Events at Hill Close Gardens

Summer 2010

Friday, 10 September, Gardener's Heritage Weekend Guided Walk
2.30 pm to 3.30 pm, no charge
Come and join the Gardens Supervisor in an informal walk round Hill Close Gardens, which are under his professional care. The focus of the walk is on plants of seasonal interest as well as the new developments in both planting schemes and layout of the different individual gardens. The walks are tailored to match the interest of the participants with plenty of time for discussion and questions. Old varieties of vegetables are grown and are for sale when in season. The Gardens also have a valuable collection of more than 60 different varieties of apples and pears.

Friday to Sunday, 10 - 12 September, Heritage Weekend
Friday and Sunday 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm, Saturday 11.00 am to 5.00 pm, admission and activities free
Take this opportunity to visit Hill Close Gardens and explore these special Victorian gardens with their restored Grade II listed summer houses and valuable collection of fruit trees. Sit quietly in the Visitor Centre's Lammas Room with its view over the gardens and enjoy refreshments.

Various activities have been arranged specially for this weekend:
Saturday morning and afternoon - short talks on the History of the Gardens,
Sunday afternoon - entertainment by the folk dance group “The Wayfarers”.

Saturday, 19 September, National Gardens Scheme Open Day
11.00 am to 5.00 pm, normal admission charges
Each year Hill Close Gardens supports the National Gardens Scheme Open Day. More>

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 25 - 26 September, Michaelmas Weekend
Saturday 11.00 am to 5.00 pm, Friday and Sunday 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm
Forget mildew and tiny pale blue flowers and come and see many varieties which are mildew free. They bring the garden back to life after the August drabness with their bright blue, pink and purple flowers. Some, like Aster frikartii, are considered to among the top ten most valued herbaceous plants. From mid August there are asters flowering profusely in Plot 17, starting with A. ‘Lutetia’ with starry mauve flowers and the white A. schreberi which flourishes in the dry shade. They are quickly followed by A. sedifolius, an Elizabethan plant, and then the shorter amelluses which are very good the in front of the border. September sees the main flush of colour followed by some later varieties with clouds of delicate flowers and concluding in October with the tall greeny-white A. ‘White Climax’.

Come and admire them. See them growing with good companion plants such as the early border chrysanthemums and heleniums and consider re-planning your late summer/early autumn garden.

Many varieties are for sale and it is possible to order for collection in May 2011.

There will be a special Gardeners Walk on Friday at 2.30 pm (£2) to look at the collection of michaelmas daisies in the gardens.

Saturday, 19 September, National Gardens Scheme Open Day
11.00 am to 5.00 pm, normal admission charges apply
Each year Hill Close Gardens supports the National Gardens Scheme Open Day. For further information about the National Gardens Scheme and The Yellow Book more>

Sunday, 17 October, Apple Day
10.30 am to 4.30 pm, normal admission charges apply
Come and join in the fun of Apple Day - apple display and tasting; tree dressing, apple competitions and quiz; tree grafting demonstration; activities for children; country craft stalls; plants and produce for sale. The Visitor Centre will be open serving local apple juice, light lunches, cakes and tea and coffee in the Lammas Room.

For other children's events and information about the children's trails more>

For a list of all the events this season more>

Weekend openings 2010
The gardens will open on Good Friday, April 2 until Saturday, October 23.

Groups of 10 and over can visit the gardens at any time throughout the year for guided tours. The charge is £6 a head to include entrance, a guide and tea and cake in the Centre. This is an opportunity to learn about the history and restoration of the gardens with their rich variety of Victorian fruit and flowers, the design and building of the sustainable Hill Close Centre. For further information contact the Centre Manager on tel 01926 493339 or email Centremanager @ hcgt.org.uk

Apple, apples, apples.....

Autumn and Apple Day (Sunday 17 October 2010) always bring visitors to see the historic apple collection
Since 1856 apples, pears and plums were known to have been grown in the Gardens as well as soft fruit. Now there are more than 60 different varieties in the Gardens. By the 1990s, the trees were totally overgrown with swags of ivy and brambles. Noreen Jardine, assisted by Geoff Croft and many volunteers, started a programme of clearing and restoring these trees to bring them back to growth and fruit bearing.

The next task was to identify them and this was pursued with energy and persistence by Noreen and eventually most of the trees were named. There is one which has yet to be named. More varieties were planted in 2002 and subsequent years.

The season starts with the earliest dessert apple ‘Beauty of Bath’ 1864, followed by the small deep-red ‘Devonshire Quarrendon’ 1676. The early cookers include ‘Arthur Turner’ 1850 and there is the dual purpose ‘James Grieve’ 1893.
Some of the mid-season apples are ‘Queen’ 1858, ‘Newton Wonder’ 1870 and ‘Peasgood Nonsuch’ 1853, a very large dual purpose apple.  'Lord Derby’ 1862 and ‘Wyken Pippin’ 1703 are late in the season, which finishes with the russets ‘Golden Knob’ 1600s, which last well into the New Year.