Exotic taste of Eden as Shropshire walled garden brought back to life

After two years of hard graft a Garden of Eden has been cultivated within the Apley Estate, near Shifnal.

The Apley Walled Garden once used some of the most advanced farming methods of the 17th and 18th centuries to grow rare fruits and vegetables.

But the gardens had been left to the elements for 50 years before a project was launched to bring them back to life.

The gardens are now once again growing and selling some of the finest ingredients around, with some of the county's top chefs and restaurants now using the produce.

Former royal gardener Phil Allen spent the first 12 months clearing weeds from the flower beds and the greenhouses, ready to grow local produce for the public.

And two years after the scheme was first launched Phil and his team are finally seeing the fruits of their labour.

Phil said: "We want people to try our produce and give us feedback, about what they do and do not like.

"There's a lot of science involved too because the taste depends on temperature, how long you leave something in the ground and many other aspects.

"We grow stuff pretty much from February right through to December.

"The walled gardens have a perfect alignment of north and south for the sun, so we can grow things incredibly early.

"We were growing potatoes in February when the ground was covered with frost elsewhere.

"We have different types of garlic, 15 varieties of lettuce and we sell black potatoes.

"Our squashes and pumpkins are selling well and our secret for them is to cure them in the sun for two weeks because the starch turns to sugar, giving them a sweeter taste.

"Cucamelons are a cross between cucumbers and melons, and are used in a local restaurant.

"Our red and white yuckili leaves are pear-drop shaped and are believed to have medicinal qualities that help prevent breast cancer if they are cured properly. They are what's known as 'superfoods'.

"Our perilla leaves are used to wrap sushi. They are red and if you leave them with anything for about half and hour they will turn the food the same colour. They are great to use in oriental pickles.

"Flower sprouts are a cross between kale and Brussels sprouts, with all the healthy benefits of both.

"We import seeds from all over the world and sometimes our friends bring us things back when they go on holiday."

Phil said: "The greenhouses are still being renovated. We use the money raised from the sale of our produce to pay for it.

"For the time being, the greenhouses within the walled gardens have been covered with polythene.

"The temperature in there at the moment is 48 degrees and during the summer we were having to work 4am to noon because it was too hot otherwise."

Looking ahead Phil and his team is aiming to reach out to more customers with the main aim of getting restaurants and suppliers buying from the garden.

"We already work with the King and Thai restaurant in Broseley, and the Hundred House in Norton," he added.