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).

Looking across the walled kitchen garden with trees and shrubs — View across the walled kitchen garden | © Johanna Mather

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 the National Trust. It was installed by the 7th Duke of Newcastle and completed in 1910. By the 1970s it was derelict but the Trust spent decades restoring it, most recently in 2014. 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 and display an extensive collection of gardening tools.

The central area and west wing of the Glasshouse is currently being restored, read about the project here.

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 July?

July brings high temperatures and long days. The gardens team sometimes struggle to keep up with mowing, weeding, harvesting, watering and planting out. It’s the busiest time of the gardening year.

We continue to sow salad crops such as lettuce and radish plus late crops of French beans, carrots, beetroots and turnips. Now we have passed mid-summer it’s a good time to sow crops such as spinach, leaf beet, pak choi, Chinese cabbage and fennel for harvest in the autumn. The shortening days lessen the risk of bolting (flowering).

The task of summer pruning the trained fruit trees also begins, and our double herbaceous borders are entering their peak with the red & yellow colour scheme becoming evident.

Meanwhile, down in the Turning Yard, the wildflower meadow will be putting on a show for all our summer visitors.

What’s for sale on the produce cart?

French beans, runner beans, broad beans, beetroot, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, aubergine, peppers, salad crops such as lettuce, radish and spring onions. Fruit such as gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, peaches, apricots, cherries, nectarines and early plums.

Seasonal advice from Clumber's Head Gardener

Summer is peak garden time for most of us with sun loungers unfolded and BBQs fired up. Being outdoors more forces our eyes onto plants and new purchases are inevitable. Garden Centres burst with an overwhelming selection of plants, cleverly displayed to coincide with when they look their best. When buying, here’s a few considerations.

Will they be happy in my garden? A great way to answer this question is to look at what’s growing in your local area. Neighbours’ gardens will have similar soil, temperature range, and annual rainfall, so peek over the fence and buy the plants you like the look of. Just remember to consider aspect. Plants for the north of house will often struggle in full sun on the south side and vice versa. Most smartphones have a compass to help you with this.

Look beyond the flower. Such is the beauty of a peony or a rose that we often buy our plants on flower merit alone. Remember, that often flowers represent just a short period of the year, so do consider the foliage too. Many garden designers have foliage as the first consideration, given that it’s on show for much longer.

What additional benefits are there. Plants with non-doubled flowers, berries or useful seedheads all help feed pollinating insects, birds, and small mammals. Some plants make great homemade fertilisers, such as comfrey. Other plants make especially good cut or dried flowers. Many an ornamental plant is also edible.

In the driest part of the year, irrigation can be a challenge. Capturing rainwater from a downpipe can help. Consider leaving out buckets in downpours to help minimise tap water use. When watering, prioritise containers and plants clearly in distress. Leave the lawn, even if it looks dead, it will always come back.

Most importantly, savour your space now, time outdoors is absolute nourishment for the soul.

Dene Wood

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

Walled Kitchen Garden Tour

First Tuesday of every month from March - October, 11.30 – 12.30.

Discover how the walled kitchen garden is maintained using traditional gardening techniques, and is one of only a handful of its kind in existence.

Free event, no booking required, admission into the park applies. 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 and 3 part time staff plus 40-45 frequent volunteers

How many would have worked here in its heyday?
Around 25 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 would have been nearer to 6 acres.

How long are the glasshouses?
451 Feet/137.5 meters. 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 on the cart near the gate and some also goes to the café.

What happens to all the rhubarb?
From March-July we have rhubarb sticks for sale on our produce cart and send some to the cafe. We do not pick the stalks after this time as the rhubarb needs to gather and store energy for growth. In the autumn/winter the rhubarb naturally dies back. It 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 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 the central path.

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.