How Capel Court Gardens, Herefordshire.

How Capel Peacock

Cider Press

How Capel Court Gardens are an absolute delight. You enter, passing a retired cider press into an avenue of trees surrounding an undulating lawn. The garden then drops into tennis courts and an ancient gazebo. Next is my favourite part, a semicircular Italianate stage and surrounding lawns and various chestnut trees. There are also a number of ponds,
a more formal Italian garden with clipped box and yew hedges and a number of Mediterranean style terrace gardens with statues.

Italian style terrace

Wistria covered area

Formal Italian garden

Not only are these gardens open to the public but you can hire them as a wedding venue. What could look better on those photos that you need to keep forever.

Blossom, Worcestershire.

Hawthorn Blossom also known as May Blossom

Pink Cherry Blossom

 I love blossom. Hawthorn Blossom is known as May Blossom and according to a little rhyme you shouldn't start digging your garden and planting things until the May blossom is out. 

White Cherry Blossom

I think what I love is the promise. Blossom means that spring is finally here and there should be no more frosty nights. Blossom promises a summer with cherries, plums, greengages, strawberries and over soft fruit and an autumn of  apples and pears.

Pear Blossom

I am hoping to have so much fruit this year that as well as just eating it straight from the tree that I can get a bit culinary with the excess. A freezer full of pies and crumbles, a larder full of jams, and some cider and perry. Yum.

Plum Blossom

Greengage Blossom

Clive's Fruit Farm, Kids feeding animals, Upton Upon Severn, Worcester.

Very friendly hens

A Tamworth pig

Child feeding hens and a friendly duck

 Over the years I have taken lots of people to Clive's Fruit Farm. When it is strawberry season I am there most weeks. Gooseberries, raspberries and plums I also love and go and collect in season. It is the animals however that my children and there friend have enjoyed feeding. The hens in particular are very friendly, and although the geese are quite large and hiss a bit they are all bluster and happy to be fed.

My other favourite reasons to visit Clive's are to stock up on their apple juice and cider, to get sausages from their butcher, ( the black pudding and bacon sausages are particularly delicious ), and the homemade cakes and bread they sell. So it cider and sausages for tea tonight, but will I have the coffee and walnut, or the date and nut, or the orange drizzle cake. Well I bought them all so maybe just a little slice of each would be okay.

A rather large but relatively friendly goose