On Sunday (yesterday) we took my in-laws out for lunch to Sugnall walled garden. It was a belated fathers day trip due to us traveling home from our holidays on fathers day.

We found that Sugnall walled garden was completely transformed since our previous visit. Everything was in full bloom and the summer marquee was in place. There had been a wedding and celebration in the garden the previous day and as we sat down the lady in charge of catering commented ’sorry about the mess there was a wedding here yesterday and I think they were having ‘to much’ fun…

Lunch was delicious; I chose beetroot and feta quiche which was served with salad from the walled garden. After lunch we took a leisurely stroll around the garden before heading homeward.

On our previous visit as we sat enjoying our afternoon drink we watched the moon rising in the sky. This evening after dinner we were treated to the crescent moon rising and falling in the distance behind our back garden.

Sugnall Walled Garden has been painstakingly restored by the owners of Sugnall Hall, the Jacques family.

It is now back to its former splendour as a four quadrant, two acre walled garden.

Walled gardens are a uniquely English concept and were built to grow fruit and vegetables; the high walls created a warmer micro-climate, which extended the growing season.

Today, although only two quadrants (and the perimeter of the walled garden) are productive, in which a variety of crops are planted all year round, including 50 varieties of pear and 100 varieties of apples.

The other two quadrants consist of one that is laid to lawn and hard standing, just outside the beautiful tearoom, and the other than since 2012 houses the Summer Marquee from April to October.

The high garden wall that completely surrounds the garden dates back to 1738 and consists of around a quarter of a million red Staffordshire bricks.

On Sunday morning I awoke to brilliant sunshine, which was welcome as we were planning to visit one of the Shropshire gardens. We headed off to Dorothy Clive Garden in time for lunch. I was well behaved and avoided the temptation of a ‘naughty cake’ and opted for a delicious cherry scone with butter.

I have not visited the garden at this time of year before and was surprised to find it full of colour with spring bulbs and Rhododendrons that were just beginning to come into flower. In places I noticed that the garden looked a lot more open and empty than on my previous visits. I was saddened to learn from a sign board next to the stump of a felled tree that a number of Oak trees in the garden had succumbed to Phytophthora ramorum (sudden oak death) meaning they had to be felled to try and stop the spread of the disease.

When we had finished enjoying the garden we weren’t ready to go home so we opted for a scenic detour which led us to find the delightful Sugnall Walled Garden and Tea Room. We enjoyed a refreshing drink, in my case Elderflower Presse, whilst looking out over the walled garden and watching the rise of the moon in the sky. After being suitably refreshed we took a stroll around the kitchen garden before heading off home. I hope to have the opportunity to visit the garden in a few months time when the produce is more advanced and in full fruit.