Geocache Description:
The Plantation Garden, Norwich
*Please Note: This EarthCache can be completed without entering The Plantation Garden itself, as the entryway has enough information to find the answers you're looking for. You can also access the greenhouse which sits just outside of the entrance. To enter the gardens and see them fully, you should bring £2 per person, to be dropped in an honesty box.
Answers will be accepted via email or through the Message Centre.
How to get there
Located on Earlham Rd, on the outskirts of Norwich City Centre.
Around 100 metres away and on the same side of the street as St John the Baptist church, The Plantation Garden has a very small brown sign to lead you down a short path to the entrance. There car park where you can pay via app in between St John the Baptist RC Church and The Plantation Garden. There is sometimes free parking alongside the road on the opposite side of the gardens. Spaces are limited.
History
The Plantation Garden, located just on the outskirts of Norwich City, is one of the most beautiful 'secrets' in the whole of Norfolk. Some people actually call it the 'Secret Garden', as its location is tucked back away from Earlham Rd, has a very small sign and entrance, and is not viewable from any street. The Secret Garden is sunken into the land and built on a previous lime quarry. It provides the most picturesque views and tranquility that fills you with peace from a world that is full of the hustle and bustle of life all around.
This Grade II listed location is a site to behold, from either way you enter. We much prefer entering via the rustic bridge, which was restored in 1998, and believed to have been originally sourced from Bolton and Paul.
Henry Trevor, member of the Norfolk and Norwich Horticultural Society, and the founder of the Plantation Garden, was an avid gardener even before he created plans for The Plantation Garden. Many of the original documents and pictures of The Plantation Garden are held within the Norfolk Records Office at County Hall Norwich. Henry Trevor started drawing plans in the 1850s and was able to fund The Plantation Garden from his personal carving and gilding business.
EARTH LESSON
Light coloured limestone Dark coloured limestone
Lime in gardens, why?
The Plantation Garden was created in the hollow of an old lime quarry. Lime, when added to soil, raises the pH and reduces the acidity. This is especially important as when plants are in soil that is too acidic, they struggle to absorb the nutrients needed in that soil. Oftentimes, gardeners will 'lime' their soil, which involves using finely ground garden lime in the winter months, which will not affect young growth of plants in the spring.
Limestone also provides a conducive growing environments for many plants, such as succulents and cacti. Many times ground limestone is calcium carbonate with a mild alkaline reaction neutralising soil acids.
The Plantation Garden is in the process of growing, propogating and encorpating succlents into the wider garden. This increases the biodiversity of the garden, and the existing limestone within the quarry/gardens provides ideal growing conditions for succulents.
See examples below of succulents and cacti thriving in limestone rocks:
Succulents and cacti thriving in limestone
Which one do I use?
There are many products that contain lime and can be found in most garden centres. You can test the pH of your soil with pH testing strips, or much easier by a soil and moisture tester.
The effectiveness (called the ‘Neutralising Value’ (NV)) is expressed as a percentage of the neutralising value of pure calcium oxide (which is caustic so cannot be used). The NV varies between materials – typical examples include:
Ground Limestone (garden lime) – NV 50-55
Ground Chalk – NV 50-55
Ground Magnesian Limestone (Dolodust) – NV 56
Calcified Seaweed – NV 44
Hydrated Lime – NV 70
Hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide), sold for use by builders, can also be used. It is a fine powder, quick acting, but can irritate skin and eyes if not handled carefully. Therefore, if you use hydrated lime, you will need much less than products containing calcium carbonate. (Ref: https://www.rhs.org.uk/soil-composts-mulches/lime-liming)
Pros and Cons of Limestone
We know that limestone quarries provide refuges for some endemic and rare species which support biodiversity.
However, quarrying of limestone will often result in a complete loss of topsoil, compaction of the remaining soil, nutrient depletion and high pH that makes natural establishment of vegetation very unlikely. This means that in order to regrow on a lime quarry, the soil will need to be carefully reviewed for future improvement. Additionally, some mining operations can release toxic elements such as arsenic, lead, and nickel, which can pollute the soil and water
Logging this cache
Think back of when the Plantation Garden was drawn up in 1883. Imagine you're in Henry Trevor's shoes and looking at a bare lime quarry you just purchased. You know that you want to create an amazing garden, but you will struggle with the 'hows'. The plans for The Plantation Garden can be found in the cache gallery.
1 Considering there was not vast accessibility for testing the pH of soil in the mid 1800s, the greenhouse within The Plantation Garden was and is vital for the sustainability of vegetation and biodiversity of the overall garden. Explain why the greenhouse is best suited in its current location compared to any other location within the gardens.
2 Explain why limestone available within The Plantation Garden is suitable for growing succulents.
3 Observe the composition of the structural walls of The Plantation Garden.
a. Describe the stone that was used to make the structural walls.
b. Describe the composition of the structural walls is eco-friendly for this garden.
4 Take a photograph of yourself anywhere at The Plantation Garden (in the entrance or the garden itself) and post it in your logbook when answering or send along with your answers.
Please send answers to this cache via email or the Message Centre. You can log this cache after answers are sent to CO. Any logs found to not have answers will be deleted.
We hope you enjoy the magical, 'Secret Garden' of Norwich and that this cache is one that you will share with family, friends and fellow geocachers.
Congratulations to 'db3034' for FTF! 