Organic gardens in the sunshine!

Yesterday my husband had to attend a seminar in Coventry, it didn't take me long to realise that he would be driving past the Garden Organic head quarters at Ryton, the home of the Heritage Seed Library. It also occurred to me that the Midlands were enjoying some glorious sunny weather - it was a no brainer, I got a lift to Coventry.


The Heritage Seed Library has it's own show garden, including this beautiful greenhouse, the gardens are planted with some of the heritage vegetables. The Yellow Beefsteak tomatoes looked particularly spectacular as did the okra and a wigwam of eastern european climbing bean varieties.


Outside the Vegetable Kingdom exhibition there were beautiful displays of companion planting including yellow chard with tagetes.



The most recent display garden is the The Elysia Biodynamic Garden. The vegetables looked particularly large and healthy and the modern sculptural design looked fantastic in the sunshine.



My favourite area was the Naturalistic Planting around the award winning restaurant. Fresh vegetables and salad leaves are picked from the gardens early in the morning for the restaurant - the food was excellent.

On a grand scale

OK, I'll be honest, this isn't my garden. It's a walled garden on a rather grander scale than ours at Audley End just over the county boundary in Essex which is a showcase garden for Garden Organic and the Heritage Seed Library (members of Garden Organic can visit the garden free of charge). Last week we visited to check out the figs and peaches in the little Thomas Rivers Orchard House and to enjoy strolling round the wide paths between the trained apple and pear trees.


Artichokes, seakale (with forcing pots) and cardoons in the vegetable borders, plum trees are fan trained around the outer walls.


The 21st Century garden has beautiful borders planted to attract butterflies, moths and beneficial insects There is a clover lawn in the centre surrounded by a lavender hedge.


In the entrance to the Vine House there is a stunning display of Victorian style geraniums, many with scented leaves - peppermint, chocolate, orange, lemon, rose, and cedar.



We bought ice creams and spotted this little book for sale . . .


. . . how could we resist buying it, recipes include 'A Pudding made of Small Birds', 'How to Make Toast Water' and 'How to Prepare a Large Quantity of Good Soup for the Poor'. Among the more familiar dishes are the Christmas favourites - 'Bread Sauce for Roast Fowl', 'Bubble and Squeak' and 'Mince Pie'.