Apples and pears and surprising discoveries

Espalier fruit trees
Some examples of espalier trained apples and pears in the walled garden at St John's Jerusalem, a 13th century chapel in Sutton-at-Hone, in the Darent valley. The chapel and gardens are open one afternoon a week from April until September.

The walled garden at St Johns Jerusalem

Two crimson roses have emerged from the blanket of brambles and weeds, liberated at last into the air and sunlight.  The cardboard collars seem to be working! Both are highly fragrant, one is more 'winey' than the other. Karen and I compared the scents. I shall miss her volunteering after her baby yoga class and her serene take on life.

I dug out some huge bramble roots and covered the areas with cardboard - another trip to the Co-op is in order for more supplies. There are plenty of worms and the soil is easy to dig. Under the plastic are some truly humungous slugs. Karen said she has made a gastropod restaurant (no, not a gastropub although if you included beer...) where she puts all her leftover lettuce and berries and her plants are untouched.

Light in the garden has made such a difference, as well as being able to see in and out and chat through the fence. The woodbine, lonicera periclymenum 'Serotina', is in full flower alongside the climbing rose 'Masquerade' on the fence by the preschool. They are so similar in colour that it's hard to make out the rose blooms among the honeysuckle but both are beautiful. You just have to get close, which is not a bad thing.

The Woodbine; Lonicera Periclymenum Serotina

Roses among the thorns; is this William Shakespeare?

The Wellbeing Service has moved into Room 3 and the corridor is bright and cheerful with posters and information. Yesterday I met Sorrell Robbins, who responded to the Give 2 Hours campaign to volunteer in the garden. Sorrell is a herbalist and was able to give me valuable advice as well as identifying plants in the centre gardens that can be used in the apothecary garden. I was immediately able to pass on my new knowledge of St John's Wort to Karen as there is some growing by the preschool fence. 

Time for a raid on the allotment garden, now sadly overgrown - if I'm not careful I may start tidying that up too. Picking strawberries from the few that haven't been eaten by snails, a hidden bramble ripped my hand. This garden is a testament to time-limited funded projects and I feel sad that all the energy and enthusiasm that went into designing it and tending it has gone. An hour or two a week would keep the cafe in fresh veg and salad, at least for some of the year. There has to be another way otherwise sustainability will become just another buzzword, a metaphor for someone else will do it and no-one does.

The herbs are looking very perky and comfortable now. After weeding the beds and pruning the weigela to a more upright shape, I planted some of the treasures from the big plant giveaway last week. Anne-Marie from Lewisham Gardens organised a delivery from the show gardens of RHS Hampton Court Flower Show by Groundwork London, sourced a garden big enough to accommodate 2,000+ plants at St Swithuns in Hither Green and then let community groups, gardens, churches and schools know, compiling a list and arranging times to visit. On Saturday in the pouring rain, representatives came along and filled a wheelbarrow (one person demanded more but that's another story!). Congratulations and a big thank you to Anne-Marie, her actions and organisational skills have benefitted many groups in Lewisham and their gardens will all look the lovelier for it.

Some of the plants are still in my garden, ready for planting next time. It was so interesting planting through the cardboard and mulch. More on 'No Dig' gardening next time, I now have the book originally published in 1962. Couldn't resist it!

A herb quintet - mint, sage, fennel, chives and marjoram

Flowering thyme

Fat Head lavender, flowering for over a month

Future plans and inspiration

Community spirit
I met a very nice neighbour on Monday, he and his wife live opposite the garden and he walked across Boundfield Road to ask what I was up to. Guess what, I was still trying to clear the fence! The following day I was invited to his garden where he presented me with tomato, carrot and cabbage plants. As there is still so much ground to clear in the community garden, they have found a good home in the Allotment Garden at the back of the centre. Thank you Carlton for your generosity.

Apples and pears
Clearing the bindweed and brambles,from the fence, and reducing a thicket of lonicera nitida thanks to Karen the intrepid volunteer,  I had a thought about espalier trained fruit trees. I know next to nothing about them apart from admiring them, and having an idea to fan train peaches or nectarines against the wall of the Allotment Garden a couple of years back. It didn't come to anything at the time but must have lain dormant!

The Allotment Garden, a project for local families 2009-11 (London Action Trust/Big Lottery)

Thanks to the wonders of the web there are numerous articles about espalier and fan training. Like many things in this life it boils down to whether you have a) the time to grow and train one year 'unfeathered maidens' or b) the money to buy them already trained with two or three tiers in place. The difference being a) a couple of years or b) about £40!

Espalier trained apples, with Achillea 'Red Velvet' and Anthemis tinctoria 'E C Buxton'  - edible and desirable

Here is an example of knee high espalier trained apples. Quite the fashion, or was two years ago at Hampton Court flower show.