Chilli festival at RHS Hyde Hall

Yesterday Lansbury Gardeners had a great day out at RHS Hyde Hall in Essex. We chose this weekend as there was also a chilli pepper festival on with plenty of fresh chilli and chilli products to taste, as well as cooking demonstrations and chilli pepper talks. We grow quite a few chilli peppers in our garden at Hind Grove in Poplar, so there are quite a few enthusiasts among us.

I must admit I tasted the hottest chilli ever which brought tears to my eyes and made my tongue so hot and numb I couldn't speak for nearly ten minutes... So thanks to the young man in our group who tempted me down that path - you know who you are!!

Hyde Hall is a great place to go, the cultivated gardens are quite compact so there is definitely not so many of those to see compared to Wisley, but there are lots of wide open spaces outside of the main hilltop gardens for young people to run around in, or for a woodland walk, and it definitely provided a relaxing day.

Our group comprised 20 adults and 20 children - the vegetable garden is a great place to test people's knowledge and I enjoyed a little impromptu teaching on a lovely day out.