Gardens and scarecrows at Caistor event

In 1918 the Australian composer Percy Grainger wrote the familiar music Country Gardens.

I am certain he must have appreciated what he had seen on a visit to North Lincolnshire a decade earlier .

Nowhere in the UK are summer gardens appreciated more than in our area!

These Hills of the Wolds are alive with the Sound of Music!

For now it is June and the month of merry making, garden parties, fetes, county and country shows, concerts in the hall grounds and cucumber sandwiches at the Vicarage.

The Wolds are full of spectacular summer beauty and colour - even if council cut backs mean grass is a mess!

One of the more recent innovations locally has been Open Gardens and this coming weekend, June 24 and 25, Caistor will see perhaps 500 visitors come to town and do a tour.

Starting at the town’s Multi-Use Centre, just off the market place, the event opens at 12 noon - and it is all in aid of the British Red Cross.

The Chairman of West Lindsey will be there, as well as the Mayor of Caistor.

But this event is not about chain gangs, this is about community spirit.

Caistor Fire and Rescue cleaned out the Westbrook Grove Pond and, working with residents, made the area more attractive.

Tubs in the market place have been planted up with summer flowers and many of the businesses have sponsored projects here and there.

There will be up to 20 gardens open on both Saturday and Sunday.

These will range from RHS Registered Gardens, to small private veg plots and backyard container planting.

It is truly amazing what you can do with time and effort and a pretence to be Monty Don.

Incidentally, my first boiling of new potatoes, Arran Pilot, took place on May 17 - beat that!

They were delicious with a knob of butter alongside lamb chops and mint sauce - from the herb patch of course!

But back to the Open Garden weekend.

There will be a ‘Royalty’ scarecrow trail to interest the children and Holly House in Church Street will host the St Peter and St Paul Church Garden Party on Saturday afternoon.

This famous old house was the base for Caistor’s ‘Dad’s Army’ in World War 2, and the ghost of ‘Captain Mainwaring’ can still be heard around the garden.

Incidentally, the owner there prefers ‘Home Guard’ as his early potato.

So come along and celebrate with Caistor this weekend and remember the work that goes on behind the scenes, watering, planting and weeding ......... and just the odd pint of Guinness in celebration at the end of the day.

Come and join us on Saturday or Sunday - or why not both; gardens will be open from noon to 5pm each day.