FOR their June meeting the Mickleton Gardening Club once again held a gardens open evening confined to members and their guests. Six members of the club opened their gardens with two of them providing light refreshments for the visitors. As in previous years the standard of the gardens was very high and remarkably variable with some quite small and compact gardens and some large enough to provide a variety of nooks and crannies. There is always interest among the visitors to see how other gardeners have tackled problems that they may have and to find interesting plants that are new to them. In all about 40 members and their guests visited the open gardens.

Preparing for an open gardens day requires a lot of work for those opening their gardens. The whole thing could have been dashed by the weather given the downpours we have seen in recent weeks but fortunately on the night there was nothing more than a light shower – nothing to keep the serious gardener in doors.

The July meeting of the club will include a talk on the Villa Gardens of Northern Italy and is open to anyone interested. It will be on July 20 at the Village Hall in Mickleton.

SANDRA REED