Apley Walled Garden progress

Labels – 20 down, 220 to go. That’s how many varieties are grown in the gardens

Sunset over the gardens – time to go home

Bronze fennel, great to add colour & texture in winter salads

Early sloes in blossom

Giant carrot. Only available on Apley Estate.

Ground preparation for heritage carrots

Onions – Ready to plant out

Rainbow over the gardens

Sunrise – great to have sun over the garden at last

Stratification to soften the seed coat & improve germination

Sweet pea tunnel under construction

Repairs to fruit pen

Red veined sorrel grown our own Creamery Cafe

Apley Walled Garden is waking up from its quietier months. Phil’s got a new mobile, so has been sending me these great on-the-spot photos to keep me up to date. I love these daily photos, as they tell a real story of the gardening year from the man himself doing all the spade work (excuse the pun!).

As a tiny thank you to the chefs who’ve agreed to come & give demonstrations on bank holiday Monday 2 May at our First Apley Bake Off, Phil is offering our Grown-to-Order service for free. So Chris Burt of the Peach Tree, Momonoki & Havana Republic in Shrewsbury, he’s growing Japanese mooli radishes. They’re already in the ground, but will take 70 days to come through. They may only just about be ready in time !

Ground preparation for heritage carrots: The red, yellow and white have been sown in the polytunnel already.

The whole crop of red veined sorrel will be labelled & sent to our own Creamery Cafe at Apley Farm Shop as and when our Head Chef Matt orders it. It’s another good example of our Grown-to-Order service. Chefs decide what they need (in advance, so it has time to grow!), tell us & we grow it !