The work itself involves wading out through the deeply-silted lake bed. Balancing is surprisingly hard but our seasoned gardeners and volunteers quickly find their ‘lake legs’ New recruits may be more likely to take a tumble! The boat is used as a floating wheelbarrow and the team use spades to cut through the thick, tangled rhizomes and essentially ‘weed’ the waterlilies.
Waterlilies have a long history at Sheffield Park, with the striking ‘Escarboucle’ variety being one of the first plants that previous owner AG Soames introduced in the early 20th century. Today the lakes contain over 700 plants and seven different species.
We celebrate these elegant plants in our annual Waterlily Festival during June and July that offers a series of workshops, guided tours, installations and a temporary floating pontoon. The blooms continue up until September, though are at their most dramatic when the sun is shining and the flowers are fully opened.
