Thursday 15 October 2015

Abandoned places*


I love a beautifully restored, productive walled vegetable garden.


How sad then to stumble across this one,


in the grounds of Peasmarsh Place in Sussex,


once the home of Alice Liddell
of Alice in Wonderland fame,

and now a private care home.




And yet, oblivious of the neglect,
the orchard was flourishing.


Trees bowed under the weight,


of rare varieties.





The ground littered with bruised and rotting fruit.


Oh what a terrible waste.





Despite the reproving gaze of this gentleman,



Reader, I succumbed.

Good job I had capacious pockets that day.

Heather sees the same problem where she lives.





* No not this blog, cheeky.


23 comments:

  1. Oh what a shame. I see so much potential there. And that orchard - my idea of heaven. So sad to see all of that gorgeous organic fruit go to waste. I'd have been filling sacks! CJ xx

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    1. I saw some people with carrier bags. They were obviously in the know.

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  2. Lucille, I am very glad that you sucummbed. What else could an admirer of orchards and lover of apples do?

    Of course, I am now very curious to learn more about how it would be possible to have access to this untended garden, and why other folks could not adopt it and give the orchard proper care. A garden rescue group....

    xo

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  3. I was lately reading in the Guardian about abandoned places (a beautiful railway station), even though the Guardian is mostly an abandoned place to me nowadays with there not being a minute in the day. But your walled garden and orchard find is just as abandoned, just as picturesquely sad, like something from a Peter Greenaway film. Did you make abandoned pie or abandoned chutney?

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    1. I very nearly put a link to the Guardian abandoned places page. Some of them rather gruesome. The apples are so uniquely delicious that they are just being eaten one by one.

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  4. Oh, but you can see the bones of it, can't you?! It could be marvellous. That brick archway and gate, those walls... What a shame. And all that glorious fruit going to waste. I'm glad you were able to take a little home.

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  5. take a basket next time?
    Any idea about future plans there.
    Will the orchard survive??

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    Replies
    1. It is not usually open to the public. This was an Open Day. I have tried and failed to find about more about it.

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  6. There must be a local group willing to take it on ... then all you've got to do is get the requisite permits and safety certificates ...
    On second thoughts , call on the WI .

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  7. Such a shame, perhaps http://www.englishapplesandpears.co.uk/ might be able to help?

    I am pleased that you removed some and I hope you enjoy them.

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    Replies
    1. I've written to Brogdale but don't expect a response. Not sure what they could do but they might have been interested to identify varieties that they maybe don't have in their collection.

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  8. Great post, shame about the wasted fruit. Glad you took some. Perhaps take a friend next time. And a basket.

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  9. I do love a walled garden - such a shame most of them are now going to waste - but what would one do these days with such a huge area. The apples have been so abundant this year - I too have had to let a lot go to waste, especially as they are not keepers. Hope you enjoy your haul. Just think of the amount of apple juice that could be made from all those fallen apples - surely some producer somewhere could make use of them.

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  10. I will admit to scrumping from a similar orchard..........sadly in the health and safety world we live in it may be too difficult for anyone to take it on but wouldn't it be an amazing project. I suppose those in the care home are too frail to be able to garden. Just think the care home itself could be nearly self sufficient from that land, you could link so many people up together, make a new community oh the possibilities......

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    Replies
    1. Yes there are only 24 people staying there and despite the benches strategically placed around the garden, I doubt they are often used for sitting and admiring the view, let alone gardening.

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  11. I wish I were near enough to make that my project! Isn't West Dean amazing? I suspect every gardenener secretly wants a walled garden..

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  12. What a shame, on so many counts. I was reading about a scheme recently for getting old people/care home staff gardening together. And it made me think, much as I loathe gardening, how much I'd miss cooking if I ever end up in that situation. Remember visiting an old lady locally who said the thing she hated most was being unable to cook her own meals. I wonder if anyone in the home would love to make an apple apple pie with a bit of help.

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  13. What a sad waste. As someone else said, the garden could easily feed the community, and I do feel that poor nutrition is rife amongst the elderly and a major cause of deterioration, and yet nothing is done.

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  14. It happens here too, and it's such a shame. I know of another village where there is a volunteer group that will pick the fruit for householders who don't want to do it themselves and then distribute it amongst various charitiable groups and to the WI who make jam they then sell to raise money for charity.

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  15. Call Tim Smit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Smit) - he'll know what to do......

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  16. Oh, this post makes my green fingered, gardening, veggie growing, self sufficiency inspired heart hurt :-(

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