East Ruston Old Vicarage
The Walled Garden & Wild Flower Meadow
Emerging from the vine covered tunnel we
enter the walled garden. This is sub-divided
into three sections, the first of which has box
edged beds containing some old fashioned
roses. These we tie in and train over galvanised
metal hoops, and interplant with various
herbaceous plants including peonies. At its
centre is a circular brick plinth surrounded by
two steps. In winter this is home to pots of
topiary box, but in summer it’s a different story.
The large central pot is planted up with a
standard fuchsia called ‘Celia Smedley’ which
is well over twenty years old. This is then
underplanted with other summer show offs
and the two steps beneath this contains pots
of fuchsias, pelargoniums etc, which by mid to
late summer will have grown together
completely obscuring all the containers.
In an easterly direction we pass beneath an
archway of the rose Rosa ‘Maigold’ and enter
the central area of the walled garden. This
contains a raised circular pond with a wide
ledge for perching upon and four pillars each
supporting a pot planted for summer colour.
Surrounding this are four areas of raised lawn.
This area is the entrance to our office which
was originally our potting shed. The third
section of the walled garden contains our show
glasshouse which contains a good selection of
old-fashioned pelargoniums and a particularly
splendidly deep blue coloured specimen of
plumbago.
Leaving the walled garden and joining
the Apple Walk again we turn left towards
Happisburgh Church and find ourselves in
the Wild Flower Meadow. Here the highlight
of the display is in spring and early summer.
Starting with crocuses, narcissi, camassias and
cowslips, these are then overtaken with displays
from hardy geraniums and other herbaceous
plants that can compete with the grass.
All is cut back in August and September for
a late display of autumn crocus. Here too is
another wildlife pond. When we came to East
Ruston Old Vicarage the birdlife was minimal,
today the opposite is true, indeed we have
been paid the ultimate compliment by a pair of
kingfishers who decided to make our garden
their home.
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