Goodbye to our Roman courtyard garden

There’s still some colour in our small courtyard garden but this year will see the end of the garden’s Roman theme. Rosie, our ‘Head Gardener’, has plans for a different theme next year. 

Rosie’s idea is to introduce a medieval and Tudor theme to the garden.   In the blocked-up window embrasures, she would like story boards on The Origins and Medieval History of the Town and on Thornbury Castle. There will be the chance to use plants that were found in the Middle Ages and the Tudor period, broadening out from the Roman-themed plants we’ve had up to now.

The revamp will involve the building of raised wooden troughs around the sides of the courtyard. This will cut down on the number of smaller pots and containers, which needed a lot of watering if they were not to suffer in the long, dry spells this year. Not that we’re complaining about the great weather we’ve had…

Rosie hasn’t worked out the cost implications yet and she’s being cautious about promising to have it completed within the year but we’re all looking forward to seeing the next development in our little museum garden.

The museum was presented with a Gold Thornbury in Bloom Award by Jekka McVicar recently, for the support that museum volunteers give to the town scheme, not just in the museum’s garden but in different locations around the town. We’re happy to take part. We think Thornbury in Bloom is a great communal project which makes the town look fantastic.

Do you have any ideas – horticultural or otherwise – for our new garden theme? Let us know.