So many people have said to me early May is a lovely time to have a baby. That I can see is very true – I have the summer months ahead, future birthday parties can be outside and its not such a problem if the heating breaks down. What people don’t realise it's not the greatest time to go on maternity leave if you’re a Head Gardener. There are far too many exciting things going on that I want to be involved in. We are planting out the vegetable garden, the glasshouse is brimming with stock that we have sown, the knot garden has burst into action with spring basal cuttings to be taken, the grass has greened up and looks amazing now its had its first cut and our new venture of a mowed labyrinth is ready to be set out. I will simply have to visit often and use Fulham Palace for the wonderful child-friendly haven that it is, as well as enjoy the horticultural developments that the Chrises (the garden supervisors) and the apprentices are getting on with.
Reflecting over the past year in the gardens we can safely say its been action packed. We now have a fantastic composting unit that will help us manage our green waste effectively and efficiently. We have a new orchard and have walled trained fruit trees varieties growing on in nurseries for Autumn planting as we speak.
We have our new tractor arriving that we have been able to purchase through the community’s support of our plant and produce sales. We now have a very smart barrow to sell from based in the Walled Garden, and this project is now being run by some of our fabulous garden volunteers.
I look very forward to returning early in 2016 and planning the vegetable garden for its 4th year amongst many other things. I’m very grateful to Jason Peters, my maternity cover, for holding the fort, leading the team and for continuing the development the Fulham Palace gardens.
Lucy Hart
Head Gardener