Wildlife Garden July Update With Lockdown easing in the wildlife garden we havebeen returning to our volunteer workdays only to be greeted by some very persistent perennial ‘flowers in the wrong place’, including Bristly Ox tongue and Ground Elder. Whilst tackling these will be an ongoing task, we are able to begin to enjoy our […]
On spotting an aquatic fly with long legs, golden/green metallic coloured body and white-tipped wings at Brogdale’s recently completed wildlife pond – research quickly helped me identify it was a Semaphore Fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus. The pond is host to several of these flies, although sadly not YET the damselflies I had hoped for. The male Semaphore […]
Brogdale Collections, has acres of orchards, many bursting with ripe cherries, and it’s asking for help in finding them all a home. Like many local attractions, Brogdale has been hit hard by lockdown and forced to cancel several events. This has affected the Charity in terms of income and has also impacted their ability to […]
Gardening Hints and Tips for June By Brogdale’s Sirplantalot! Apples will naturally thin their crop in early June – the ’June Drop’. After this they should be thinned by hand to one or two fruits per cluster. This helps to get even sized healthy fruit and can avoid biennial bearing with a heavy crop one […]
Birds and butterflies of Brogdale By Mike Roser, Guide at Brogdale Collections – Butterfly below is a A Painted Lady – a migrant from the Mediterranean region and North Africa. With most of our spring migrant birds now in, and with prime territories already secured by our resident birds, there is an early dawn chorus […]
FAVERSHAM FRUIT CHARITY FEATURED ON NATIONAL TV Brogdale Collections, appeared on nationwide television in early May, featuring on BBC’s Gardeners World. Presenter Carol Klein presented an item about cherry trees and blossoms filmed at Brogdale’s orchards located just outside Faversham. She looked at many aspects of growing and enjoying cherry trees; studied some of the […]
BROGDALE WELCOMES TWO NEW BEE COLONIES With of acres of orchards, Brogdale Collections heavily relies on pollinators such as bees. To help ensure the trees have as much help with this as possible, we recently welcomed two new colonies of bees. Unbelievably, the buzzy, busy parcels arrived by post. Mick the postman was chuffed to […]
COOKERY MASTERCLASSES – LOCK DOWN STYLE! Great British Bake Off finalist, Jane Beedle, was due to be holding a series of Cookery Masterclasses at Brogdale Collections. Each one focusing on topical or seasonal fruit and produce. She is a great baker, wonderful cook and also a rather lovely person – so we’re over the moon […]
SHARE YOUR BLOSSOM PHOTOS We were very sad to cancel our Hanami Blossom Festival as Brogdale’s orchards look glorious this time of year when the trees are all in bloom. So, we’ve decided to hold an ‘ONLINE HANAMI FESTIVAL’!If you have a blossom tree looking beautiful right now – why not send us a photo […]
We are proud to be one of the recipients of one of eight young trees from the pips of Isaac Newton ’s apple tree that were blasted into space with British ESA Astronaut Tim Peake.
In 2015 apple pips from the iconic Newton tree were taken on the Principia mission by British astronaut Tim Peake to the International Space Station. The pips then spent six months floating in micro gravity as part of the ‘Pips in Space’ project before returning to Earth in 2016.
On their return from space in 2016, the well-travelled pips went to Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex and home to the Millennium Seed Bank, where they spent 90 days at 5°C to simulate the winter cold needed to break dormancy. In May 2017, they were warmed to 15°C and the young seedlings started to emerge.
The UK Space Agency, the National Trust and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, worked together on the project.
Brogdale was selected to share the story of space travel, Isaac Newton, horticulture and the wonders of science as part of our ongoing commitment to education, as well as our previous involvement in the Apollo 10 mission with Buzz Aldrin in 1969.
