Another new month was to begin at the Natonal Trust Estate, and as it was July, the school holidays were to be starting soon. With this in mind, many of the events staged and starting this month, were themed towards children's interests, for example - Mad about Monks, Summer Holiday Fun and Go Wild at Wallington.
The property is now beginning to come into its own, as we move into the second half of the year. Work continues in the House, around the grounds, around the Walled Garden and around the large Wallington Estate; to ensure that it is always seen at its best for all visitors.
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| View of House from West Lawn - 05/07/2011 |
The National Trust Team here at Wallington would probably find it very difficult to carry out all of the necessary work without the help of volunteers. Volunteers are present every day, carrying out a wide range of tasks such as: cleaning, restoration, education, house room guides, catering, grass cutting, gardening, fencing, dry stone walling, general maintenance, garden stewards, events help, raffle ticket selling and litter picking.
I am only one of a large number of volunteers who help in the Walled Garden and Grounds. The work that I do may only be a small part of what is completed weekly, but I get a great deal of personal satisfaction working here. It also is good at the end of the day to look at what you have achieved, even if it is something small compared with the big picture.
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| Railway Border in the Walled Garden - 05/07/2011. |
Part of the volunteering role means that you will always get visitors coming up to you and asking questions. Over the time that I have been here I have found out a great deal about the history of both the property and gardens. My gardening knowledge about the plants, trees and shrubs is restricted to the most common types. I may not be able to answer all questions, but it is good to talk to the visitors and hear their comments about the Walled Garden. Visitors are very appreciative of the work carried out here by all of the staff and volunteers who work at the property.
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| View of Conservatory - 05/07/2011. |
On a fine sunny day there is no better place to be than the Walled Garden. On my weekly visits there is always something different to notice around the paths and borders. The colours of the planting is so varied and vivid. The only disadvantage of warm weather and rain is that the weeds also thrive and there is always the job of removing them.
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| View of Clock Tower from East Lawn - 13/07/2011. |
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| Walled Garden Path - 13/07/2011. |
The fine sunny weather of earlier weeks was not to continue on my weekly visits to Wallington. In particular my visit on the 20th July was to be a total washout with regard to doing any work in the Walled Garden. All of the resident gardeners and volunteers had to be found jobs inside due to the continuous rain. The weather station had recorded 34 mm of rain on the day of my visit.
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| Garden Pond in the rain - 20/07/2011. |
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| Summer day at Wallington! - 20/07/2011. |
The Walled Garden develops and changes throughout the year, as each month passes by, work continues to ensure that it is always in a perfect condition. Our climate will always provide some surprises, and this was certainly the case with the amount of rainfall we experienced this month.
For the next few weeks of the Summer holidays, the property will be providing family fun events and the grounds will be full of children exploring and enjoying the adventure play ground. It will be a busy time for all of the team and volunteers at this popular National Trust property.
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| Overlooking the Walled Garden - 27/07/2011. |
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| Hot Border Colour beside the Conservatory - 27/07/2011. |
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| Part of the Cut Flower Border - 27/07/2011. |
