High hopes for a spectacular spring at Batsford Arboretum.
Staff at Batsford Arboretum in the heart of the north Cotswolds are confident of a spectacular showing this April – as the collection of Japanese village cherries take centre stage.
Batsford holds the National Collection of Prunus (Sato-Zakura group) cherries – with around 120 trees in clusters around the 56 acre arboretum. They offer a confetti of colour ranging from pure white to fuchsia pink – attracting thousands of visitors every year.
Last year’s incredibly cold March led to a very late spring but, with the relatively mild winter weather so far, Operations Director Stuart Priest is keeping his fingers crossed for a wonderful display of colour – peaking from the second week of April for 3 weeks.
As well as the cherries Batsford is home to 73 species of Magnolia with their larger than life blooms and thousands of daffodils planted over the past decade to add more interest to the arboretum. And younger visitors can take part in our Big Batsford Chicken Hunt throughout the school holidays - a great opportunity to find the chickens that laid the Easter Eggs and let off steam in the arboretum.
April is a wonderful month to enjoy everything Batsford has to offer. The Garden Centre is full to bursting with the new season’s bedding and a fantastic range of plants and gardening and allotment sundries. It’s also a great place to sit and soak up the wonderful views while enjoying a meal in the Garden Terrace Café. Breakfast time has been extended to 11.30 and the menu extended to offer a fabulous range of home baked goodies.
For the first time the Café is also offering children’s parties which include a meal in the Visitor Centre and a visit to the Cotswold Falconry Centre.
So whatever your passion – gardening or food, plants or events, Batsford Arboretum and Garden Centre has something for everyone this April.
Discover Batsford for yourself by liking us on Facebook.com/BatsfordArboretum or following us on Twitter.com/BatsfordA.
Explore Gloucestershire
8 March 2014
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