WE were very excited to welcome Chris and Karen Cronin who over the last 17 years have been working tirelessly to restore their walled garden in the grounds of Croome Court. Originally they bought the land and buildings to just establish a family home. On surprisingly uncovering the original features that were there they realized how important this garden was. They have meticulously restored the hot houses to their former glory using the ingenuity of the original Georgian designers to still control the temps in the various hot houses. They can now harvest melons, figs, bananas and various citrus fruits.

This Georgian garden is the oldest and largest walled garden in Europe with over a kilometre of high wall protecting it and producing its own microclimate within. Allowing a variety of plants not normally seen this far north to be cultivated.

Karen and Chris have kindly agreed with the National Trust to open their garden to the public every w/e from Easter to October. We can only marvel at their vision and what they have achieved.

A very interesting Q&A session ensued and we are looking forward to visiting in September.

Next meeting will be Thursday, July 6 at the memorial hall Bretforton

Our speaker will be the head gardener form the Painswick Rococo garden. Open to members and non-members, all welcome.

ANN WHITE