After many months of preparation, the first grass seed was put down in the centre of the Monks’ Walk on Sunday 11 October. It has now started to grow and we are continuing to weed and seed the remaining area. The mild weather has helped greatly and green shoots are already sprouting.

The aim is to re-create the rough grass that was in this area in the 19th and earlier 20th century, as shown in the 1899 black and white photo. The snowdrops and other bulbs have been left to grow through the grass. It is hoped that more woodland flowers will be added in the future.

Crossing paths are marked in the Monks’ Walk on the 1773 plan of the gardens (see plan on the right). Once the grass has grown, paths will be mown across the Monks’ Walk marking where these paths once lay.

The grass seed is a special mixture suitable for shady areas, made up of:

Adinda (Strong Creeping Red Fescue) 40%
Frida (Chewings Fescue) 20%
Evora (Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass) 15%
Raisa (Chewings Fescue) 15%
Highland (Browntop Bent) 5%
Aber Royal (Browntop Bent) 2.5%
Supra (Poa Supina) 2.5%

Many thanks to everyone who has helped make this possible, especially the hard-working volunteers and the Jack Brunton trust for funding this work.

Thankyou to Geoff Bailey for the photo on the bottom right showing the grass taken on 12 November 2009.

Find more photos at

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