Summer
Summer
As the tree canopy closes in, the gardens become a quiet sheltered space. The spring flowers die back but pockets of red campion, cow parsley and Welsh poppy linger on well into June. However colour is largely restricted to the council maintained beds alongside Valley Road and the flower beds maintained by the Friends of Valley Gardens.
Each year local schools take part in a competition to design a flower bed and the best ideas are turned into a riot of colour by the gardening team. However colourful and beautiful the modern schemes are, they pale in comparison to the elaborate schemes of the 1950's and 60's.
Over the last year the Friends have renovated and planted a number of flower and shrub borders within the gardens and these are at their most colourful as spring gives way to summer.