Pumpkin and Apple Gala

Autumn has officially arrived now: it  was cold enough this weekend to dig out my gloves and woolly hats; there is wood smoke in the air; and everywhere around us has gone pumpkin and apple mad.  Luton Hoo Walled Garden held its annual Pumpkin and Apple Gala at the weekend and we braved the wintry mist and temperature to go along.  The event had a very local feel and was a celebration of harvest and the changing of the seasons.

It was a chance for many local societies to showcase their work and Blue even got to meet a noctule bat courtesy of Bedfordshire Bat Group! Unfortunately, because of the wet summer the crop of pumpkins and gourds from Luton Hoo Walled Garden wasn’t as bountiful as they had hoped but they had still managed to find plenty of pumpkins to sell and local school children had decorated pumpkins in imaginative and creative ways.  I’m feeling inspired now to decorate the Damson Lane pumpkins for Halloween, rather than carving them all.  Decorating is a great idea as really young children can easily get to grips with glue, glitter, paint and goggly eyes instead of carving.  Here are some of our favourites…

By Kirsty Hornblow