WRENBURY GARDENS VISIT

In addition to monthly meetings at the Methodist Hall, Christleton Gardening Club have garden visits carefully chosen and arranged by Jim and Judith Ferns. The first outing for 2019 was a visit to the village of Wrenbury which lies east of Nantwich. Some eighteen members made the journey on a gloriously warm and sunny 14th May. The route there is along winding country lanes with bank sides covered in white cow parsley. As we passed Cholmondely Castle entrance I noticed a lodge in process of being thatched. Our destination was Wren’s Nest where Sue Clarke has a National Collection of Geranium sylvaticum and renardii. I was just a bit early in the year to see these in flower but there were plenty of other perennials and shrubs to admire. Like some of the other members I bought some plants from Sue and her husband. These have now found a new home in Christleton. Sue had given a talk to the Garden Club earlier this year about her garden. I think it was Sue who gave me the idea of buying a labelling machine for my garden plants. I have devised a system of making a label for plants that I buy consisting of the plant name followed by the month, year and two letter code for where I acquired it. So some labels now read 0519WN. The WN standing for Wren’s Nest. I did notice that Sue was displaying in her garden office two silver and one bronze medal cards won at RHS Tatton Park Show.

The title of the page does say gardens so it was just a short walk to our second garden of the day at Oakfield Villa owned by Carolyn Kennedy. A lovely enclosed cottage garden which offered some very welcome shade as it was turning out to be a very hot day. This did not, however stop Jess the dog giving as a very friendly and warm welcome. The garden contained a lovely trained yellow Laburnum which made be quite jealous. The other yellow flower that caught my eye was a tree peony. I have one myself flowering at present some three feet tall but Carolyn’s specimen was towering at some seven feet or more. The members gathered under the pergola and in other parts of the garden for biscuits and a very welcome drink of tea or coffee. A very pleasant day out and a big thank you to both of your hosts. And to Jess who made us feel most welcome.