Apple and Bees Day takes place at the Gardens of Easton Lodge on Sunday September 13.
Visitors will be able to learn about local apple varieties and what can be made from them, from members of the East of England Apple and Orchard Project.
The Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Trust’s produce and honey will be on sale, there will be a plant stall and a jam and jelly tombola stall. Visitors can bring their own apples to identify their variety.
The Trust will be joined by coppicers, a wood turner and a willow weaver, the Essex Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust.
Trust chairman Angus Drever said: “It has been particularly wonderful to be able to welcome people back to the Gardens after the end of the lockdown. Visitors have loved the space to wander and relax with social distancing arrangements in place to ensure they are safe.”
The 1902 Harold Peto sunken Italian garden still has colour in its borders and the lilypond. The kitchen garden is also warmed by its walls and has a vibrant dahlia border as well as herbs, fruit and vegetable beds.
Children love the Gardens on Apple Day, with space to run around, the treehouse to visit and a fun trail.
The Gardens are open from 11am to 5pm on Sunday September 13, with last entry at 4pm.
Due to covid arrangements, visitor numbers are limited so book in advance to secure a place in the car park.
Tickets are available through Eventbrite. There are also links to buy them on the Trust’s website and Facebook page.
Entry for visitors arriving on spec will be subject to the limited additional availability.
Entrance fee is £4.50 plus booking fee for adults. Children under-16 and well-behaved dogs on leads get in free.
The Trust’s dedicated volunteers will be supplying hot and cold drinks, bacon, hummous and cheese rolls and homemade cakes from Daisy’s kiosk.
The Gardens of Easton Lodge, at Little Easton near Great Dunmow, are Historic England Grade II listed.
Their owner in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, the Countess of Warwick, commissioned the garden designer Harold Peto to makeover the Gardens and he introduced the sunken Italian Garden, Japanese gardens and the Treehouse.
The Countess entertained her guests at Easton Lodge, including Edward, Prince of Wales, literary and cultural figures of the day, and leaders and members of the TUC and Labour Party.
The Gardens were left untended after World War II and some of the original Garden was sold.
The Trust was established in 2002 to restore the rest of the Gardens and make them open to the public. Now the owners of Warwick House open their part of the Countess’ garden alongside the Trust on Open Days.
Further information on the Open Day and on the Trust is available on the Gardens’ website www.eastonlodge.co.uk or find the Trust on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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