Our first get-together of the New Year will be another indoor meeting in the upstairs room of Fairfull’s café in Paisley High Street, at 11am on the 15th, when Douglas Breingan will give an illustrated talk on the subject of the history of Scottish gardens

An outline of the programme for the first half of 2020 was revealed, including trips to see snowdrops at Finlaystone and daffodils at Greenbank, plus a visit to Horatio’s Garden at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, scheduled for June. At the age of 9 years, Jayne was the youngest author to ever write for Ladybird Books. [2] [3] Her writing and illustrating has been an inspiration to others. [4] [5] Books [ edit ] The Garden Gang was a series of books for children written by Jayne Fisher. They were published by Ladybird Books during the late 1970s and early 1980s as Series 413 and later re-issued as Series 793. [1] Fourteen story books were written, each containing two short stories about a group of characters who were fruit and vegetables living an almost human life, selling over 8 million copies [ citation needed]. In addition to the fourteen story books, there were also three other books - an annual and two colouring books. Fisher's books were not dissimilar to the popular Munch Bunch series, also devised by a young girl, the fourteen-year-old Angela Mitson. [ citation needed] Written by Jayne Fisher, the Garden Gang series were small books that each featured two stories about a fruit or vegetable like Penelope Strawberry or Roger Radish. As gardens are very much a seasonal pastime we hope to tailor our visits to see various gardens at their best and in deepest, darkest winter we will also have some indoor meetings. We also hope to visit gardens of various types – those associated with stately homes, botanical collections, private gardens opened under the Scotland’s Garden Scheme, allotments and community gardens and gardens created with ‘wellness’ in mind.Jayne was only nine years old when she began writing the Garden Gang stories, and while she was prolific for that short period of time, it does not seem like she pursued her writing career much further. There are countless blog and forum posts across the internet expressing fondness for the series and wondering “what ever happened to Jayne Fisher?” On Wednesday, 11th December the Garden Gang gathered in the upstairs room at Fairfull’s Café for our second ‘proper’ meeting. Mr Wood, played by Geoff Bell in the TV drama, was found guilty both of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property. He was eventually arrested at his home in Islington in 2018, and in March this year was convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property, receiving a 10-year prison sentence. Michael ‘Basil’ Seed was the final member of the Hatton Garden gang to be jailed (Metropolitan Police/PA Wire) When is Hatton Garden on ITV?

Kenny” was the second of the trio sentenced to seven years for conspiracy to commit burglary in the Hatton Garden heist. Jayne Fisher wrote fourteen Garden Gang books between 1979 and 1983 (there was also an annual titled Meet the Garden Gang, and two Garden Gang coloring books). Each small book has two stories about anthropomorphized fruits and vegetables living in a community and going about their daily lives. The characters and plots in these stories are simple and charming.

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The idea for the group came about through some of the outings undertaken by the Paisley u3a as a whole, where conducted visits around gardens – such as those at Cambo and Dumfries House – were much enjoyed by those taking part.

The introduction of Capability Brown’s rural idyll style occurred in the mid-18th century, leading to vast re-landscaping schemes – local examples being at the Inch in Renfrew and Castle Semple in Lochwinnoch. Castle Semple also boasted a fine walled garden where gardeners manipulated the climate by growing fruit trees along differently facing walls according to their individual needs – south-facing for apricots or north-facing for cherries for example. Hugh Doyle, who also doesn’t appear in the TV drama , was convicted of conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property, receiving a 21-month suspended sentence. Michael ‘Basil’ Seed, 59 In a way, I like that while the series was so popular and beloved, this child author then went on to pursue other interests and talents. I hold out hope that Jayne Fisher might resurface at some point, simply because there is a question that has been bugging me: all of the characters in the Garden Gang have alliterative names, save one. What’s the deal with Penelope Strawberry? Did she change her name to sound more glamorous (it seems like something she might do)? Is “Penelope” her middle name and her first name is actually “Sarah” or “Sally” or another name that begins with S? I don’t think I’ll ever find out, but I will always wonder. Hatton Garden started on ITV on Monday 20 May at 9pm, with the remaining episodes airing over the next three nights at the same time. I thought the art looked like it was drawn by a child, and it turns out that it was -- the Garden Gang series was both written and illustrated by a nine year old. I didn't really enjoy them, as the author/illustrator wasn't *my* nine year old.And the good news is that I have been in touch with them, and we will be given an introduction to the gardens by Dougal Philip, the original founder of the business! The Garden Gang was established in October 2019, originally under the somewhat longer name of The Garden Appreciation Group. However, on asking the members for a snappier title several were submitted, and in a vote ‘The Garden Gang’ proved to be the favourite. If any of this has whetted your appetite for visiting a garden or two, then get in touch and give us a go.