Model garden memories

In your October letters page, Roberta Matthews asks if anyone remembers the Britain’s Floral Garden sets. When I was little my mum and gran used to take me Christmas shopping in Glasgow. In the toy shop in the arcade, I’d spend my saved pocket money on these very sets. I still have the greenhouse, seed trays, a couple of flower beds that used to be planted with roses and individual pots that contained hyacinths. I absolutely adored playing with them. Years later, I used them to create a farmyard for my son, hence there’s very little remaining! There’s a display of this set at the brilliant The Lilliput Toy and Doll Museum at Brading on the Isle of Wight. Thanks for reminding me of a very dear childhood memory. Alison Acred, by email

...I remember the brick walls with little holes in the top into which you could plant flowers, such as daffodils. The flowers came with a special tool that you pressed into the middle to make them stand up. There were little seed trays into which you could plant grass strips and tiny flowerpots. The garden beds were oblong, or quartered with a round edge, with garden benches, ponds, greenhouses and so on. I too had many hours of fun playing with my garden; the imagination ran wild. Our small, local department store had a complete model garden in their toy department, which was a thing of beauty to my childlike eyes. Lesley Smethurst, by email