Picture-perfect pumpkins at Tyntesfield

Tyntesfield, cared for by the National Trust and just outside Bristol, is delighted to showcase its Autumn Harvest Display in a vibrant celebration of the new season. Hundreds of squashes, pumpkins and gourds, lovingly grown by Tyntesfield’s garden team in the kitchen garden, have been harvested and displayed in the Orangery in a rainbow of colour.

Anna Parker, a gardener at Tyntesfield, took great pride in putting the arrangement together. She said: ‘We’ve got an extra special Autumn Harvest Display for 2024, showing the wide variety of colours of these wonderful fruits. We began preparations earlier this year and planted the first seeds back in April. We wanted to bring as much colour to the Orangery as possible, and the scene includes 58 varieties of pumpkins and squash, and 5 varieties of gourd.’

This year, the team have grown pumpkins, squashes and gourds in an impressive array of vibrant colours, rare shapes and varying sizes. The scale of the collection highlights the success of a bumper harvest grown just meters away in Tyntesfield’s walled kitchen garden.

Anna continues: ‘The key to our success was in the planting methods. The area of the walled garden where the squashes were grown was mulched with compost and fitted with a ground sheet with holes cut in to plant through. This created the perfect weed-free environment whilst also helping to maintain an even moisture level in the soil which was vital during such a wet year. Now the display is complete and open to visitors, it’s fantastic to see everyone enjoying the fruits of our labour.’

‘Once the display comes to a close and visitors have filled their camera roll with autumn colour, they can then fill their bellies with autumn flavour. Many of the larger pumpkins on display will make their way to the Cow Barn Café to be used in the seasonal menus. Smaller varieties will be available for visitors to pick up, for a donation, from the lower garden sales table to use at home. And finally, medium-sized pumpkins will be donated to Family Food Action; a charity providing community support for families and children in food poverty.’

The display will be in the Orangery, located by the Pavilion Cafe, until Friday 15 November.

Elsewhere at Tyntesfield, those visiting during half term can take part in the Halloween Trail. Families can follow their map around the estate and record the missing ingredients needed by Gertrude the Tyntesfield Witch to create her Frog Fudge. If you can tell her the ingredients she needs, she’ll reward you with a delicious prize.

For more information and to plan a visit, see the website https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/bath-bristol/tyntesfield