Summer is well and truly upon us, and we have an abundance of flowers putting on a show in every area of the gardens, along with some exciting winged visitors, and one of the biggest events in our calendar coming up this month. Here’s all the latest insight from us here at The Walled Garden for July!

Summer vibrance.

The latest blooms making an appearance are the Hydrangeas, Dierama (also known as Angel’s Fishing Rod) – Erectum and Guinevere, and specifically in the Grass Border we’ve spotted the Rudbeckias, Stipa, Echinacea and Pennisetum – trying say all those really fast!

Head Gardener Martin said: “The EMA students have harvested New Potatoes, Onions and Broad Beans from the Kitchen Garden recently. All of which have been available to buy for £1 a bag as and when they have been picked. We’ve installed an honesty box, but the students are also being encouraged to sell to the public visiting the café should they wish to purchase any.”

Elsewhere in the gardens, Martin and his team, with the help of the EMA students have been working on the Rose Garden.

Martin added: “We have removed some of our older roses out of the Rose Garden and are in the process of removing roughly a spade depth of soil and replacing with our own compost mixed with natural fertiliser. We will then plant a selection of new roses and finally top dress the whole area with a mulch to help retain moisture and reduce weed growth.”

The old roses that have been removed will be used to create our own compost.

(the photos are a little ‘work in progress’ but there are plenty of roses to see in the Rose Garden, and we also have many for sale just outside the café in our plant sales area)

Also in the rose garden area, the fountain and pond are absolutely singing right now, with water lilies adding a mystical touch to the setting. Photos never do them justice, so be sure to have wander through and see them for yourself.

As pictured in the header image of this blog, we’re still seeing the Square Garden really come into its own this month. The dry weather has slowed down a lot of the growing on site, but we’re noticing lots of new colours popping up in all corners of the space. This area really has become such a popular focal point of the gardens, with many visitors taking their time to stop for photos and investigate all four corners and the central beds.

and it doesn’t stop there! Another must-stop area is the Mediterranean Garden, where the dhalias is reaching for the sky and and begging for a photo-op with you. You’ll find a bench here too, so it’s another perfect little resting spot.

Praise the moths (an update!)

Once a week, Martin is setting up our Moth trap to keep track of the species we have visiting the area. Martin said “The students have really enjoyed observing the various species of moths we’ve been finding. They have been making a record for us to refer to. We’ve seen Elephant Hawkmoths, Yellow Tails and Poplar Hawkmoths to name a few.”

Did you know? There are approximately 2,500 different species of moths in the UK. During our weekly observations, we are seeing so many sizes and various colours and markings on the moths we are finding here in The Walled Garden. From the Buff Tip, which looks a little like a twig to the beautiful pink patterns of the Elephant Hawkmoth, we’re so excited to see that we have such a diverse ecosystem of moths right here in the gardens, and we love how they now play a part in EMA students studies on-campus.

Egg-citing Times for the animals!

Over in Animal Acre, our small animal park home to a range of cute residents, Animal Care Technician Chrissy has been very busy as always! Our incubators are currently home to Polish Chicken eggs as well as Bearded Dragon eggs.

Chrissy said: “It’s so important to be able to show our students the lifecycles of the different animals we have on site.

“A few Polish chickens hatched back in June, and we’ve just had another arrive in the last week or two. The Bearded Dragons could hatch any time between end of July and mid-September so we will be watching and waiting over the summer!”

Our summer menu has arrived at the Dovecote Café!

Our summer menu has just arrived and it will not disappoint!

Will you treat yourself to either the Greek Style Chicken Souvlaki or Falafel wrap? Maybe the seafood platter or our popular fish and chips are more your thing? Or if you are looking for a tasty new sandwich, we’ve just put New York Pastrami on the menu (this has proved very popular in the past!) So next time you’re visiting, stop by the Dovecote and give the new menu a try – we’d love to hear what you think!

Coming up in July…

Don’t forget – our third annual Dog Show is on Sunday 13th July! We can’t wait to welcome visitors old and new to join us for a day celebrating our canine companions. Gates open from 10.00am. Season ticket holders go free, and also receive one free dog entry into the show. General admission to the event is £3, or free if you’re entering a dog into the show (£2.50 per dog per category. Pre-Reg still open!), and Under 18s are free. All the details you need for the event can be found on our dedicated page. CLICK HERE!

Also, from Weds 16^th July our Space Dinosaur trail starts!

On every day until back to school!

 Find the space-dino characters and tick them off your map!
 12 intergalactic quiz questions for curious minds, can you answer them all?
 Fascinating space facts around the trail – expand your knowledge of the universe!
 Planets hidden among the trees — can you spot them all?
 A photo stand with the astronaut dino gang (perfect for a summer snap!)
PLUS… the cheeky Compies have escaped AGAIN (we think we’re going to need to invest in a new enclosure…) — track them down if you can!
Trail prize + colouring competition with every map – Maps £3 each. No booking required.

And finally…

The elusive Deer that’s been visiting us for a long time now, but naturally has been very camera shy, made another appearance this week, and we were able to capture a few little clips of it chowing down on some foliage… don’t tell Martin!!

Click to watch the video:

Phew! That about covers it for now… so much to do and see here at The Walled Garden this month and through the summer. We hope you’ve enjoyed some behind the scenes updates in this latest blog, and look forward to seeing you in the gardens very soon!