The Garden

Our garden is open for all to explore and find peace, inspiration and restoration. A place where many call in for quiet reflection, a chat with friends or to get involved.

Note: If you plan to make a special trip, please do check first (01235 555486) as very occasionally the garden is booked for a private celebration.

Seasonal Update: Late Spring/Early Summer in the Garden

At this time of the year, there is something different to see in the garden almost every week. As light levels and temperatures improve, plants quickly put on new growth and quite soon there is very little bare soil to be seen. It’s a busy time for the gardeners as the weeds also up their game!

In the previous autumn, lots of work goes into planning our spring planting and it’s exciting to see those plans coming to fruition. This year we decided to plant a lot of narcissus and forget-me-not to fill out beds that would usually be quite bare until later in the season – and what a success that has been! We’ve had a good succession from the first snowdrops and crocus, through the early daffodils, to the later narcissus.

We had planned to have a good show of tulips in the pots down the drive; unfortunately the rodents intervened by digging up and eating quite a lot of the bulbs! But thankfully the situation was saved because the wallflowers have been magnificent. The weather has been particularly kind with a sunny and dry spring, so we have experienced very little slug and snail damage as yet. Tulip Spring Green, one of the first to flower, was even earlier than usual this year. The dramatic colour scheme in the pots by the steps has been particularly successful, and the later tulips in the swag bed come into flower towards the end of April.

A large evergreen tree was taken down earlier in the spring – it was felt that it was too big, too dark, and not interesting enough for the space it took up. The resulting planting area is a lovely sunny spot, and we hope to fill it with summer flowering plants that will extend the main herbaceous border. Watch this space!

The wisteria at the entrance is just about in full flower now, and the early flowering clematis are just starting. There are more than 40 clematis throughout the garden that flower in succession from the end of April through to the end of the summer.

Many regular visitors to St Ethelwold’s know that we sell plants as a result of lifting and dividing herbaceous perennials. Our fantastic helper Matt has built us a new, bigger, sale table, so visitors can look forward to even better plant sales as the year goes on. Thank you, Matt!

St Eth's late spring / early summer

The Garden Needs Ongoing Support

Please don’t feel you’ve missed the boat if you have gardening skills to share – call in at the Office weekday afternoons or email ethelwoldhouse@gmail.com

Please keep feeding our bird box with kind donations towards the Garden Fund. Some visitors give a donation in thanks for a place of peace and restoration, some in memory of a loved one: all help keep the Garden beautiful through all the seasons. You can also call in at the Office on weekday afternoons to give something, or make a bank transfer (reference ‘Garden’) to:
The Fellowship of St Ethelwold’s
Sort code 30-67-53
Acc No 27739260
We would like to acknowledge any gift, so do email us with your contact details if you make a donation.

And please keep coming to enjoy the peace and beauty of the garden in all seasons.

What The Gardeners Really Think

  • ‘I started in Jan 2012, having met Susie (Trustee and volunteer gardener) on a RHS gardening course at Waterperry in 2006/7. Susie asked for help with a big garden in Abingdon, but I had no idea what to expect…. I have since learned to expect the unexpected at St Eth’s!

    ‘It was an eyeopener to see the comings and goings of different people as the garden is very much open to all, and you never know who else might be around or what questions you might be asked. One day I was up a ladder tying in rambling roses surrounded by a large group who were drawing in the garden. I later went for lunch, leaving my tools under a chair, and when I got back there was a group meditating around my tools! I crept in and retrieved them. On some afternoons this last summer we had a choir singing. No two days are the same.

    ‘I do whatever jobs I see need doing. I’m an experienced gardener, having enjoyed it since as a child my grandmother gave me a little plot to tend. I like being left and trusted to do what I want to – having scope to use my initiative. I prefer weeding, edging the lawns and tidying up to planting things, which I am not so keen on.

    ‘I don’t have a favourite part of the garden, I like the way it all works as a whole, but the yellow border when at its best is beautiful.

    ‘I’d tell anyone to have a look and explore the garden, it’s a hidden gem in the middle of town.’

  • ‘I’ve known the garden on and off for about 25 years, and got involved as a gardener four years ago. I could see work needed to be done around the walls and the roses and I offered to come and do some ladder work. As time went on I could see more and more possibilities, and a vision forms as you get to know a garden.

    ‘There are small changes – moving the stone trough from outside the Hearth to the River Room and planting alpines, and big changes – uprooting the ornamental cherry outside the Hearth. It didn’t have enough garden value, was making the Hearth very dark, and had electric cables through it.

    ‘In digging by the cottage we found slabs of thin stone that may have been in place when the cottage was used as stables. Now we’ve made a feature of this on the threshold, with thyme planted to creep around. We have some debate, with different ideas about what to do, but often things just evolve.

    ‘My favourite plant in the garden is the perennial evening primrose, it sprawls over the brick path and is lovely. It needs a lot of attention as the flowers only last one day, and so continual deadheading is needed.

    ‘The new volunteer gardeners are splendid, they make a difference as there’s a lot to do.

    ‘To me, the garden has a sympathetic ambience. People come in crisis or distress, or to rendezvous with friends. Mothers can feed babies, toddlers can play. Yoga classes come, and there’s meditation, French groups too. It’s lovely to see.

    ‘I’d like it to have some more little paths that children could explore, it would give us a chance to grow more individual plants that are not part of the bigger scheme. Nooks and crannies.’

  • ‘I’ve known thegarden well over about seven years, since moving to Abingdon. I come with friends and family, and like to show it to people who haven’t found it – a special, almost secret garden. People sometimes hover at the gate wondering  “are we allowed in?” and need encouragement to come and explore.

    ‘This year I have retired, and just at the right moment I saw the appeal for help in the garden – I responded immediately! It’s great being outdoors, being active and working with a group of other people.

    ‘To begin I was told how I could help – pruning, deadheading and weeding. Early on I was given a big job, the pruning of the rose on the wall, which was so satisfying to do. In early summer I love the pale blue iris, so was really happy to be involved in lifting them all, cutting back and replanting, learning from others how to do it properly. In full summer the herbaceous border is beautiful.

    ‘I used to work in a school, and am glad to have been given the task of supervising a group of teenage schoolboys who come to help one afternoon each week.

    ‘The garden is an absolute little gem with a unique atmosphere. It’s good to be welcomed by the team, get involved and go with the flow.’