February 2025 in The Walled Garden
February 2025 in The Walled Garden
February saw the launch of our brand new, beautiful events space, The Conservatory. The perfect addition to the garden, terrace, greenhouse, lake and Old Castle, and a space that allows us to host more fantastic workshops, whatever the great Welsh weather decides.
Here’s a quick rundown of the three exceptional workshops we hosted on Hawarden Estate in February 2025, alongside some early shots of the new space…
8th February - The Trees of Hawarden Estate with David Winnard
Hawarden Estate is home to some stunning trees, with a wonderful selection of native trees as well as some interesting specimens from all corners of the globe. Our walk around the grounds encountered many of these fascinating plants and we explored some of the mythology and folklore around some of the species as well as delving into how to identify some of our more common species.
If you have ever wondered how you identify a Birch from a Beech or an Oak from a Sycamore, then this was a great place to start!
Together with our go-to expert naturalist, David Winnard, we explored how other species interact with trees, like fungi and lichens, as well as learning why some cultures have a strong relationship with Yew Trees, why Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread, why burning Elder wood may not be wisest of ideas and why Ash trees are having a really hard time at the moment.
“Whilst many people think you need to see the leaves of a tree to identify them, it just isn’t the case, with the leaves off the trees in winter you get to see more of their form and use other identification features such as bark, buds and habit to get to know them.”
Our walk around the grounds of this historic and beautiful estate left guests with a new appreciation of trees, having seen some of the best examples of some species in this part of North Wales.
15th February - An Introduction to Fermentation with The Plucky Pickle
During this hugely popular masterclass, Jules Goddard (AKA The Plucky Pickle) delved into the wonders of fermentation, chatting about what fermentation is, showing guests how not to be afraid of fermenting, how easy it is and the importance of microbes on our plates.
Jules shared her knowledge of different types of fermentation and together we each created a seasonal ferment to take home.
There were tasters to try and share and guests explored the wonderful textures and flavours fermentation brings.
We met the microbes, had some hands-on fun and learned how to make our own seasonal ferment confidently and safely!
16th February - Garden Tool Sharpening with Community Cutlery
Following a hugely popular sharpening masterclasses in 2024, Gaz, founder of Community Cutlery, returned to The Walled Garden School to teach guests how to get their garden tools back into tip top condition in time for spring, and keep them that way!
We brought along secateurs, loppers, shears, spades, hoes, lawnmower blades… for a full instruction on how to keep our tools performing their best.
