Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire has been chosen to host a Heritage Garden Day as part of the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) National Gardening Week in April. The RHS, the UK’s leading gardening charity, launched National Gardening Week - which takes place from 16th to 22nd April 2012 - to get the nation growing. The week-long celebration will bring together gardeners, clubs, charities, schools and plant centres through a series of events.

Kelmarsh is hosting one such event on Tuesday April 17th – a Heritage Garden Day from 10.30am to 4pm. The day in the gardens  will give visitors the chance to have their questions answered through an advice clinic run by the experts from the RHS. In addition, there will be plant stalls, demonstrations, talks and a seed swap. There will be something for everyone, from the more experienced to those who are new to gardening.

The day also includes:
• Cooking in the gardens
• An opportunity to take a tour of the walled kitchen garden with a talk about the restoration of the gardens and the repair of the walls
• A display of garden photographs showcasing the gardens in the past
• Stands with plants for sale from the Sweet Pea Society, David Austin Roses and heritage seed merchants
• Seed swap - heritage varieties on offer, including samples from Sow New Seeds, a Midlands-based project by Garden Organic, which focuses on exotic heirloom vegetables
• House tours
• Lunches and afternoon teas in the tea room

The programme for talks is as follows:

11am: Vegetable Growing by Head Gardener at Blatherwycke, Joseph Whitehead
12 noon: The Sweet Pea Society
2pm: David Austin Roses
3pm: Propagation by Anita Thorpe

Esther McMillan, head gardener at Kelmarsh Hall, is delighted to be teaming up with the RHS
to celebrate the country’s national obsession and to kick off the season in style. It is the first time Kelmarsh Hall has held an RHS event of this kind and the theme is particularly relevant to the Hall because of its 18th century walled kitchen garden.

Admission to the event is £5 for adults, £4.50 for concessions and free for RHS members.
Kelmarsh Hall is located on the A508, just off Junction 2 of the A14 (five miles from Market Harborough and 11 miles from Northampton).

For details visit www.kelmarsh.com or call 01604 686543

Kelmarsh Hall & Gardens,
Kelmarsh, Northampton, NN6 9LY

Images by kind permission of
Andrea Jones Photographer

 

Heritage Garden Day

Heritage Garden Day

Heritage Garden Day