When the Trust moved to the Antoinette Centre some years ago, the outdoor space around the building became our retreat from work stress in the office and stores. A sheltered sun trap in the grounds of Quex Park was perfect for growing and storing spare house and garden plants.
Over time, the collection of plants ‘temporarily’ stored in the yard grew. One day it seemed we had constructed quite a large garden. Over the years spare garden plants became mature trees and spikey yucca offsets have become spiny monsters.
Archaeologists are consumate recyclers. Many star finds, plants, pots and containers have turned up on sites. A large collecton of upcycled furniture developed. A table built from the base of an old display cabinet topped with scaffold planks tipped on a pile for burning. When we moved toward a paperless office, redundant filing cabinets were put to use as designer style planters.
The Garden was reorganised in 2018, when the Antoinette Centre became fully focused as a centre for learning about archaeology. We created outdoor spaces for teaching and relaxing, with new paving and planting. True to our upcycling ways, The picket fence around the store was made from pallets the paving slabs arrived on.
A true Garden for Thinking and Learning has grown at the Antoinette Centre. We have spaces for outdoor teaching activities and for break out sessions for workshops, as well as quiet spaces for sharing ideas, eating and having a cuppa.
Garden Projects
Our garden is a learning resource. We have wide open spaces and room for experiments in archaeological and historical themed gardening projects. Follow the the link to projects below.
Roman Garden
We are building a Roman Style garden…
