15,000 Bulbs Bloom at Chiswick House Gardens
Results of last autumn's planting initiative becoming apparent
Spring flowers have appeared in the gardens. Picture: Chiswick House & Gardens Trust
April 23, 2023
Last November one of the largest ever planting initiatives was undertaken at Chiswick House Gardens with staff and volunteers spending a week laying down 35,000 bulbs.
This hard work is now yielding result with 15,000 spring flowers already in bloom in the Kitchen Garden including different kinds of tulips and daffodils.
Varieties such as ‘Tete a Tete’, ‘Pueblo’ and ‘Baby Boomer’ have been planted to provide food for pollinators across the side. This is part of the effort by the gardening team to encourage more resilient and coherent ecological networks and well-functioning ecosystems.
The Kitchen Garden has existed on the same site since 1682 although, during that time, it has seen many different owners and periodically been subject to disrepair.
In 2005, an enthusiastic group of local volunteers got together with the intent of developing it into a community resource. The Chiswick House Kitchen Garden Community project now provides teaching for residents, schools and community groups about horticulture and growing food.
The restoration of the walled gardens started in December 2009 when the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust took it over with financial support from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. This allowed the conversion of the old stables in the Kitchen Garden into a learning centre.
The Kitchen Garden in blook this April. Picture: Chris Frost
There are now 50 regular volunteers and community partners participating in the volunteer programme which has won a series of rewards.
The Kitchen Garden is open Thursday to Sunday from 11am to 4pm. There is also an opportunity to buy organic produce grown on site from the shop in the Conservatory. Tickets start at £2.25 for children and £4.50 for adults with no charge for members.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
