Lanterns to cast a glow over garden delights

A lovely lantern-lit city garden and a wonderful country cottage creation await visitors across the region this weekend.

They will get the chance to see the Wolverhampton garden highly-praised by TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh and one of the most colourful plots in the region.

The visitors who follow the Yellow Book calendar of the National Gardens Scheme can also go along to an award-winning creation in the North Worcestershire area, with fine trees and roses on offer.

The garden highlighted in Alan Titchmarsh's recent ITV series is one of the most popular in the region, especially when Bob Parker and Greg Kowalczuk open their Bradmore creation in the evenings.

Alan praised the high-quality plantings and statues and artefacts on his Love Your Garden show and visitors will get the chance tomorrow night to see it illuminated by chandeliers, lanterns and flares.

"People do enjoy the Saturday evening openings and to see how the borders can be lit-up and find it quite magical really," said Bob, a former art teacher.

Meanwhile at Grafton Cottage at Barton-under-Needwood, Margaret and Peter Hargreaves have one of the best collections of cottage plants in the Midlands. They say that this year they have been pleased with the colour and fragrance of their plants.

Another garden open to members of the public this weekend is High Bank at Cleobury Road, Bewdley where they have fine, old and protected trees, herbaceous beds and a secret children's garden under development.

It won the large garden section of the Bewdley in Bloom competition last year and also has large numbers of roses and hemorcallis. And for those who travel further afield a garden at Little Wenlock, near Wellington, which won the Midlands Garden of the Year Competition at BBC Gardener's World Show is open on Sunday.

It has many fine plantings and new perennial and grasses area which is very popular with visitors.

Gardens to visit:

• Magic Garden, Broad Lane, Bradmore, Wolverhampton. Open tomorrow 7.30pm to 10.30pm. Admission £5 with wine and chocolates, children free.

• Grafton Cottage at Barton-under-Needwood. Open on Sunday 11.30am to 5pm. Admission £3, children free.

• High Bank, Cleobury Road, Bewdley, open on Sunday 11am to 5pm. Admission £3, children free.

• Windy Ridge, Church Lane, Little Wenlock, near Wellington. Open on Sunday midday to 5pm. Admission £4, children free.