Winter into Spring 2026

Our first Monday of the year was extremely cold, but the garden was very beautiful and sparkling with sunshine and hoar frost. The garden shelter, with its guardian pyramids, looked magical. Crisp, shimmering trees framed the Bath House;  and we just couldn’t resist taking a picture of the cockerel that crowns the building.

No cold weather stops Howard, however, and he got busy clearing the paths of snow. He would have got down and taken the weeds out of the paths as well but they were too frozen in.

We have started work on a new project to achieve this, entitled Garden Stories. It is based on a suggestion by Sergey, one of the Trustees of Congleton Museum.

Getting this project ‘off the ground’ has already taken many meetings and discussions.

Sergey not only advertised for help on social media, but also added the ‘Volunteers Needed’ button to the front page of our website. This has brought us several new people to help organise and run the project.

Such a project naturally incurs considerable cost, and so we sought funding from local charities.

We are grateful to the Inclosure Trust and the Congleton Young People’s Trust for their generous grants towards the realisation of this project. The picture shows us receiving the cheque from the Inclosure Trust.

Meanwhile, the team has levelled the waste ground beyond the Victorian wall, with the kind help of the neighbour whose land also adjoins it. This opens up the view of St Peter’s Church and much improves this part of the garden. It is proposed that wild plants should be allowed to re-establish naturally, while controlling any tree growth, and maintaining access to the hedge. 

Nick’s skills and energy are still engaged in the hard work of building up the wall. This part of the garden will also figure in our plans to engage with local school children. 

Spring weather has been predictably unpredictable, but now we are seeing the growth and colour that make the garden so attractive. A spring project is to rejuvenate the Officinalis border, digging up the specimen plants, then loosening and improving the soil before replanting. The replanting and associated watering was done on a beautiful warm sunny morning with the grass freshly mown, and a new flush of green on the trees.

Other garden ‘events’ have included a visit by a tree surgeon to look at the Sycamores; the annual preparation of the wildflower meadow; and a judicious pruning of the Quince tree, with the help of a knowledgeable visitor.

Unfortunately, some less supportive visitors decided to graffiti the garden shelter, and we thank Streetscape for getting rid of most of it for us. 

Elsewhere in the garden, we have enjoyed the annual succession of spring flowers, first with the Snowdrops, then Daffodils and Primroses. Now it is the turn of Lungwort – on the left – and Ramsons – on the right.

The latter, also known as Wild Garlic, add an aromatic savour to the air! 

Spring has also arrived in the Pond area. Here, the Marsh Marigolds give a cheerful burst of yellow, while new tadpoles make ripples in the water.

Nick’s skill and hard work on the restoration of the Victorian wall is now complete: it is now a really striking feature in the garden. Behind it, in traditional style, we have added a paling fence, and planted hawthorn slips to create a hedge.

During one period of the garden’s history it was used for allotments, so we intend to create a raised bed and grow vegetables. We hope to be helped in this by children at a local school. 

The Garden Stories project is really taking shape now, with an energetic team doing research and dealing with the practicalities.

The aim is to create a self-guided tour of both the building and the garden, to run at weekends during the summer holidays.

Along the way, there will be activities for young families, designed to introduce different aspects of our history as they enjoy their day on site.