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of Greater WhitbourneGarden visit evokes local historyPage 7Each summer Saltmarshe WIladies visit a local garden. Thisyear, they visited Winley Farm,by kind invitation of the presentowner, Mrs Nancy North. Theevening started off very wet buteventually ended in fine sunshine.One of Saltmarshe’s members,Mrs Evelyn Whistance, has childhoodmemories of spending timeat the farm. Evelyn is a keen photographerand her fine photosfrequently illustrate theSaltmarshe reports.Winley Farm was bought at auctionat the Star Hotel, Worcester,in 1913 by John Griffiths andwas farmed by the Griffiths familyuntil 1996 when it was sold toMr and Mrs North.John Griffithswas the grandfatherof MrsK a t h l e e nH a r r i s( E v e l y n ’ scousin), whohas kindlyloaned a photoof the Griffithsfamily, takenin the 1930s,standing infront of thef a r m h o u s e(right). Evelyn’sphoto taken in June 2009 showsthe present aspect of Winley as afine example of a loving andsympathetic restoration of anEnglish half-timbered house,retaining all of the original features.The main part of the buildingdates back to 1530 withanother part added in 1580.Due reference was paid toarchival information. MrsNorth kept a photographicscrapbook detailing the stagesof the work. She was not anovice in this field, havingpreviously restored severalother houses, but she did saythat the workmen rather resentedhaving to take orders from awoman. The garden is relativelyyoung and has not yet come tomaturity but the uninterruptedviews of the countryside adds toits idyllic charm.In the old photograph are, left toright:Joan Smith (cousin); OliveGriffiths (nee Roper); AgnesGriffiths; John Griffiths (owner);John Townsend Roper; AnnieGriffiths; Arthur Griffiths; JessieBoughton (nee Roper). (Arthurand Olive Griffiths were the parentsof Kathleen Harris).One sunny day last week Iindulged in just sitting aroundfor half an hour on the banks onthe left below the parish road asyou drive up to the farm. It wasliterally a hive of activity. It’sjust over an acre of steep bankreaching down to ParadiseBrook.About twelve years ago wefenced it off from the main fieldas part of our CountrysideStewardship Agreement (a governmentscheme which providesgrant funding for managing landfor environmental benefitsrather than production). It hasbeen managed for the flora andfauna since.Half an hour of my day -a snapshot from a farmer’s lifeInterestingly in 2001, foot andmouth year, it wasn’t grazed,and seemed to revert quickly tojust a mat of rough grass, and alot of the flowers disappeared.But with a bit of strategic grazingby cattle and sheep – keepingthe animals out between Mayand September, putting cattleand sheep in in the autumn toeat down the vegetation, lightlygrazing once or twice with sheepover the winter and then baringoff the spring grass in April, theflowers have come back strongly.At the moment it’s a mass ofKnapweed, Ladies Bedstraw,Blackmedic, St Johns Wort,Birdsfoot trefoil, Hedge parsley,Red clover and buttercups,buzzing and fluttering withactivity – masses of painted ladyand meadow brown butterfliesand a few small blue, large whiteand gatekeepers, bees, grasshoppers…Apparently the secret of speciesrichareas is low fertility.Managing this bank with the helpof our four-legged friends is certainlyan interesting and rewardinglearning curve and experience.Julia Evans