Loseley Park and The Garden Show

About this time of year, I start thinking of summer. The forecast snow has yet to appear but the cold bitter wind has sent me indoors to dream of long languid days spent sitting in the shade of a large tree. 

In July last year, I was invited to visit the Garden Show at Loseley Park. This is a sister show to the Garden Show at Stansted Park which I wrote about last summer after spending the weekend there working for Derry Watkins and the Special Plants Nurseries stand. The Garden Show at Loseley is not as large as that held at Stansted but has the potential to be just as good and interesting. One of the treats of attending the show is the free entrance to the gardens at Loseley Park. 

The Walled Garden at Loseley Park covers 2.5 acres and is divided into different rooms. There is a rose garden with over 1000 roses planted, a white garden, an organic vegetable garden, a flower garden and a herb garden.  I wil limit my thoughts to the Vegetable and Flowers Gardens here. I think this may have to be Part 1 of 2 as I now realise I have many many photos of the garden which I would want to share with you!

I started my exploration in the Vegetable Garden. There were the usual gardening devotees admiring the size of the brassicas... I would love to know what they are discussing here.

Some very large sunflowers...

And a rather charming use of an old wooden wheelbarrow. This type of wooden wheelbarrow is jolly heavy when actually employed for gardening so this is a great alternate use for it...

This is a really simple thing to replicate at home and is a great project for a child interested in gardening. Simply empty a big of compost put straight into the wheelbarrow in a sunny spot, ensuring there are holes at the bottom of the barrow for drainage. Nasturtium seeds, which are fairly large, can be sown straight onto the surface of the compost after the last frosts and lightly watered in. The flowers are edible and look pretty scattered on salads. The plants are annuals but usually set seed generously! 

Wigwams of beans grow along sweet corn and calendula attracts pollinating insects. 

I love these pink flowering beans! 

The adjacent Flower Garden was glorious in the July sunshine - hot coloured planting alongside clumps of grasses to provide visual relief from all that vibrancy. 

The photos of the planting really speak for themselves...

 The planting is confident and lush. The cool blues provide the perfect visual counterpoint to the singing hot oranges and yellows. This garden made me very happy indeed!

Loseley Park is located between Guildford and Godalming off the A3. For details on the gardening opening season click here

I will be posting more about Loseley Park in coming days... 

Tags: Loseley Park, The Garden Show at Stansted Park, Summer, gardens, Gardening