Summer time has been incredibly busy in the Walled Garden and I wanted to take this opportunity to share updates and pictures looking at the fantastic harvests we are enjoying.

The beds have been brimming with strong, healthy plants for weeks now and the harvests steadily increasing. I am happy to say that most of our intended crops succeeded, the plants have grown big and strong, and the beds are full for visitors to look at and enjoy.

Even the few crops that I feared about have surprised me and gone on to do well, for example the onions went in tiny, sat there so small for what felt like an age, but have developed into large bulbs that will be lifted over the coming weeks.

The odd crop, such as broad beans, have been and gone, but now is prime time for the Walled Garden. We are harvesting almost daily and visitors are really enjoying being able to see veg on the stall and take home some quality, organic produce with them from their visit. It is great to see families admiring the plants in the beds, with the large pumpkins and squashes garnering particular attention as visitors pose with the ‘Atlantic Giant‘ for pictures.

Over recent weeks there has been regular and prolific harvests of cucumbers, courgette, beetroot, runner beans and our crystal lemon cucumbers. This is along with potatoes, tomatoes and also the exciting new addition of sweetcorn grown in the polytunnel.

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As anyone who grows them can understand, there is in particular a glut of courgettes and they need regular checks to ensure they are picked at the right size and don’t develop into marrows (I’ll admit a few slipped under the radar and turned into whoppers).

The cucumbers (variety ‘Passandra‘) have proven very bountiful and again are really popular. Most days the stall sells out of produce very quickly and I am grateful that the vegetables are so sought after by visitors.

The cut flowers are also thriving in the borders and that allows us to put together beautiful, colourful bunches that seem to fly off the stall – they are incredibly in demand. We are lucky to have a lot of flowers to choose from, but the likes of dahlias, cosmos, chrysanthemum, echinacea and sunflowers are always favoured inclusions.

We do bunches in a variety of sizes as we are lucky to have some very talented volunteers who put together beautiful bunches and do it much better than I could.

The Walled Garden continues to produce a bounty of organic veggies and we will keep on harvesting and stocking the stall for weeks and months to come. If you are in the area, then come on down and see what we have – but get there early or I am afraid you might miss out.