A Visit to Scampston's Spring Plant Fair

Thanks to Rodney Anness, a volunteer here at Scampston for submitting his account of a visit to Scampston Walled Garden on our Plant Fair day in June. If you are interested in writing content, taking photos, or volunteering with us at Scampston - please contact hlo@scampston.co.uk to find out more.  The Autumn Plant Fair will take place on the 25th September. 

An incredible number of cars were in the overflow field when we turned into the car park with the plant fair taking place in the usual spot for cars. Big surprise was a happy reunion with Chris who was on gate duty and we knew from our time as volunteers at Nunnington Hall. After what had been an incredibly busy morning, there were now not too many visitors here. We were told that, as it was lunch time, most people were assuaging their pangs of hunger in the Scampston Hall’s splendid café adjacent to the walled garden. This was opportunistic for us as we could see all that was available and chat to the nursery men and women without having to feel obliged to move for others.

First up was an incredible display of ‘Venus Fly Traps’ of various shapes, sizes and colours and very attractive. But they were too reminiscent for us of the deadly plants from John Wyndham’s post-apocalyptic novel, ‘The Day of the Triffids’!

 We had both decided that we had more than enough in our garden without buying anymore-but needless to say we did. We bought a trachelospermum asiaticum a climber for a difficult spot in our garden; a gunnera for our large pond surround and some much needed herbs for the kitchen.

The stallholder kept them for us whilst we went for a walk around the lake and surrounding woodland and back through the historic parkland of Capability Brown fame. Even without the expert assistance from the superbly informed staff it was possible to appreciate the cleverness of the planting that frames the Hall with the lake enhancing and drawing the eye. Nevertheless I made mental note that I must avail myself of the kind offer of a conducted tour which one of the staff made to me when I became a volunteer.

After a super coffee in the café which was still pretty busy, (how hard those ladies work) we returned to the plant fair and picked up our purchases. The stall holder very kindly threw in a lovely pot of African marigolds - a perfect end to a most enjoyable visit.

Rodney Anness, June 2017

The Summer so far at Scampston

It's a beautiful time of year to be at a place like Scampston. The gardens have really reached their peak now, with vibrant colours throughout, and the Perennial Meadow is now at shoulder height. The insect life is teeming throughout the Walled Garden with butterflies and bees wherever you look, and a gentle hum in the air!

It's been a busy few weeks between plant fairs, vintage festivals and car rallies, and the general buzz of visitors to the Hall and gardens. The Hall's short open season is soon to draw to a close; thousands of visitors have joined one of our hall tours this summer.

We greatly enjoyed an open air performance of As You Like It last week, performed by the Three Inch Fools - an incredibly talented young theatre company. The rain cleared as the audience settled down to some impressive picnics, and it turned into a gorgeous summer's evening. Sat to the side of Scampston Hall in the twilight, we listened to beautiful music and watched the tale unravel in perfectly choreographed chaos! Hopefully we will see them back here next summer, as even the Shakespeare skeptics were laughing throughout.

There's lots planned  to amuse the whole family this summer holidays -from children's trails to craft events and bush-craft survival courses. Have a look at our website and see if there is anything which tickles your fancy http://www.scampston.co.uk/events.html. Or just pop in for an ice cream with a view!

Isobel Pritchard, Marketing & Visitor Services Manager