"THIS is the time of year when there is a tinge of sadness in the hearts of old Asum market gardeners at what now would have been their busiest time of year," says Vale historian Michael Barnard.

"Asum gras has over many years declined in acreage, a sad reflection on the march of time in the growing of this most delectable of vegetables grown in the open on the many varied soils around the Vale of Evesham.

"My sketch from 1943, the heyday of asparagus growing in the Vale shows gras growing and cutting done in the original way, the cutters straddling the ridged beds, with handfuls of buds neatly placed on top of the ridges awaiting collection in hampers or flats.

"During the war years, even the threat of invasion did not deter the Home Guard from cutting asparagus in the month of May and into June. Excused attendance on parade was given in Battalion Orders of No 6 Platoon, Broadway Company Home Guard.

"My photographs taken at Wickhamford Manor bring back so many memories that it is with the memory of these much-loved faces from the past that I throw back my head while eating these buttered and salted succulent buds of Asum gras in admiration of those far-off times.

"A wonderful vegetable with a crown in every sense of the word and a flavour out of this world. A vegetable only the Vale of Evesham knows how to grow to perfection."