The walled kitchen garden at Clumber Park

WKG & Glasshouse June Tammy Herd — The walled kitchen garden at Clumber Park | © Tammy Herd

Spanning four acres, the walled kitchen garden at Clumber Park is one of the grandest surviving 18th century walled gardens in England.

The history of the garden

Originally home to the Dukes of Newcastle, Clumber Park is steeped in history with clues to its grand past dotted throughout, including this spectacular enclosed garden. Dating from 1772, it supplied the sorts of exotic and unusual foods that the Dukes could impress their guests with. From asparagus to pineapples and strawberries at Christmas, this was an elite garden for an elite family. In its prime, the gardens would have provided employment for 30 people and had 6-acres under cultivation including a huge, heated Melon Yard and an orchard, which was re-established just outside the garden walls in 2021.

The layout and techniques used

The garden itself is divided internally with a bisecting peach wall to provide extra growing space for top fruit, and two garden rooms to secure the more valuable soft fruit crops. The 15-foot walls are home to over 200 wall trained fruit including cordons, espaliers, and fans.

The Clumber gardens team practice “no dig” gardening in two large plots near the top of the garden. Each year, they provide fresh crops using organic principles for use in the park's food and beverage outlets, and for sale on the well-stocked produce cart. All generating much needed funds from visitor donations.

The gardens now have a mixture of productive and ornamental plantings and is home to two national collections of Rheum (Rhubarb) and Malus (Apple).

Purple round flowers in the walled garden — Alliums in the walled kitchen garden | © Tammy Herd

The garden is landscaped to encourage cold air and frost to roll from the flanks into the centre of the garden and then down a central slope through metal gates at the lowest point of the garden. This leads onto the impressive Cedar Avenue, which is underplanted with 140,000 spring flowering bulbs, creating a spectacular blanket of colour in the spring months.

The Glasshouse

At 451 feet, Clumber Park boasts the longest Glasshouse in National Trust care. It was installed by the 7th Duke of Newcastle and completed in 1910. By the 1970s it was derelict but the Trust has spent decades restoring it, most recently in 2023. Today, it boasts seasonal displays in its huge conservatory, an exotically planted Palm House and bays of grapes, figs, and peaches. Some of the utility rooms now serve as a museum displaying an extensive collection of gardening tools. The Apple Store and the Gardener's Mess is a feast for the eyes with ever-changing displays.

Highlights of the garden

Herb border

Combining herbs grown for the cafe alongside dianthus, the latter a homage to the 7th Duchess and the gardeners who grew her favourite carnations.

Rose garden

With over 40 pre-1920s varieties, it is aldo planted with bulbs, annuals and herbaceous perennials to create a display that lasts from spring to autumn.

Soft fruit garden

Home to over 50 varieties, including strawberries and raspberries.

Double herbaceous borders

At 400ft, they are the longest of their type in the National Trust's ownership.

What's happening in the garden in May?

This month sees the date of the last frost, usually in the second or third week of the month here. The gardening year hinges around this date as after this time half-hardy and tender plants can be planted out. This means vegetables like sweetcorn, squashes, pumpkins, courgettes, cucumbers, French and runner beans can all go outside. Bedding plants like Cosmos, Cannas, Dahlias, Antirrhinums and many others can also be planted out.

In the Glasshouse the tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and chillies are now in their beds ready to grow on and produce through the summer.

Down in the Pleasure Grounds the rhododendrons are having their moment. These shrubs flower in May and produce a spectacular display.

Early May is a good time to visit Clumber to see the apple blossom in the walled kitchen garden. The timing of the blossom varies from year to year depending on the weather, but we have many different types of apples so flowering happens over several weeks.

What’s for sale on the produce cart?

Rhubarb, lettuce, spring cabbage, radish, asparagus and spring onions

Seasonal advice from Clumber's Head Gardener

As the days stretch and grow warmer, May and June are prime months to be busy in our gardens. We flip over from raising plants to caring for them, and most importantly, we get to soak up the sun while we do it. It’s arguably the zenith of the gardening calendar. Here’s a few jobs to give you an excuse to get outside.

In the vegetable patch

With the risk of frost almost gone we can plant out half-hardy plants raised under glass and sow sweetcorn, dwarf beans, climbing beans and courgettes directly outdoors.

Any tomato and cucumbers raised on windowsills can move to the greenhouse or a sunny south facing wall now too.

Thin row-sown seedlings like carrots and beetroot to ensure strong growth but do this on a breezy day to avoid attracting root fly. In June, once most of the plants are in the ground, keep up with successional sowing of salad crops like lettuce and radishes. You can start to enjoy some early harvests such as early potatoes, peas and broad beans. Don’t overlook delicious edible flowers.

Flower garden

May is the time to plant out summer bedding plants such as petunias, marigolds, and cosmos after hardening off. Have you considered replacing bedding plants with more climate-friendly and less labour-intensive perennials and bulbs?

Prune spring-flowering shrubs like forsythia and Chaenomeles after they finish blooming, and deadhead spent flowers to encourage continuous blooming.

The much-loved dahlias and cannas can be planted out, and tie in new shoots of climbing plants like clematis and honeysuckle.

Wildlife

Bumblebees and birds are nesting, and hedgehogs are active. Where you can, leave caterpillars on plants for birds to feed their young. Sow nectar-rich flowers like poppies and cornflowers to support pollinators. In June, maintain bird feeders and create habitats like bee hotels. Keep an eye out for fledgling birds and provide fresh water sources for wildlife.

All the best,
Dene Wood

Cauliflower, beetroot, potatoes, raspberries grown in the walled kitchen garden — Produce grown in the walled kitchen garden | © Johanna Mather

Events

Walled Kitchen Garden Tour, first Tuesday of every month from March - October, 11.30 – 12.30.
As one of only a handful of its kind in existence, discover how the walled kitchen garden is maintained using traditional gardening techniques.
Meet at the entrance to the garden.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Garden's team have answered the most common questions asked by visitors to the walled kitchen garden.

How many staff and volunteers work in the garden?
4 full time staff, 3 part time staff, 2 garden apprentices and 40-45 frequent volunteers

How many would have worked here in its heyday?
Around 30 gardeners

If you are the second largest collection of rhubarb in the world, who has first?
We understand a private collection in the Netherlands currently has the largest collection

How big are the walled gardens?
4 acres within the walls, but including the slip gardens, frame yards and historic orchards it's 6 acres.

How long are the Glasshouses?
451 feet/137.5 metres. It takes around one and a half minutes to walk at a steady pace from one end to the other. It is the largest range of glass owned by the National Trust.

What happens to the produce?
We sell our produce to visitors on the cart near the entrance gate. A weekly delivery is also made to the main café in the Turning Yard.

What happens to all the rhubarb?
From March to July we have rhubarb sticks for sale on our produce cart and it is used for seasonal recipes in the cafe. We don't pick the stalks after this time as the rhubarb needs to gather and store energy for growth. Throughout autumn and winter the rhubarb naturally dies back and will re-emerge in February at the beginning of the growing season.

What happens to all the apples?
We have around 250 apple trees at Clumber. We pick the apples in September and October. Some are sold on the produce cart, some go to the café, some are used at our annual apple celebration event. Some heritage varieties are good for storing and can be brought out to sell later during the winter.

Where are the toilets?
On the east side or the left side of the garden if looking from the main gates up to the Glasshouse.

How do I get to the nearest café (Central Bark)
Follow the path that goes east at the main gates, keeping the walled garden on your right, until you reach the woodland. Turn right (north) and walk through the trees until you get to the tarmac path and then turn right. Central Bark will be on the right.

What time is the garden open?
The garden is open every day from 10.00 - 16.00.