could bring the dragsaw back to energetic life. I heard it described as a Christmas present! They would still require work, and in some cases could only become patterns for newly machined components such as the crankshaft, but all were very welcome.

Meanwhile in the small courtyard, work was proceeding trying to lift a large grating, which did seem to be resisting all efforts to being opened. Soon two of the volunteers were turning their attention to some of the smaller connected grilles and then one of them set to removing some of the gloop in order to rod the pipes to clear them; this task was still ongoing by the time I came to leave, so I do not know the final outcome. What I do know is that it was hard and dirty work that was being done with enthusiasm.