As you walk into the garden you will see the striking new addition of a sunny gravelled area where some of the objects owned by the museum are arranged and labelled. This enables them to be better viewed and maintained, it also makes the garden a more enjoyable space for visitors and volunteers.
What is there to see in the garden?
This was a medieval anchor stone, used to hold a structure in place on the river bed – you can see the ridge where the rope was tied around it. Many anchor stones are smaller, rounded pebbles which held eel baskets in place in the water.
Many of the stones at the museum were found by archaeologists in the gravel beds alongside the River Trent. This one has Saxon carving on the side, but was a re-used piece of a Roman altar.
Two stone carved and painted coats of arms lean against a wall. They came from the gables of an inn called the Station Arms which used to be where Gasny Avenue is built now.
The pump was restored for us and if you move the handle up and down the water will begin to flow. It takes a long time to make the water start and you will realise that it was much harder than turning on a tap.
The museum occupies a 17th century farm house in the village centre and the traditional garden complements the old stone buildings. The garden is an extension to the museum for visitors and events for members are held there during the summer.
The volunteer gardening team have taken over the maintenance of the garden following a period of neglect. They have transformed it, redesigning and replanting many areas.
The formal herb garden has been restored, with a central bay tree, each quarter bed containing different herbs. The latticed seating area is surrounded by the old fashioned rambler roses Wedding Day and Veilchenblau, which are both strongly scented making it a lovely place to sit on a sunny summer day.
Some of the mature bay and holly trees have been removed to let in more light and open up the space, in order to restore the garden to an attractive traditional design.
The garden is designed to have something to show at all times of the year, many new plants have been brought in and the structure chosen to meet needs for shape or screening. A new hedge of pink Hyde Hall roses screens the gravel area, while some of the older roses are trained on support structures. The little pomegranate tree has been moved to the shelter of a warm wall in the hope that it will begin to flower.