The Walled garden is 2 acres made up of the front which is a more formal garden, which includes the apple orchard, pear cordons, hedges and a double herbaceous border leading up the the Victorian glasshouses and main building.

 

The back garden houses our coldframes, polytunnels and our kitchen garden. Our Members are supported by staff to maintain all of the garden, we involve everyone in the decisions we make about what to grow and we work in ways that are inclusive of needs and abilities.

 

The garden is open to the public and we enjoy greeting visitors and them seeing our hard work.

 

 

As well as maintain the garden, we also produce plants and produce for sale, we grow perennial plants from cuttings in the garden, grow annuals from seed and sell young vegetable plants. We plan and plant our kitchen garden in the spring and harvest produce from late spring right through until the winter. 

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Members are encouraged to check the stock daily to look for produce past its best, they weigh and package the produce and ensure its labelled correctly for sale.

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We also produce jams, chutneys and apple juice from our surplus from the garden. 

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Our tearoom offer Members the opportunity to learn cooking and hospitality skills. Members work in small groups to bake for the tearoom on a Tuesday, following recipes and measuring out ingredients supported by staff. Everyone learns about kitchen hygiene and practices life skills like cleaning and washing up.

 

The tearoom is open on a Wednesday and Thursday, where Members have the opportunity to serve customers, prepare orders, handle money and be involved in the daily tasks associated with running a tearoom.

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We partner Members to offer peer support which gives the opportunity to pass on knowledge and build confidence.

 

Our 'Outward project', is a new initiative to start to look at progression for our Members. 

Our next step is to create further ‘outward’ opportunities taking the skills they have learnt with us in the garden and apply them to new situations that broaden horizons and create sustainable ventures that could help members move onto supported employment. Our staff will support participants in small groups to carry out contract gardening and volunteer work in community spaces and private gardens.

It is hoped the initiative will not only benefit Members by offering meaningful work experience but also encourage community connections and promote inclusivity.

The skills the participants will develop including mowing, hedge trimming, and weeding, will enhance their independence and employability.