Kitchen Garden Notes – The Walled Kitchen Garden Clumber Park

Before you walk into The Walled Kitchen Garden at Clumber Park you get an idea of the treasures that lie inside. Chard with bright red stems, raised beds of rosemary with lavender wafting behind. I've been round the garden several times before but I was lucky enough to turn up just as a guided walk with one of the National Trust volunteers was about to start.

If you don't go on a guided walk you start off by entering the Long Range Glasshouse. It has such a name for a good reason. The Grade II listed structure is the longest glasshouse owned by the National Trust. The east wing is currently closed but undergoing a major restoration so it can be put back into use. In the west wing you are greeted with rows of tomatoes starting to ripen but a more careful look starts to tell you what this part of Clumber Park is all about.

The produce grown in The Walled Kitchen Garden is used in the restaurants, cafés and tea rooms around the Clumber estate. The fruit and vegetables here aren't grown for their looks, uniformity or high yields. These are heritage varieties grown since the garden was established in 1772 and preserved for their history and taste.

At the end of the west wing is the grape vine. It's a perfect time to view it at the moment as the black and green fruits are looking plump and juicy. These are impressive but they aren't the only grapes grown here...

Before you leave the glasshouse don't forget to pop into the Museum of Gardening Tools which is housed in the side rooms off the glasshouse. You can get a glimpse of what life was like for the gardeners who worked here at the turn of the century.

We were taken around The Walled Kitchen Garden by Patrick, one of the National Trust volunteers. When Clumber was a working estate there were 29 gardeners employed to tend to this 4 acre patch. Today there are four gardeners assisted by a team of National Trust volunteers. After Clumber House was demolished in 1938 part of the Walled Garden was used by The Caravan Club until 2005. They have since moved to the edge of the estate but their pitch marks can still be seen on the walls.

The unusual layout of the garden means there are plenty of walls in the garden. It is in fact a walled garden within a walled garden. There is one outer wall that is missing because on that site there used to heated greenhouses. The rather high maintenance 6^th Duchess of Newcastle demanded a fresh carnation on her table every day of the year. Even in the 19^th century producers were being forced to cheat the seasons by their customers.

The garden has two collections that it is famous for. It holds the National Rhubarb Collection with around 125 varieties of edible, wild and ornamental rhubarb growing within its walls.

There are also regional collections of apples with trees from the home county of Nottinghamshire plus the neighbouring counties of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

To satisfy the demands of the aristocracy exotic fruits were required to be grown. Historical notes tell of a pineapple being grown but recent experiments have not been so successful! However they have found fruit that against the odds is suited to this North Nottinghamshire plot. 

In the soft garden overlooking strawberries, raspberries and currants are a pair of Kiwi trees plus grapevines currently dripping with ripe edible grapes.

You can't live on fruit alone so of course there are rows of different vegetables looking fresh green and also purple! The heritage planting is noticeable throughout the garden with purple kale and old-fashioned celery dug in trenches.

Everywhere you turn there's a nod to the past. The scarecrow overlooking the very impressive pumpkin patch is modelled on a former head gardener.

Judging by the size of the pumpkins currently in the patch he seems to be doing a mighty fine job.

After the tour I got talking to our guide Patrick. His wife is a volunteer steward at Hardwick House. Without the services of these individuals the National Trust just couldn't function. To my surprise he rushed off and came back with a selection of freshly dug Pink Fir Apple potatoes for me to take home. Try finding those in your local supermarket.