This year the chosen destination was Chippenham Park, a fine late 19th century neo-Queen Anne country house in the Cambridgeshire countryside near to Newmarket.  The surrounding extensive parkland has plantings reputed to go back 200 to 300 years.  The 350 acre gardens are a mix of the formal and informal and each spring they are carpeted by snowdrops and aconites.  The house is reached by a drive bordered by elegant tulip trees and large limes and the border of the ancient walled garden is 400 metres long and filled with gorgeous blooms.

The members enjoyed wooded lakeside walks, countless beautiful roses and grand vistas, including 'The Grand Canal' one of the references to Italy.  The weather was not clement, but we were all undaunted, eager to enjoy the stunning gardens, which we did with the help of umbrellas and some fine canapes provided by our kind hosts, Mr and Mrs Eustace Crawley. The evening was concluded by a very traditional stop at a transport cafe (our ever thoughtful driver Jon's idea), as we made our picturesque way home in his vintage bus.

Photographs by Clare Aldus - click on a photo to enlarge it

This year we enjoyed our feast thanks to the generosity of our kind hosts Graham and Sheila Gale. This garden has been hewn from a field in just two years and is a magnificent example of what can be achieved by careful design and planning and a huge amount of hard work.

The day of the feast was not promising, offering more of the drizzle that has beset much of this summer, but the clouds disappeared as the late afternoon became bathed in golden sunshine.  Sheila and Graham's garden is one of contrast, a formal garden in keeping with the warm Victorian brick wall by which it is bordered, and a productive vegetable garden and 4 star accommodation for some very happy chickens.  The centrepiece is a beautiful stone fountain and pond and the gardens face a lovely open aspect under the Norfolk sky.  After the tour, people relaxed and enjoyed the evening sunlight, delicious food and conversation. An additional treat was a tour of the allotments, which are becoming established and looking well-tended and productive.

Photographs by Su Leavesley - click on a photo to enlarge it

A generous grant from the Norfolk Community Foundation will allow the Forncett Diggers & Dibblers Garden Club Produce and Craft Show on Saturday 12 September to take another step in bringing the community together. The Grassroots Grant Fund has provided £478 for the purchase of bikini show vases, a promotional banner, rosettes and a laminating machine to help the show go with a swing.