1 00:00:06,530 --> 00:00:08,600 ALAN POWER: Thank you for downloading this garden cutting 2 00:00:08,609 --> 00:00:11,850 from the National Trust. I'm Alan Power, the head gardener at 3 00:00:11,859 --> 00:00:14,550 Stourhead in Wiltshire. And today I'm At Croome in 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,430 Worcestershire, one of Capability Brown's first 5 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:18,639 landscape gardens. 6 00:00:23,049 --> 00:00:25,729 The National Trust works in partnership with many landowners 7 00:00:25,739 --> 00:00:28,500 and tenant farmers around the country. But one particular 8 00:00:28,510 --> 00:00:31,559 relationship that has developed at Croome Court is a 9 00:00:31,569 --> 00:00:35,310 relationship with Karen Cronin and her husband Chris who bought 10 00:00:35,319 --> 00:00:38,669 the walled garden and gardeners cottage here in the year 2000. 11 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:41,159 They've been restoring the garden themselves over the past 12 00:00:41,169 --> 00:00:43,229 few years and have been opening it recently. 13 00:00:43,450 --> 00:00:46,450 Karen, It's a pleasure to meet you and especially to be 14 00:00:46,459 --> 00:00:50,029 standing here in such a massive walled garden. The work is 15 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,759 bearing down on top of me. I mean, what was it like in 2000 16 00:00:53,770 --> 00:00:55,349 when you, when you bought the place. 17 00:00:55,490 --> 00:00:59,860 KAREN CRONIN: Completely derelict and completely 18 00:00:59,869 --> 00:01:03,099 overgrown and wild, but in its own way, it was very beautiful 19 00:01:03,110 --> 00:01:07,529 even then. And I think that's what really attracted us to it. 20 00:01:07,699 --> 00:01:10,690 We- it was in such a state that we really didn't know what we 21 00:01:10,699 --> 00:01:11,519 were buying. 22 00:01:11,650 --> 00:01:13,650 ALAN POWER: You're, you're productive here already. You 23 00:01:13,660 --> 00:01:16,599 know, you've made massive, massive steps forward. Do you 24 00:01:16,610 --> 00:01:18,910 mind telling us what you're producing at the moment and what 25 00:01:18,919 --> 00:01:19,879 you're growing In the walled garden? 26 00:01:19,889 --> 00:01:22,989 KAREN CRONIN: Right. Well, we grow a little bit of everything 27 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,629 really. I like to cook so I like the idea of, you know, coming 28 00:01:27,639 --> 00:01:31,430 and picking my own produce. We've grown sweet potatoes this 29 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,730 year for the first time and they've been successful. 30 00:01:35,290 --> 00:01:37,879 We've, obviously, as you can see, we've got lots of fruit 31 00:01:37,889 --> 00:01:40,860 trees which are going to be espaliered against those wires. 32 00:01:41,300 --> 00:01:45,330 We've got a whole path that are full of old varieties that have 33 00:01:45,339 --> 00:01:47,160 come from either Hereford, Worcestershire or 34 00:01:47,169 --> 00:01:47,860 Gloucestershire. 35 00:01:48,239 --> 00:01:51,949 And then another path which is full of more modern varieties, 36 00:01:51,959 --> 00:01:57,349 the eldest one- going back to 1955 I think the idea there is 37 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:59,510 that people will be able to see the difference of the progress 38 00:01:59,519 --> 00:02:02,680 of apples and be able to taste the difference between an old 39 00:02:02,690 --> 00:02:07,660 apple and a new apple. We've got espalier of pear tree and of 40 00:02:07,669 --> 00:02:11,380 cookers as well. You know, we grow beans, we, you know, we got 41 00:02:11,389 --> 00:02:13,279 cabbages, we grow everything. 42 00:02:13,570 --> 00:02:15,889 ALAN POWER: Heading- heading into the winter and looking at 43 00:02:15,899 --> 00:02:18,190 the months ahead, I mean, we can see the work that you've 44 00:02:18,199 --> 00:02:20,179 achieved this year with the wires and the espaliers. 45 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,449 But what I love in the, where we're standing is the contrast 46 00:02:23,460 --> 00:02:26,919 to the left, there's kind of established fruit beds, there's 47 00:02:26,929 --> 00:02:30,800 cages protecting next year's crops on the right hand side, 48 00:02:30,809 --> 00:02:34,660 there's a JCB, there's a dumper truck. You know, it's a real 49 00:02:34,669 --> 00:02:37,429 story, isn't it? I know that you've mentioned that there's a 50 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:39,130 few Daffodils been planted, isn't there? 51 00:02:39,270 --> 00:02:41,699 KAREN CRONIN: Yeah. Well, up in the very top bank there last 52 00:02:41,710 --> 00:02:46,690 year we planted 5,500 Daffodils, with some help from our 53 00:02:46,699 --> 00:02:51,300 volunteer friends. And this year I've bought just over another 54 00:02:51,309 --> 00:02:55,830 1000 to go below that and then, that's then going to be sowed 55 00:02:55,839 --> 00:02:59,809 with, a wild flower meadow, which I thought would be rather 56 00:02:59,820 --> 00:03:01,279 nice to help with the pollination. 57 00:03:01,289 --> 00:03:04,270 And also for the general public will bring summer colour and 58 00:03:04,279 --> 00:03:06,710 also the bugs for the children to look out for and the 59 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:07,949 butterflies and things. 60 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,149 So we thought that would be very interesting. We also, developing 61 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:14,880 another bed further down which again, I've bought a load of 62 00:03:14,889 --> 00:03:18,070 tulips to go in for. So that'll be all done in the next sort of, 63 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:19,029 you know, month. 64 00:03:19,679 --> 00:03:22,309 ALAN POWER: In kind of five years time in the middle of the 65 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,869 summer. If we were to put a deck chair out here, what, what would 66 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:25,639 you want to see? 67 00:03:26,110 --> 00:03:28,789 KAREN CRONIN: And the Todd Vineary will be fully restored. 68 00:03:29,389 --> 00:03:33,580 And hopefully, we might even have managed to start on the hot 69 00:03:33,589 --> 00:03:37,119 wall as well. Because our real dream is to be able to fire that 70 00:03:37,130 --> 00:03:38,710 up again one day. 71 00:03:39,229 --> 00:03:41,089 ALAN POWER: It's amazing. I want a hot wall. 72 00:03:42,789 --> 00:03:46,869 It's, this hot wall was was heated by furnaces, wasn't it? 73 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,699 KAREN CRONIN: There was five underground little fireplaces 74 00:03:49,710 --> 00:03:53,080 and in fact, the way that they look, is one that's exposed at 75 00:03:53,089 --> 00:03:55,949 the top. We've left it for people to see if you can imagine 76 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:00,429 what, the- in a Victorian bedroom, the sort of size of the 77 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:01,429 fireplace in there. 78 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,630 Well, they're about that kind of size but we understand that the 79 00:04:04,639 --> 00:04:09,199 main reason that you get a hot wall, is because of the, glass 80 00:04:09,210 --> 00:04:11,309 tax, the window tax as people know it. 81 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,160 So, if you had a glass house, you had to pay tax on the glass 82 00:04:15,169 --> 00:04:16,209 in your glass house. 83 00:04:16,339 --> 00:04:20,179 So it was a way of trying to get, an extended growing season 84 00:04:20,190 --> 00:04:23,839 without having to pay the Exchequer a lot of money. So, in 85 00:04:23,850 --> 00:04:27,500 fact, when that, when the glass tax was rescinded, most people 86 00:04:27,510 --> 00:04:30,690 just stop using their hot walls and I don't think there's that 87 00:04:30,700 --> 00:04:31,890 many left now. 88 00:04:31,980 --> 00:04:33,910 ALAN POWER: It's lovely. I've been to Croome quite a few times 89 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,420 and I've kind of wondered at the walls from the other side, you 90 00:04:36,429 --> 00:04:38,630 know, and you wonder what, what's in there and, you know, 91 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:41,600 from what you've described, the- the National Trust volunteers 92 00:04:41,609 --> 00:04:44,359 get to come through that gate and get that wow factor when 93 00:04:44,369 --> 00:04:47,850 they come in and the fact that visitors can see the whole 94 00:04:47,859 --> 00:04:50,640 property now, you know, they can see Brown's work outside and 95 00:04:50,649 --> 00:04:53,559 they can, you know, visit, visit you when you're open and come in 96 00:04:53,570 --> 00:04:55,320 and see what's going on in here as well. 97 00:04:55,329 --> 00:04:57,760 It's been a pleasure to talk to you. It's been lovely to see 98 00:04:57,769 --> 00:05:00,660 your walled garden. You very, very best of luck with it. And 99 00:05:00,670 --> 00:05:02,339 thanks a million for your time today. 100 00:05:03,619 --> 00:05:06,279 Hope you've enjoyed this garden cutting from the National Trust. 101 00:05:06,369 --> 00:05:09,239 You can subscribe or follow on your podcast app for the full 102 00:05:09,250 --> 00:05:12,950 program. Join us for December in Sissinghurst. We'll see you 103 00:05:12,959 --> 00:05:13,239 then. 104 00:05:16,519 --> 00:05:18,820 BETTANY HUGHES: I'm Bettany Hughes. I've been visiting 105 00:05:18,829 --> 00:05:22,390 National Trust Properties all my life. But in this series of 106 00:05:22,399 --> 00:05:27,190 podcasts, I'm going beyond the delights of teas and topiary to 107 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,760 reveal the surprising European roots of some of the most 108 00:05:30,769 --> 00:05:35,190 splendid sites in England. You can subscribe to my series by 109 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:40,660 searching for Bettany Hughes's 10 Places, Europe and us. On 110 00:05:40,670 --> 00:05:41,950 your podcast app.