Before we visit Monks Lantern, on a beautiful sunny day in May, the Gardening 1 group held a “plant swap” meeting in a member’s garden. 24 members came along with a wonderful selection of plants. There were lots of perennial and annual flowers and also fruit and vegetables. A very enjoyable and sociable afternoon which included a fantastic selection of cakes.
Monks Lantern visit
On 16th June, the group visited Monks Lantern in Chertsey, where the lady of the house had opened her garden for us to view. Built from scratch, it had been a lawn when she moved in. She is the avid gardener though over the years, both she and her husband have both taken cuttings and brought home seeds from places around the world that they have visited. Her husband particularly likes cacti and has built up a collection. In the garden they keep canaries in an aviary. I loved the pond. Their children used to swim in it and she told us she had fallen in several times while tending overarching climbing plants, such as wisteria. Another fascinating feature was a tree trained into the shape of an umbrella to provide an area of shade over the lawn. Jo Wattis
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