Batsford

Wednesday 19th October 2011

I managed to get away from all the brochure/marketing planning yesterday afternoon when I met up with one of our garden experts Tony Russell at Batsford Arboretum in the heart of the Cotswolds, just close to Morton-in-Marsh http://www.batsarb.co.uk/. Tony is a trustee of the arboretum and was keen to show me round the new visitors' complex and the arboretum itself. What a fantastic afternoon I had seeing such magnificent specimen trees many from Asia/Japan. The autumn colours were just beginning to show, however I reckon in another couple of weeks it will be at its best - well worth a visit (and the cakes are wonderful!). I had a most informative walk with Tony, talking over our plans for next year and what tours he might be able to escort for us (see Highgrove and the Cotswolds).http://www.brightwaterholidays.com/tour.aspx?TID=ABF14928-2261-45F4-A37A-6FEA1AC1A875

There were some amazing trees on show, and the house itself was resplendent - Downton Abbey eat your heart out!

Tony was keen to show me one tree in particular that they were particularly proud of; that of the Wollemi Pine - With only one hundred adult trees left in the wild (in a gorge somewhere in New South Wales Australia), the very rare little sapling that I saw behind its protective cadge at in a shady glade looked to be doing quite well for itself and had a good grip of the Cotswolds. Let's hope that in 150 years it will be a towering specimen http://www.wollemipine.co.uk/

Driving through the Cotswolds is always a thrill, and on such a crisp and bright autumnal day I was feeling quite a guilty pleasure from doing so. I was en route to the little village of Evenley at the southern end of Northamptonshire to give an evening presentation to their Gardening Society which was well attended and enjoyed by all. http://www.evenley.info/