A Walled Garden at Wiveton

When we go to North Norfolk for a break I love to visit the PYO farm at Wiveton - not to pick fruit - but to visit the walled garden.  It is a lovely garden with its own micro-climate with huge flint walls that shelter it from the coastal winds. 

Flowers and vegetables are intermixed in a higgledy-piggledy fashion - the veg are used in the adjoining cafe and the flowers for cutting to put on the cafe tables.  There is a little old lady who is responsible for making the arrangements for the vases - she must be 90 if she's a day - she was in the garden whilst we were there talking to the gardener who is a youngish woman.

What I like about this garden is that it is not perfect and things are allowed to seed - and flop and sprawl.

There are ancient fruit trees along the walls, laden with fruit and in the centre is the biggest Mulberry tree I have ever seen

It is obviously very old - the trunk of the tree is huge and dominates the centre of the garden.

This is the wonderful rhubarb patch  overlooking the netted brassicas

There is no formality to the garden - trees are planted where there is space and everything flourishes even though the soil is sandy.

It wasn't the best time of year to visit as most things were starting to go over

but just look at the colourful Borlotti beans bulging in their pods

This circular summer house is in the corner of the garden - notice the old Victorian watering barrel on the right and the trays of onions drying in the sun

It is very like a secret garden and you never know what you are going to find from one visit to the next

A lot of the ground is empty at this time of year where crops have been harvested - but you can still get the feeling of what it looks like when it is full of colour and produce. I could wander round it all day - don't you just love a walled garden.