Gardens of 2019: Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens

 

Remembering all the beautiful gardens I visited in the summer of 2019, when travelling more than five miles from home was still legal. 

Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens are restored walled gardens in the Castle Bromwich area of Birmingham, run by volunteers. They include orchards with old apple varieties, pears and mulberries.

An apple poem (first published in The Cannon's Mouth):

Comment t’appelles-tu?
(or Comment Apple Two)

Today you say you’ve learned some French –
something to do with apple 2
and comments. I think I hear the windfalls
snigger, their waspish thoughts, backchat
of pips, remember Coxes are cousins
of roses, which smell as sweet no matter
what you call them. Your namesake again.

Another Will, I tell you, split
an apple with an arrow. You make
your vinegar face, say you wish
I’d called you Zak or Ethan. The scent
of sap is faint.

Ros Woolner







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