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North Yorkshire trio
June 9, 2023 : 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
£21.00Book Online or send payment by cheque made payable to ‘The Professional Gardeners’ Guild’ to David Barker, 23 Derwent Drive, Barlby, Selby YO8 5LH.
PGG visit – North Yorkshire trio
Nunnington Hall
Nunnington Hall Garden has been maintained organically since 2002. There are small apple, pear and stone fruit orchards, all underplanted with wild flower meadows. This is to attract a wide variety of insects for the bird life in the garden. It is a National Trust property.
There is a rose border, and a double mixed herbaceous containing some shrubs. Further round is an Iris garden together with a cutting garden. In this same area is the vegetable and cut flower garden that operates on the no dig system; all produce goes into the tea room.
The main avenue has a mown centre grass path with wild flowers both sides, and then the borders containing plants with autumn and winter interest. The whole garden is a wildlife and nature-friendly garden. This can be seen by the number of bird and bat boxes spread around the garden. They even farm masonry bees to pollinate the pear trees early in the season.
Sleightholmedale Lodge
Sleightholmedale Lodge lies on the southern edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, north of Kirkby Moorside and close to the village of Fadmoor. It is situated in a stunning valley that runs north–south along Hodge Beck with views out to Mitchell Hagg to the north.
The garden is made up of a partly walled garden which is the dominant and most formal area of the garden on the north-eastern side of the house. This area has been simplified by Patrick and Natasha James in recent years for ease of maintenance. It is composed of borders divided up by heavy Yorkshire stone paths with a cross axial path arrangement. The garden was famous for its Hollyhocks but to keep them free of rust required a lot of spraying so they have been removed to enhance the environment of the garden. There is now emphasis on establishing Delphiniums with some cautious reintroduction of Hollyhocks. A cross axial border with a metal arbour along its length is planted with a variety of clematis. The main border provides fantastic colour well into the autumn.
Natasha James is a textile designer and her skill in use of colour is very much in evidence. Sleightholmedale is well known for its naturalised areas of Tulipa sprengeri and wonderful Meconopsis; the latter are still skilfully grown by Rosanna James, Patrick’s mother, who gardened Sleightholmedale for many years. There are squares of grass that have been planted with a variety of fruit trees, flowers for picking, soft fruit and vegetables. Aged espalier apples and pears divide one area from another. A great variety of climbing roses provide a backdrop for the garden, many of them pruned using the Asthall Manor method of pruning which means that less flowering branches aren’t pruned out, but tied in on a looped method.
Terraces drop away from the south west of the house leading to a more informal area with a pond which has a wonderful display of Primula florindae. Outside the walled garden is a large area of meadow planted up with more fruit trees and specimen trees.
The garden is a great combination of formal and informal but with the North York Moors ever present in the views out from the garden.
Ness Hall
Ness Hall is a 200-year-old farmhouse but the walled garden is 400 years old; the old hall was further down nearer the river. The Murray-Wells family have been here since the 1950s and now the third generation are living in the hall, but it has always been the ladies who have taken a keen interest in the garden.
Alan the Head Gardener started in 2001 when Mary Murray-Wells was living here and they started developing the garden further. A pergola and new gates were added to the walled garden entrance and Alan has planted many Taxus baccata to divide the garden into rooms similar to Hidcote. He has now started to make an arboretum with access down to the River Rye.
The garden has winter interest with snowdrops, and aconites followed by pseudonarcissus; snake’s head fritillaria and the camassia should be in flower when we go. The garden totals approximately three acres, mulched every year with FYM sourced from only one mile away; additional fish, blood and bone is applied where necessary.
Programme
10.00am. Arrival at Nunnington Hall for tea/coffee and biscuits.
10.45am. Arrival Sleightholmedale Lodge. Introduction by Mr or Mrs James, followed by walk round the gardens with Caroline Kernan.
12.45 p.m. Lunch at Nunnington Hall chosen from menu earlier on arrival, followed by tour of the garden with Nunnington Hall gardener James Stokeld.
2.30 p.m. Travel to Ness Hall. Introduction by Mrs Harriet Murray-Wells followed by tour of the garden with Head Gardener Alan Richardson.
4.00 p.m. Tea/coffee and cake. Head for home.
Directions and address
Nunnington, near York, North Yorkshire, YO62 5UY. By road: A170 Helmsley to Pickering road; 11½ miles north of Malton to Helmsley road (B1257); 21 miles north of York, via B1363.
Sleightholmedale Lodge post code is YO62 7JG. From Nunnington, head towards Wombleton and the A170 towards Pickering. After a short distance take a left turn towards Fadmoor. We are requested to car share as there is not a lot of parking space at Sleightholmedale.
Return to Nunnington, and then it’s five minutes to Ness Hall.
Ness Hall, Ness, Nunnington, York YO62 5XD.
Cost
£21 per person. This includes entrance to the gardens, which goes to charity, and all catering for the day. Light lunch is included.
Booking
Book Online or send payment by cheque made payable to ‘The Professional Gardeners’ Guild’ to David Barker, 23 Derwent Drive, Barlby, Selby YO8 5LH.
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