A year at Wallington in pictures - June 2011, part 7

Another month of 2011 has finished and I have completed five visits, volunteering in the grounds and Walled Garden here at Wallington. It was not exactly a 'flaming June', with the weather being changeable on all of my visits. The rain was so bad on some occasions, that I had to shelter in the house or under the trees depending on where I was working.

The gardening team and other volunteers have continued to replant the borders in the Walled Garden and around the house. To me, this year, the flowers of spring did not seem to last as long as they usually do? The continued hard work at this stunning property ensures that there is continual colour and always something for the visitors to see. As we are have moved into mid summer there will be a wide variety of plants to be seen at their best.

Walled Garden Water feature (Mary Pool) - 01/06/2011.

I have only worked in the Walled Garden twice this month and have mainly found myself working on East Lawn, West Lawn, around the house and in the Courtyard. The bulk of my time has been spent edging the grass on the lawns and weeding the gravel paths around the house. It has been a time consuming job, and one thats helps to maintain the perfect manicured look of the surroundings. Visitors to the property are always commenting about how well it is looked after, and how much they have enjoyed their visit.

Courtyard and Clock Tower - 08/06/2011.

Colour at the Walled Garden Entrance - 08/06/2011.

Garden Pond looking through to Portico Walk - 08/06/2011.

Activities began in June with many things for children to do during the half term holiday, the Countryside Team set up wild adventures in the woods, pond dipping, den building, bug hunting and woodland crafts. As usual throughout the month, there was a wide variety of things to do and see for all of the visitors.

View of Conservatory - 15/06/2011.

Walled Garden Cut Flower Border - 15/06/2011.

Walled Garden Planting - 15/06/2011.

It is surprising to see just how quickly the grounds and gardens change in the time between my weekly visits. The paths around the grounds are packed with foliage and the odd splashes of colour. In the Walled Garden, borders are bursting with colour.

Visitors on their first visit to the property have commented that they did not expect to see what they did and can appreciate that a great deat of time and effort is required to look after this wonderful environment.

East Lawn - 22/06/2011.

My last visit in June was on the 28th. Started off in the morning by digging up bluebells in the Walled Garden Plum border. After preparing the border, we replanted the area cleared. The afternoon was spent weeding some of the paths beside the borders.

The weather was sunny and warm. There was a large number of visitors in the morning, but it got very quiet after 2.00 p.m.

Mary Pool - 28/06/2011.

View of Walled Garden - 28/06/2011.

Garden Pond path was blocked again due to a large branch falling from a tree. This happened on the 23rd/24th, following the heavy rain and the gardeners cleared the path, leaving the bulk of branch in the water. The main part of the branch will have to be hauled out of Garden Pond by the foresters with their tractor.

School holidays will be on us again shortly and the property is heading for its busiest period of the year. There will be a large number of events held at Wallington in the next few months. As well as coming here for my weekly days volunteering, I shall be coming to some of the events planned, and continue with my photographic record of 2011.