Ryton Organic Gardens (and Bees Galore)

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We visited Ryton Organic Gardens last weekend. A Bee Festival was being held on the Saturday and Sunday - sadly, by the time we had decided which day we were going all the lectures, workshops and bee walks had been fully booked :( However, the Garden had lots of bee-related stalls and was full of different bee species and hopefully I will be going on a second Bee Walk with Steven Falk at Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens the weekend after this so all was not lost!

Ryton Gardens cover an area of 10 acres and are the home of the UK's leading organic growing charity (Garden Organic). There are many gardens each with a different theme. I have visited a couple of times before with a friend but earlier in the year.



There was a display on Biodynamic Gardening in the Reception area.

The herb garden in the right of this photo has around 200 different species of herb.

The World's largest flower pot!

Bees and hoverflies

The Kitchen and Allotment Garden which has companion planting and plenty of bee friendly plants.

These yellow daisy type flowers, which I have also seen in National Trust Gardens, were very very popular with the bees and hoverflies

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The Biodynamic Garden

The Paradise Garden is a tribute to Geoff Hamilton and is divided into town and country gardens.

The Wildlife area had many features to encourage wildlife such as a log pile and bug hotel.

The Rose Garden which is planted with a mix of David Austin roses (by coincidence we passed his nurseries on our way to the Dower House at Morville recently) and herbaceous perennials to encourage biodiversity and reduce pest problems.

Murals in the Exotic Plant Garden

Even more ideas for bug hotels

B enjoyed looking round all the different types of compost bin

Low Maintenance Landscape

Apples in the Orchard

A lovely afternoon out even if I did miss the talks!. No cake this time as they had sold out!! but I did come home with another Verbena bonariensis. I did see some of those little pink/white daisies for sale that were covering so many walls in Devon. I really regret not buying a pot but B was hovering nearby and he is not happy if I but too many plants as he says we don't have room for any more. I am still trying to persuade him to get rid of the first big lawn (not needed now the children are grown up) and cover the area with lots of herbaceous borders and raised vegetable beds but as we are still considering moving it may well be a waste of time.

Apologies for the vast amounts of photos again - there will be fewer in the next couple of posts!


*D denotes photos taken by D with the Canon SX50HS

His bee photos were a lot better than mine which are heavily cropped as I had the 14-42mm lens on the camera.

St Gregory's Church, Morville

Before we left Morville I just had time for a quick look round St Gregory's church. A church existed on the site by 1042 AD probably located a little to the North of the present church. No traces now remain of the earlier building. The present church was built by the Benedictine monks of Shrewsbury Abbey in 1118. It was made into a Priory which was dependent on the Abbey. The Priory at Morville was probably built on the site where Morville Hall stands today. St Gregory's was enlarged later in the 11th century and the tower was built. There was a restoration in the 19th century but the church interior still retains its Norman character. It is the only church in Shropshire dedicated to St Gregory.

There is a sad story in one of the leaflets available in the church which relates how, following the Bishop of Hereford's dedication in 1118, a thunderstorm developed as people were walking home and 2 women and 5 horses were struck by lightning and killed.

The broken ancient churchyard cross once had a sundial, mounted on the base, which was sadly stolen in 1997.

The South Door contains 12th century ironwork.

Stained Glass

The East Window

There is a small piece of 13th century glass in one of the two Chancel windows (see photos below)

Four wooden figures above pillars in the Nave represent the four Evangelists. They are probably 17th century although their origin is unknown. Unfortunately, all my photos were blurred due to very low shutter speed so just one picture (the least blurred!!) which represents St Mark with a Winged Lion.

This ancient chest was hollowed from an oak tree and is probably much older than the 13th century ironwork.

The font has superb carvings and it is thought it could be Saxon.

A very beautiful and peaceful church steeped in history in a lovely location.