Report from Christine Hyder

On a beautiful sunny day, with almost a full coach, we had a pleasant drive to visit Green Island Gardens with 10 acres of gardens and 10 acres of woodland. The owner, Fiona, greeted us and gave us some information to help make our visit an enjoyable day. First stop coffee on the Terrace then off for a walk around the lovely informal shaped flower beds.  They abounded with an abundance of Spring flowers - trillium, fritillary, epimedium, anemones, erythronium as well as tulips, daffodils, primulas and more. Shrubs of nandina, amelanchia, acers and various firs providing light and shade. Other areas among others to delight the eye were the Water Garden and Japanese Garden. Back to the Terrace for our pre-ordered lunch before exploring the Woodland, an area of magnificent trees, some large evergreen and others bursting with leaf - oaks, chestnuts, hornbeams over a carpet of bluebells. Some early azalea and rhodendron were coming into flower. Rustic seating gave time to sit and enjoy and listen to the birdsong. A quick visit to the nursery for those wishing to take home a plant or two!  The Gardens hold RHS Plant Heritage Awards for their collections of Camellias and Hamamelis. Thanks to Gideon, our regular driver, we had a smooth journey home.

A big thank you to Stella Westrup for organising  this trip to an awarding winning garden on a lovely sunny day.