The HBGBS seminar - Parham House

On Friday we went to Parham House with its rolling grounds & roaming deers. A family owned home that's open to the public. The borders there reflect the tapestry in the house and their walled garden is also used to grow cut flowers and vegetables using organic principles. It includes an orchard, a rose garden and an exotic garden - which seems to be the space Tom Brown the Head Gardener experiments in, as he comments that he doesn't have to worry about things complementing each there and that the more they clash the better. There was also the most well-built wendy house that I have ever come upon.

(The Wendy House - once a year Lady Emma & her children will light the fire inside and tell stories) 

Tom demonstrated double digging and then we had a go at doing this in the Rose Garden.

In the afternoon we did some useful taxonomy training with Ros Bennett who is a specialist in wild flowers. She pointed out key features and introduced to us floral formulae to help us identify plants better especially with the aid of a magnifying glass.

We were the group who got lucky with the weather, as it was suppose to rain all day until Saturday morning. But we found ourselves working in the sunshine. Not so fortunate for the group afterwards though as a drizzle set in.