March is here! Spring is arriving and as we are slowly getting through the end of winter, preparing ourselves for the Walled Garden 2026 season to begin.

We’re already seeing splashes of springtime colour in the form of Hellebores, Daffodils, Camellias and Snowdrops, all of which have lifted our spirits recently, and we can’t wait for more!

A wet start to the year…

Since January, we, like many businesses and homeowners in Dorset, we have been affected by the flooding and extended periods of rain. On a couple of occasions, the stream burst its banks and lead to a lot of water sitting in areas we wouldn’t normally expect to see it here in Moreton and our gardens.

The gardens team have also had to dig around the Pavilion to release some of the standing water, but they, along with the students will be replanting new beds here in the coming weeks!

Over the winter, Head Gardener Martin Mellersh and his team made a start on installing a new footpath between the Bog Garden and Wisteria Walk. It officially opened last week and is set to become known as Dahlia Walk over the next few months, named as such because it will be surrounded by 85 Dahlias which will stop you in your tracks over the summer months. Many of these Dahlias will be brought in as tubers and potted up by our EMA students before they’re planted out along the new pathway.

Any of you who stopped by over the winter months may have noticed the Bog Garden is also undergoing some work. Previous blogs explained how the ground of this area needed to be dug down into, to make it more of a ‘bog’ and more suitable for the plants and shrubs we have growing there.

Martin said: “There’s still a lot of weeding to be getting on with, but we’ve already made great progress. We have a real variety of plants and shrubs here already such as Primulas, Dicentra, Camassias, Dierama and Ligularia to name a few.

The students have helped us to redesign five of the beds within the border, and they have all been top dressed with compost. We’re still deciding exactly what to plant here but we are planning to specialise in a different type of plant in each bed.”

More plants for sale!

Our Plant Sales area near the entrance is being restocked ready for the 2026 season and will soon be full of new additions ready for you to take home to your garden space. The Gardens team worked hard to extend the size of the area over the winter months, meaning we can offer so much more. There will now also be a bench dedicated to plants, fruit and veg grown by the EMA students and will be available to buy by the public.

The Student Potting Shed

After hosting our free Christmas activities in December, the hut near the kitchen garden has now become a workspace for the students at EMA. It’s being used for sowing vegetables such as Broad Beans, Tomatoes and Peppers for ready for the Kitchen Garden and various flowers for the Square Garden.

Maxine, one of the EMA tutors said: “Our Potting Shed will also become a base for our land-based lessons, where the students will build bat boxes and bug hotels, and they have been already, as well as for some of our animal care sessions. This will be when students learn how to groom our smaller animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs from Animal Acre”

So, ‘potting shed’ is a broad term really, as this space is used for a diverse range of learning and activities that helps to enrich those who attend EMA!

Animal Acre

We’d like to say a big ‘WELCOME’ to our newest member of the Animal Care team – Daisy! As many of our readers and visitors will know, Chrissy is heading off on Maternity Leave, but before she goes, she has been working alongside Daisy helping her get to know our animals and all that goes on at The Walled Garden.

Daisy has a wealth of experience with animals of all kinds. She absolutely loves sharing her knowledge, so if you spot her during your visit and have a question, she will be more than ready to help. You’ll also find her hosting our Bug and Exotic Animal Experiences over the school holidays so keep an eye on our social media for our next event. Daisy, along with EMA student Kody, hosted sell-out sessions in February half-term and we had some amazing feedback from the public.

“We really enjoyed our visit to The Walled Garden recently. We took part in the bug experience which was lots of fun for children and adults! We handled a variety of animals and the staff were very friendly and knowledgeable – answering all of our questions.” – Harriet

We did the bug and reptile experience today. It was well organised and the kids loved handling reptiles and bugs. Thank you, we will look out for more dates in the future” – Steph

Daisy said: “My first few weeks have been really busy, and the wet weather has provided lots of challenges. I’m so happy to be working in a more outdoor environment though. I’m enjoying getting to know all the animals and their little quirks. I try not to have favourites, but at the moment they are Willow the goat, Honey the rabbit and the fantastic reptiles!”

Kody, who has now volunteered his free-time during half-terms to help with 4 different bug experience events in December and February, has been using the events as a way to further his experience and boost his confidence.

“When I first joined EMA I couldn’t imagine doing something where I had to speak to large groups of people or members of the public, but now it’s no problem at all and I love doing these. I love learning about the animals and sharing that knowledge, and it helps with my anxiety. I’m very happy doing them!” – Kody

We’ve recently welcomed a group of Silkies to our growing chicken family who are settling in nicely. At the moment we have one cockerel and two hens, but two more hens are on the way.

The recent rain has caused the pig and goat pens to get a little more damp than normal, but they are starting to improve, and the drier weather has helped with this. March will see the team giving Animal Area a new lick of paint and a freshen up ready for the new season.

In recent weeks, Chrissy and Daisy took a trip to a local Bug Expo and brought home a host of new bugs and insects to add to our Walled Garden family. We’ve welcomed the likes of some Cherry Legged Titan Millipedes, Radiant Sun Beetles, Black Beauty Stick Insects, Leaf Stick Insects, Yellow Spined Millipedes and more! If you book onto one of our Easter Bug and Reptile Experiences, you’ll get a chance to meet some of them up close!

The 2026 Season begins…

The 2026 Season at The Walled Garden officially begins on Saturday 14^th March. Over the course of the season, we will be adding more entertainment for the whole family from new play equipment to the return of our annual Dog Show in June! We’ve already added more tractors to the Tractor Area, and have some BIG plans for Animal Acre and the Play Park so stay tuned for those announcements!

Our Easter Trail will be returning from Saturday 28^th March and will be here right through the Easter holidays, so why pay us a visit? We’re here to entertain the whole family and dogs on leads are more than welcome to join. Don’t forget we’re free parking too!

If you’re yet to plan Mother’s Day then we’ve got some suggestions… At The Dovecote Café, we’ll be offering a special Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea on Saturday 14th and a delicious Sunday Roast on the 15th. All available to book in advance. Give the café a call directly on: 01929 462243 (9am-4pm) but be sure to book soon to avoid disappointment!

Thank you to everyone for supporting us through the winter, we’re excited that Spring is finally on the way, and look forward to seeing you in the gardens and café in the coming weeks and months as everything bursts into life and bloom here in our little corner of Dorset. We’re a perfect day out, and can’t wait to welcome you.

– The WG team.