Record Breaking Autumn Plant Fair

Attracting droves of keen gardeners from Yorkshire and further afield, the Autumn Plant Fair returned on Sunday 24th September. 

A variety of unusual plants were on sale from specialist stallholders, from the carnivorous Venus fly traps of Wacks Wicked Plants, to the ornamental grasses of Westshores nursery.

Volunteers from the Heritage and Learning Centre at Scampston Conservatory also had a successful day selling their carefully cultivated pelargonium cuttings. 

We were blessed with what seemed to be a a short lived Indian summer and the sun shone throughout the day. Visitors enjoyed the wide selection of plants on offer before entering the Walled Garden for further tips and inspiration. 

Over 150 cream teas were consumed by hungry shoppers on what was one of the busiest days the Garden Cafe has ever seen! 

We are looking ahead now to 2018's Plant Fairs which are due to take place on 3rd June and 30th September. 

If music be the food of love...

On Saturday 1st July we enjoyed a magical evening of the Shakespearean comedy, Twelfth Night, courtesy of The Three Inch Fools, in the gardens of Scampston Hall.

Over 100 people gathered to watch the show, with an elaborate spread of picnics and the gentle popping of Prosecco bottles!    

The performance showcased the groups theatrical & musical talent. The show was produced and directed by brothers James and Stephen Hyde, who also wrote all the music for the show. 

Chris Legard, owner of Scampston Hall commented: "Genuinely hugely entertaining from beginning to end, with an incredibly talented cast. We were delighted to have The Three Inch Fools return to Scampston this year, and hope they continue to do so well on their hugely ambitious tour this summer." 

The tour continues across the whole of the UK this summer and is well worth seeing: 

http://www.threeinchfools.com/upcomingperformances/

There's a Tiger in the Garden!

On the 25th June we were joined by the team from Ryedale Book Festival for an action-packed day of book-worm fun! 

With high profile figures in the world of poetry and children's literature, there was a full line up of events, workshops and lectures, as well as children's crafts and a Poetry Promenade.

The morning started with storytelling and a Tiger Mask Making workshop with Lizzie Stewart, author and illustrator of 'There's a Tiger in the Garden'. Children got very creative and we had pink, blue and green tigers by the end of the workshop. Children also had the opportunity to take part in the Tiger Trail - searching for the Tiger in the garden. 

Horatio Clare followed, discussing his latest book 'Aubrey and the Terrble Yoot', how he sets about writing his novels, where he gains his inspiration from, and he also shared some tips to help children get writing. 

Meanwhile, Anneliese Emmans Dean, author of poetry anthology 'Buzzing' led a number of poetry promenades through the gardens, exploring the world of mini-beasts through rhyme, song and dance. 

The afternoon concluded with a fabulous poetry reading from Jacob Polley from his award winning semi-autobiographical poetic narrative Jackself. Jacob has recently been awarded with the TS Eliot Poetry Award. It was fascinating to get an insight into Jacob's work, and how he crafts his poetry. 

We want to wish huge thanks to the Ryedale Book Festival for all the time and effort they put in to pulling together a fabulous event on a lovely sunny and happy day in the Walled Garden. 

The Habits of Hedgehogs

In what was a very happy and vibrant evening, Dr Toni Bunnell from Natural England gave a very interesting and thought provoking talk on the life of hedgehogs, their characteristics and habits,and the care required to deal with thin and ailing hogs when found in your garden. 

The event proved very popular with local families. Firstly there was an illustrated talk, this was then followed by Hedgehog crafting.

Children were invited to colour their own hedgehogs, as well as painting fir cones, which when laid to one side look strangely similar to a hedgehog! 

We are very much looking forward to our next event with Natural England, which will take place on Wednesday 21st June at 6.30pm. The topic will this time be Butterflies, Bees and Moths. 

Ryedale Residents Return!

Scampston's most successful Community Weekend to-date

It's been a busy weekend: 1500 visitors & a whopping 400 slices of cake! 

This weekend we opened the garden gates once more for another Community Weekend. Word had clearly spread about the event, as local residents arrived in droves all making the most of the offer of free entry.

With glorious sunshine across the whole weekend, especially the Sunday, visitors were able to enjoy the gardens at this early stage in the season. Young children enjoyed exploring the fairy trail and finding our resident fairies. 

Grown ups enjoyed tucking into one of our scones, baked that morning. Some of them did really deserve it, having cycled over 20 miles to Scampston in first place, and facing the same journey home! 

An incredible number of visitors had never been before, so we hope they were pleasantly surprised, and that they will be back later in the season when the garden is in full bloom. Many had recently moved to the area and were thrilled to be able to get an introduction to all we have to offer here at Scampston.

Ryedale, it's been an absolute pleasure! 

  

All things bright and beautiful

We are delighted to be working closely with Natural England this year to offer a whole series of exciting family activities and talks throughout the season. 

It all kicked off on Tuesday this week with a Wonderful Wildlife Day with wormeries, barn owls and other wildlife. 

Making Wormeries with the North Yorkshire Rotters

The wormery was a great success with the children, especially the boys!  They were thrilled to take home a mini wormery with them. 

 

Meeting an Owl from Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation

Jean Thorpe from Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation, brought a barn owl to the event.  “Its always good to get youngsters interested in wildlife”. Parents and children were able to learn how to dissect an owl pellet. The children then went on to make owls out of paper plates.

Craig Ralston, Natural England also showed children how to ring birds and to remove them when trapped in netting. He said “It was great to see such a good turn out and to see such positive engagement going on – and hopefully inspiring the next generation with the natural environment.”

Do join us for our next event on Wednesday 26th April for the first in a series of family-friendly mini lectures from Natural England. The talk will be 6.30pm - 8pm. 

The first talk will show the importance of the Lower Derwent Valley and the wildlife it supports. Children will also hear the incredible tales and travels of 'Winston' the whimbrel, and see some incredible photography. 

Please see our website for more details: http://www.scampston.co.uk/DB/events-diary/natural-england-the-world-of-wildlife 

Keep an eye out as more will be announced throughout the year!

Planting perennials & building homes for bees!

We've had a busy day at Scampston welcoming students from two local primary schools - Rillington and West Heslerton. A number of beds within the Walled Garden have been set aside especially so local children can be involved in their planting. The children learnt all about planting, and the benefits that plants bring to other creatures - especially birds, bees and butterflies.  

This project forms part of Capability Brown's 300th anniversary celebrations. The team at Scampston have been eager to show children and adults alike the importance of biodiversity and habitats. This is something that Capability Brown achieved with the varied landscapes he created - with his use of trees and lakes. 

The beds have been planted with six hardy perennials, which will provide homes and food for insects and birds throughout the year. Each of the schools were able to take away some of the plants, along with a beehouse and a birdbox. Pupils will then be able to monitor the activity around the plants, and watch as they grow and bloom. They will also be invited back to Scampston to see how their hard work has paid off.

Thank you very much to all the volunteers and teachers that made today possible. Apologies to all the parents who will be picking up muddy children this evening! Still, great fun was had by all.