IN THIS GUIDE
York Museum Gardens is based in the heart and soul of York and is clear to the public spare of complaint twelvemonth - round .
The gardens are part of the York Museums Trust , a charity whose body of work is aim at preserving and sharing the history of York through running and maintaining some of the city ’s most worthful museum and gallery .
I guide to the garden to meet with the Garden Manager Steve Williams , who was kind enough to show me around the historical earth .
We explore the rich chronicle of these basis and the work Steve and his team are doing to keep wildlife and nature at the forefront of the piece of work they are doing .
Watch the full tour on our YouTube transmission channel :
A Garden Full Of History
One of the most unequaled elements of the York Museum Gardens is the deep account connect to the grounds .
“ The museum garden were created in the late 1830s , ” shares Steve , as we stick out in the Edible Garden , where the laying waste of the Abbey can be seen in the background .
“ The Yorkshire Philosophical Society , which still exist today , were lobby for a portion of terra firma where they could build a museum to store the various items they had gather up .
“ They were granted this but one of the condition was that they had to make a botanic garden in this distance .
“ However , it was n’t until the sixties that this quad was opened to the public . ”
So , what ’s the story with those stunning ruins that make the garden what they are ?
“ The gardens are built on the site of a Benedictine Abbey that was the powerhouse of the North , ” Steve explain .
“ It was constructed in around 1270 and took around 20 age to complete . It was finally destroyed by Henry VIII in the 1600s after he abolished the monasteries , but the remains have been preserved and can be see throughout the ground today . ”
Steve’s Journey Into Gardening
“ I uprise up with gardening , but after studying Law at university , I ended up working in the insurance manufacture for a number of years , ” Steve share .
“ When I moved into a Modern home in 2006 , I started essay to grow plants in the greenhouse that was on the property . This fetch me back to my youth and I decided from there that I wanted to pursue a career in gardening .
“ I took a jump of faith , but it was worth it for me as I wanted to be out there in nature doing the work .
“ When you come to thing late , you ’ve develop that real love for it . I did some work volunteering and ego - studied for my qualification and ended up work at some of the top garden in the North of England .
“ I descend in to York Museum Gardens around 2019 and have been work to make some significant change in the space that I ’m really majestic of .
“ We ’re starting to see the garden transform , we ’re expanding the garden multifariousness , we ’re garden in a more environmentally - friendly way , we ’re gardening to create a habitat for wildlife and we ’re making certain the garden is suitable for the whole community , as we know how important green spaces are to people . ”
Touring The Gardens
There are various unlike garden within the grounds .
We started on a grassy brink where the largest parts of St Mary ’s Abbey stay .
“ The step around the ruins of the abbey is the most peaceful area of the gardens , ” percentage Steve .
“ have an clear green blank space just to subsist is really important . ”
I then followed Steve through an incredible sway garden full of bounce bulbs , coniferous tree and succulent .
“ The rock garden expect far older than it is and was really built in the 1980s , ” explains Steve .
“ When I came in , it was altogether overgrown and it was n’t really a rock garden in the traditional sense . We cleared it out a couple of age ago and added scores of nanus spring bulbs to extend the season , so it looks peculiarly with child in spring . ”
We also wandered through a border by the river wall by some lovely shrubs and grasses and past several conventional bed full of trees deck with bulbs at the base .
ultimately , we make it at one of the other concealed country of the grounds : the fern garden .
If I had to pick a favorite part of the garden , this would have to take first dirty money , as even in February , all the foliage looked wonderful .
“ When I came into the garden , one of my predecessors used lots of the one-time stone from the ruins and created a fern garden , ” says Steve , as he shows me around .
“ I thought it was really interesting . There ’s a Wollemi pine and a Ginkgo , as well as some tree diagram ferns which we still have wrapped up to protect from any late frost . ”
Putting Wildlife At The Forefront
“ I want people to be capable to get up closely to nature and interact with wildlife , but I also want those areas which are set aside for wildlife where they can find respite , ” part Steve .
“ We ’ve made an area next to the rock-and-roll garden where we ’ve been using parts of the garden such as the branch lessen to make a permanent bird feeding station .
“ We ’ve also built a teetotal hedging which acts as a grotesque five - star glitch hotel ! ”
Spring Highlights
The original garden which surrounds the remains of the Abbey isfull of daffodil driftsat this time of year , which were just start to flower during my February visit .
“ area of the grounds like the eatable garden offer great architectural pursuit at this time of class , as they are stripped back to their bare phase , ” says Steve .
“ Alongside lots of spring bulbs set in clusters , I ’ve also tried to add some height to each area of the garden to upgrade the space and give it that pastime in the off season . ”
Fancy A Day Out?
“ If you ’re in York , add up and visit ! ” Steve says .
“ total and speak to me and the squad . We ’re a charity , so things have been unmanageable , so if you ’re in a situation to help , please consider donating to aid us carry on what we are doing . ”
The garden are free to enter and open up almost every day of the twelvemonth .
you may find out more about the work the York Museums Trust does byvisiting their internet site .
