HTAG Guildford - HTAG Gardens Open Day 04 Information

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HTAG Gardens Open Day 04 Information

The Castle Grounds - An Overview by Chris Bruce, Deputy General Manager, Guildford Parks and Countryside Service

The Castle Grounds were opened to the public in 1888 as 'Pleasure Grounds'. This rather old fashioned way of describing the grounds that surround Guildford's Castle Keep is as accurate today as it was in 1888. This small garden site is always filled with visitors enjoying the Victorian style bedding displays, the bands on the bandstand or visiting the Great Tower. The Bowling Green in the upper part of the grounds has one of the best-supported bowling clubs in the Borough and it is always busy with games on a weekend and also on some weekday evenings.

The grounds have always been a haven of peace from the busy commercial centre of Guilford. On fine lunch times visitors struggle to find places to sit down and eat their lunch. Many local authorities complain about not being able to attract users into their sites. This has never been the case with the Castle Grounds.

There are around 40,000 bedding plants planted each June and a further 40,000 planted in November, and inter-planted with tulips for the following year's Spring display. Next year's spring design has already been done and next year's summer display will be completed before Christmas 2004. The designs for bedding are traditional and provide the main horticultural interest on the site. There are some interesting, mature trees that provide much needed shade in the summer. There is also a charming herbaceous border at the bottom of the garden with some fine Lavender beds in front.

Like all good gardens, there are secret areas and walk ways. The Alice garden is a quite secluded area featuring a statue of 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'. This area is planted with cool green plants and is a really quiet corner of the gardens. As you perambulate through the gardens, you descend into a secluded walkway, through a tunnel and out to a small fernery. Within five paces you are back into the main display of annual bedding plants in the valley garden which runs around the bottom of the Motte on which the Great Tower stands. Caution is required at this point. The shear brightness and variety of bedding plants may well affect your vision! We make no apologies for the brightness of our display. It is traditional and very popular with our visitors.

The Great Tower has been restored and offers fantastic views of the surrounding Countryside, if you are lively enough to climb to the top. There are displays inside the Castle describing the building's varied and interesting history.

There is still a great deal of pleasure in the Guildford Castle Pleasure Grounds. Whether you are a gardener or interested in history or just seeking some peace and quiet for a good old-fashioned Victorian perambulation, the Castle grounds are the place to visit in Guildford.

HTAG Gardens Open Day 04 - A Report by Christopher de Chazal

HTAG Gardens Open Day took full advantage of the recent opening of the Castle Keep. Over thirty of us joined Chris Bruce, Deputy General Manager, Guildford Parks and Countryside Services, on a tour of the Castle grounds. Not only did he give us the horticultural whys and wherefores but he also brought the history to life.

The Castle Keep was, of course, a military installation but in Victorian times it became a pleasure ground. In those days, without games that can be viewed in the home all the way from Portugal, the grounds assumed a real and significant importance for Guildfordians.

The humble Geranium was reproduced by cuttings, but now plant culture is very technical and a fine art. In Victorian times just 10 or 12 voluptuous begonias were cultivated - now we can have thousands.

Chris explained Guildford Parks Department thinking and philosophy behind what we see. Everything possible is done to be cost effective, environmentally sustainable and, not least, aesthetically pleasing. The 65 permanent staff looking after all our open spaces are doing a fantastic job and are largely unrecognised for what they do. We learnt a lot; at least one person had never seen the statue of Alice through the Looking Glass, tucked away in a corner of the gardens.

Htag Gardens Open Day is, to my mind, sitting out in the sunshine, tea and cake in hand, having a sociable time with friends and neighbours. There was lots of that! Wonderful cakes, teas of all sorts, weak or strong, seats in sunshine and shade. Old 78s were played by a discerning youngster on a wind up portable; Rosemary Clooney singing her heart out! The plant sale, which raised some money for the social aspects of HTAG, included amongst other interesting plants, tomatoes, cactus, and even one labelled "house plant".

If you could not be there you missed a really interesting and relaxing afternoon. A match was in progress on the Bowling Green which gave someone the idea of having an evening of "Boules", probably on Sunday 5 September at The Percy Arms Chilworth. Watch this space for further information. A huge thank you is due to Jean Bridger who not only organised everything but also made and served all the teas, Jean Garland who opened her garden to visitors, and the army of cake makers, chair lenders and arrangers. It was a Great Day.

To see more photos of the day click here.