We held a highly successful and enjoyable Spring Market on Saturday 2nd May, attracting nearly 500 visitors, on a fine Spring day. This was a fundraising exercise helping towards the cost of upgrading the garden paths to improve access for everyone visiting the Garden. We hope to implement these improvements later on this summer. A huge thank you to everyone who attended to support our cause and, of course, to the stallholders, volunteers and organisers.
Our next event is the Sawston Village Open Gardens on Sunday 14th June 1-5 pm. The Challis Garden will again join seven other gardens – including one in Pampisford for the first time – to raise funds for the National Garden Scheme (ngs). The ngs gives £3.5 million or more annually to many nationally important nursing and health charities through donations collected on Open Garden days across the U.K. These include Marie Curie, MacMillan Cancer Support, Hospice UK, Carers Trust, The Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing, Parkinson’s UK, Horatio’s Garden, Maggie’s and many more. This represents an essential source of funding for health and nursing sector, which the Challis Trust is very proud to be associated with. Do come along to support us and see some of the best gardens in the village. Teas and homemade cake will be served throughout the afternoon in the Challis Garden, if you need further inducement!
If you like traditional Irish music, come along to the Challis Garden on Sunday 21st June from 2-4 pm to listen to an excellent local group. Bring a picnic, friends and family to enjoy live music in a lovely garden environment. And all for free, though donations are most welcome!
In July, we are delighted to see a return of outdoor theatre to the Garden on Thursday 23rd July at 7 pm. If you enjoy Shakespeare, come along to watch a performance of Macbeth by the Handlebards company – so named because want to be environmentally sustainable and choose to tour the country on bicycles or electric van to take theatre to a host of outdoor venues in the summer months. It promises to be a “high-octane, chaotic and comedic production”. Sounds fun! ‘Early bird’ tickets are available on the https://www.handlebards.com website at £17.50 per adult (standard £20.50).
The ‘Sawston High Street Through Time’ exhibition is open for viewing in the Challis House on Tuesday and Saturday mornings from 10 am to 12 noon throughout the summer. This is of particular interest to long-term Sawstonians and, we hope, to more recent residents too to understand how the High Street has changed over the years. If you are interested in particular properties, there is more detail to read regarding notable buildings and businesses or ask one of our archivists for more information.
We also plan to open a new exhibition in The Reeve Building about ‘Trees in the Challis Garden’, hopefully by the end of May. We’ve picked a selection of the most interesting trees in the Garden. If you’d like to learn more about our collection, the exhibition is open on Tuesday and Saturday mornings from 10 am to 12 noon, and also on Thursday mornings on request.
After the prolonged wet weather in early Spring, there has been a dramatic change due to exceptionally dry conditions in April. As a result, many trees and shrubs are suffering from lack of moisture, meaning we have to water more frequently. There will hopefully be some meaningful rainfall in May and June to allow us to put out annual bedding plants and sow more vegetables.
The summer wildflower meadow in the centre of the main lawn will be at its peak in June and July, dominated by dog daisies, knapweed, bedstraws, scabious and the ever-important yellow rattle, which parasitizes annual grasses, allowing the wildflowers to thrive. Many pollinating insects visit these flowers; have a look for bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies, beetles and hoverflies. How many can you name? And do let us know if you see something different. Perhaps an orchid might appear one summer!
Our bee border has now been fully replanted by one of our volunteers, and some bee ‘hotels’ and woodpiles added to provide shelter and overwintering sites for pollinating insects. The intention is to provide an extended period of flowering with a range of flower types suitable for different pollinators. It will be very interesting to see which insects these plants attract.
It is very encouraging that the House and Garden are attracting increasing numbers of visitors as the Challis Trust becomes more widely recognised. Do remember that Mary Challis left this wonderful garden and her home to the people of Sawston so do make good use of the facilities. It is genuinely a ‘hidden gem’ in the village for everyone. Please visit us, participate in the events and view our exhibitions; it is a wonderful resource for us all. Enjoy!
Mike Redshaw