For the second week in a row the threat of heavy rain was forecast for our Sunday workday but this didn’t stop nine intrepid SSNTV volunteers from coming out to Shugborough to help Derek and the garden team with a number of jobs in and around the magnificent walled garden.
First up we were barrowing in some rather “aromatic” mulch and spreading it onto a number of the empty beds ready for when next year’s veg crop is due for planting. Thankfully the rain didn’t arrive as early as expected so we had a chance to pretend that summer had returned and made the most of working in the glorious sun.
Luckily we had use of the gardener’s bothy for cake o’clock and missed the first of the heavy showers, but never fear, the rain was on and off for the rest of the day so we got our fair share of soakings! After completing the mulching we moved onto building a dead hedge to fill in a gap where the holly hedge had been removed followed by cleaning up the rubber matting ready for its next deployment and hosing down the paths to make everywhere look tidy again.
As we had still got some time left, we rounded the day off with shears in hand, giving the edges of the large walled garden beds a cheeky short back and sides, while pausing only briefly to harvest some juicy green beans (for those volunteers who wanted to take something healthy home to offset all of our usual cakes and biscuits!)
Shropshire and Staffordshire National Trust Volunteers 