Author: greenbenchramblings

A retired primary school head teacher, I now spend much of my time gardening in our quarter acre plot in rural Shropshire south of Shrewsbury. I share my garden with Jude my wife a newly retired teacher , eight assorted chickens and a plethora of wildlife. Jude does all the heavy work as I have a damaged spine and right leg. We also garden on an allotment nearby. We are interested in all things related to gardens, green issues and wildlife.

A Week in the Lake District – Part 2 – Aira Force

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 15, 2015
1 Comment on A Week in the Lake District – Part 2 – Aira Force

For our second day in the Lake District we made for the great outdoors to explore some ancient woodland with a stream running through it. Aira Force is the waterfall at the top of a gentle ascent up through the wooded valley.The wooded valley is owned by the National Trust so we had a warm welcome as we do at most of their properties. A beautifully carved wooden finger post gave us the choice of going left to the tea room or right to Aira Force. You’ve guessed it – we went left first and enjoyed a mighty good coffee and cake break.

We were soon on our way up the valley after a quick look at a map where some lovely benches crafted from single chunks of slate caught my attention.

As we walked towards the more wooded section of the valley we initially had open grassland along side the path, but we soon found that the trees increased in number and the atmosphere changed completely. Woodlands have their own brand of intimacy that engulfs those who walk in them. There is something about the light creeping in through branches which highlights areas to draw the observer in. We discovered the wonderful original signage used to identify the main tree species. They were very rustic and in keeping with the setting.

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The seasons come late to the Lake District so the tree foliage was still Spring fresh.

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As this woodland was once the grounds of a shooting lodge there were areas for seating with ornamental paved areas and surprising finds. The second photo shows the patterns made by coins being hammered into the trunk of a fallen tree – we just couldn’t work this out!

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As in all woodlands we explore we found some interesting creative works sculpted by Mother Nature.

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As we moved slowly uphill we followed the stream and even when we couldn’t catch glimpses of it we could hear its incessant burbling to our right.

The damp atmosphere within the wood allowed mosses, ferns and foxgloves to grow on any natural surface.

Where light penetrated shade wildflowers were in bloom. Bluebells and Bugle painted a blue haze on the woodland floor.

As we approached the waterfall open views were suddenly revealed as our path came to the wood edge, and we enjoyed a glimpse of lake and mountain.

As we followed our path upwards we could hear the waterfall roaring in the depths of the valley, before it suddenly appeared, a sparkling ribbon dropping down the valley.

This was the end of our upward journey so we stopped to enjoy a well-earned rest. We sat on an old wooden bench listening to the many woodland birds all around and above us. In the second part of this post we will be making our way back down the valley.

Tags Cumbria, Lakes, mountain streams, National Trust, streams, The Lake District, The Lakes, The National Trust, woodland, woodlands

climbing plants colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens hardy perennials irises light National Garden Scheme ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire trees Yellow Book Gardens

My Garden Journal – May

May has now finished so it is time to present my entries for that month in my Garden Journal. Gardening was totally at the behest of the weather, which was to say disappointing.

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As usual my first page for the month of May included my chosen quotation from Jenny Joseph’s little book “Led by the Nose – A Garden of Smells”. Concerning May she wrote, “I breathe in the warm pleasant air and think “Ah, heavenly summer” and the next day I have retreated to my living-room, lit my boiler again, shut the windows and returned to winter. May can indeed be a complicating month.”

I wrote, “Indeed here in Plealey, May has been a complicated month. The weather forecasters have been wrong every day. When they predict a cool 14 C we get a lovely warm 19 C. However for our May garden open day they predicted rain and we got it! But a few hardy souls turned up!

Many visitors to our garden are amazed by our Judas Tree, Cercis siliquastrum. Early in the month its buds are beautiful in colour and shape.”

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I moved on to write “May is the month that our Irises come out to play, to show off their colourful, wonderfully shaped flowers and glow whenever the sun makes an appearance. The palest colours always come first.

Turn over the page and we find my first watercolour painting and the return to the Judas Tree.

My painting is of one of our favourite grass-like plants, a rush called Luzula nivea. A real challenge to express its subtlety in paints. I wrote “In amongst the bright colours of May little subtle plants can amaze us.”

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Concerning the Judas Tree, Cercis siliquastrum, I wrote “By the middle of the month, our Judas Tree is in full bloom.” A selection of photos followed.

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Over the page I wrote “May has been a cold, wet month so most disappointing for us gardeners and lovers of wildlife. Birds, Hoverflies and Butterflies have hardly put in an appearance. One patch of surprise colour came as one of the many May showers came to an end. A multi-coloured arch in the sky.”

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Alongside the page about the rainbow was a second page about our Irises, where I wrote “By the end of the month our more extravagently coloured Bearded Irises are giving vibrant explosions of colour in the Beth Chatto border.” Below these words was my second painting for May depicting one of our more brightly coloured Irises.

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My final entry for my Garden Journal in May was a little gallery of photos.

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To see larger images click the first thumbnail photo and use the arrows to negotiate through the gallery. Enjoy!

Tags bearded iris, garden photography, gardening, gardens in May, iris, irises, May, NGS, ornamental trees, Shropshire, Yellow Book, Yellow Book Gardens

allotments bird watching birds community gardening garden wildlife light light quality Shropshire wildlife

The Dawn Chorus at our Allotments

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 12, 2015

To give an extra dimension to our Spring Celebrations at our allotment community, Bowbrook Allotment Community, we added a second social day. We met just as the sun was rising in order to hear the dawn chorus and experience the site coming to life. We soon met a problem though as the coded padlock on our gates is black so it was very difficult to get the numbers lined up to open up. Once that hurdle was overcome we had a great few hours.

It was strange to be on site when it was so quiet. The sky began to colour up before the sun rose and we admired the patterns that jets were painting with their vapour trails across the sky.

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We wandered off around the site following our interest trail paths listening out for the songs of birds as they awoke to add their tunes to the dawn chorus. We were lucky to hear a Yellow Hammer singing heartily on top of our wild hedges. The loudest songs were probably those of the many Wrens who share the allotments with us. But the noisiest birds of all were the Rooks which nest in their rookery sited in the group of mature trees close by. As the light began to appear a few scouts left the rookery and noisily flew over our heads and off into the distance. Upon their return ten minutes later they seemed to have brought news of the best place to start the day’s search for food. Slowly small groups of Rooks flew over us all flying in the same direction to return ten minutes or so later.

As the light slowly increased we heard more birds joining in the chorus, Robins, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Dunnock, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Whitethroats and Blackcaps. We spotted Nuthatches, Treecreepers and a Great Spotted Woodpecker who searched our mature Oak and Sycamore trees for bugs to eat. Collared Doves and Wood Pigeons added their repetitive calls to the chorus and a pair of Magpies tried to spoil it all with their raucous cries. The beauty of the dawn chorus could however not be spoiled by a couple of Magpies.

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We were lucky to see an orange sun rise above the surrounding trees. Young Ella at just five years old was totally speechless! We were engulfed in a golden glow.

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We were lucky to be on site just as the parent birds were leaving the nest boxes. We watched in awe as the adult Blue Tits and Great Tits made so many journeys in search of food and listened to the youngsters greeting their every arrival with raucous cries. We enjoyed our free entertainment. Adults and children alike were mesmerised!

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Part way around our walk we were joined by our family of ducks. A mother Mallard and her ducklings. We met them again when we reached the pond, where they swam for a while and then found a spot in the marshy end where the sun was shining for a good long preen. Can you spot them in the third of these photos?

We returned to one of our communal hubs, the one by our communal hut, where we keep our cookers, crockery and cutlery. First job was to light our fire pits to warm us up. We soon had water boiling for warming mugs of tea and coffee and the aroma of bacon frying was most welcoming. So bacon baps and warm drinks finished off a perfect morning experience together.

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Time for a good laugh too!

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After our breakfast there was time for young Ella to water the children’s mini-meadows, ably assisted by Wendy. It is so good to see different generations gardening together.

Tags allotments, Bowbrook Allotment Community, Bowbrook Allotments, communal gardens, community gardening, community spirit, dawn chorus

fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardens gardens open to the public irises kitchen gardens lakes meadows National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture The National Trust water in the garden

A Week in the Lake District – Part One – Sizergh

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 10, 2015
1 Comment on A Week in the Lake District – Part One – Sizergh

We decided that it was about time we re-visited one of our favourite family holiday destinations from when our children were youngsters, the Lake District. So a week in early June saw us journeying northwards to re-find some old haunts.

The first place we visited was the National Trust property, Sizergh Castle, right at the southern end of the lakes, in an area described as the “gateway to the Lakes”. The National Trust is very much in evidence in this area owning many properties as well as lakes, hillsides, fells and farms. The Lake district was central to the Trust’s early development.

Sizergh Castle is a Medieval house with gardens, orchards, limestone pasture and semi-natural woodland. The garden features fern collections, a kitchen garden, a pond, lake and its main feature a massive rock garden.

We soon realised that this was going to be a place full of interesting plants which also looked after its wildlife.

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The little wooden sign clearly showed us the way!

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We followed the little wooden sign on a stone wall directing us to the garden and made our way towards the kitchen garden. On the way we stumbled across the “stumpery” where the garden’s fern collections are being re-homed. The variety of ferns was vast and we spotted many we had never seen before.

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The walls in the fernery and walled garden were home to so many different tiny plants as well as just ferns. We were soon to discover that this was a feature of the walls throughout the gardens.

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The kitchen garden was on a gentle slope and based on a strange shape somewhat like a long bent rectangle! The old wooden cold frames were still fully in use. We were fascinated by the raised hot beds where plants grew in soil covering heaped manure. This gave heat and later as it broke down fertility and structure to the soil.

Within the kitchen garden we found a small patch of multi-coloured Forget-me-Nots. We found lots more throughout the gardens.

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From the kitchen garden we wandered into the orchard with its bee hives, buzzing with activity. Beyond the orchard we came across a small lake. In the borders on the lake side were beautifully sculptural pollarded willows. They looked like a group of people meeting up for a chat.

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Wide open expanses of lawn opened up in front of us as we walked away from the lake. These afforded us views of the castle buildings themselves.

Where there was a change of level the grass banks were sown as narrow wild flower meadows. They were full of life.

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Behind the main buildings we found the “Great Barn”, an agricultural building of a type we had never seen before. The barn was raised up on a bank to create two levels. In the lower level the animals were housed while carts loaded with cereals drove up the grass covered gradients to the upper level.

One of the most famous sections of the gardens was the vast rock garden. Acers gave this area colour and texture and provided great views back to the castle itself. Tiny streams wound their way through the rocky outcrops ans areas of planting.

We found these appealing little carvings while we wandered around. The first was a yard high snail carved in wood while the second was a sculpture created by Mother Nature and again we thought it resembled a snail. The final piece was a wise old owl carved from wood.

Our first day in the Lake District was most enjoyable and we hoped our other days would be equally as inspiring.

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Tags acers., Cumbria, ferns, garden sculpture, kitchen gardens, meadows, NT, orchards, outdoor sculpture, rock gardens, rockeries, sculpture, Sizergh Castle, The Lake District, The Lakes, The National Trust, water gardens, water in the garden, wildflower meadows

colours garden buildings garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials light light quality meadows National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs roses Shropshire South Shropshire The National Trust trees walled gardens

Croft Castle month by month – Part 5 May

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 6, 2015
1 Comment on Croft Castle month by month – Part 5 May

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We are almost half way through the year now so we were expecting to see some big changes at Croft on our May visit.

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We made our May visit to Croft Castle on a warm sunny day so everything in the garden looked colourful and full of cheer. The leaves were fully out on all the trees and herbaceous plants were beginning to flower.

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The long border we always pass as we make our way towards the walled garden is now lush with every shade of green with occasional splashes of flower colour. Our view from the long border towards the church and castle is framed beautifully by trees in full leaf. The Horse Chestnuts were in full blossom. They are beautiful flowers when looked at close up.

On the walls of the buildings close to the walled garden roses were in full bloom.

As we passed through the gateway into the waled garden we were amazed by how much the first view had changed. It simply looked so green and lush.

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For the first time this year the vineyard at Croft was showing signs of growth with shining bronze-green leaves bursting from every bud.

We expected to see major changes as we walked through the blue gates to look at the greenhouse and the surrounding garden. Bright reds of poppies hit us first but close by these cute bantams were definitely new. We certainly found plenty of colour in the greenhouse as plants under cover were flowering way ahead of their normal time.

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Leaving the greenhouse area back through the blue gates we could see that the productive gardens had made a lot of progress since our visit in April. Gooseberries were fruiting and rows of vegetable plants were now established. The sunshine brought out the colours in the borders along the walls.

We just had to stop to admire these beautifully pollarded willows, now regrowing strongly. The Cirsium rivulare was in full bloom and looked good against the old garden buildings.

Along the fourth side of the walled garden the light was so bright that colours seemed extra vibrant and exciting.

For the first time this year there was interest in the Rose Garden with groundcover beneath the roses in flower and indeed the first roses were open and giving the gift of their scent to anyone passing by.

After leaving the walled garden we wandered around castle itself where we enjoyed tempting views over the meadows to the lake and countryside beyond.

The open gate into the meadows was just too tempting for us. We followed a mown path through the wildflowers.

Croft is well-known for its ancient Sweet Chestnut trees. We were fascinated by the texture of the bark on this group.

Our next visit in June will be the half way mark through our year of visiting Croft Castle gardens.

Tags ancient trees, Croft Castle., fruit and veg, greenhouses, meadows, rose garden, Shropshire, South Shropshire, Sweet Chestnuts, trees

gardening recycling spring gardening

Mary’s mini-garden

Towards the end of 2014 our great friend Mary gave us two old butler sinks to make into miniature alpine gardens. Soon after this a sudden illness took Mary from us. We turned the sinks into gardens just as she wanted us too, so we now think of them as Mary’s Mini-Gardens.

We gathered together a few big chunks of slate, a bag of slate pieces, a bag of John Innes No 3 compost, a bag of horticultural grit and one of horticultural sand together with a lump hammer and bolster chisel. The horticultural grit and sand were mixed with the compost in equal parts to create our growing medium.

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We were lucky to have found two large pieces of slate with holes in to add a sculptural element to our mini-gardens.

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One piece of slate had beautiful colour and texture to it to add further interest. It looked like a mountain range in miniature!

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We added the growing medium to the sinks and put a mulch of grit on top for extra drainage around the base of the plants. We then played around with positioning the large slate pieces until we thought they formed the best arrangement we could manage.

We then began arranging the plants and once we felt they were in the best positions we planted them up.

When we opened our garden in mid-April for the National Garden Scheme they were beginning to look colourful and drew some complimentary comments from our visitors.

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Here they are in mid-May. We really enjoyed the project and feel sure Mary would have enjoyed them. Good example of recycling in the garden too!

Tags alpine gardening, alpines, gardening, sink gardens, slate

colours fruit and veg garden ponds garden pools garden seating gardens gardens open to the public grow your own kitchen gardens National Garden Scheme ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture poppies recycling sculpture shrubs trees walled gardens water garden water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Yellow Book Gardens – 4 – Upper Shelderton Hall

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 28, 2015
2 Comments on Yellow Book Gardens – 4 – Upper Shelderton Hall

We set out to visit our fourth Yellow Book garden on a cloudy day that promised showers and with a chill in the air. However as we drove down through the Shropshire countryside the skies cleared and the temperature rose. We left the main road and traveled down lanes that got more narrow as we got closer to our destination, the village of Shelderton.

The garden at Upper Shelderton Hall spread to over 6 acres and was mostly a wooded garden with areas of Rhodendrons and borders of herbaceous plantings. As usual we began with tea and cake which we enjoyed sat in the strangest walled garden we had ever experienced. The walls were a truly original creation. Each section was a sculpture in its own right made from a conglomeration of found or collected bricks and stones and ephemera.

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From our seat where we enjoyed our refreshment we could enjoy these amazing walls and also take in glimpses of the kitchen garden nearby. An old water trolley now unused sat alongside.

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After a wander around the fruit and veg beds we made our way towards a border that glowed with bright yellows, oranges and reds. We discovered that the bright blooms were those of a collection of deciduous Rhodendrons. Our noses were also delighted by these shrubs as the yellow ones had the richest sweetest of fragrances.

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We wandered on through the shade of wooded areas with the sound of a stream wandering through it and the scent of Bluebells following our every step.

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Leaving the shade of the tall trees we stumbled across a beautifully planted pond with crystal clear water. On one bank we discovered a lovely little stone carving, the first of several interesting pieces of sculpture we were to find in the gardens.

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On the edge of the main garden was an area of more mature woodland of mixed deciduous and coniferous specimen trees. Beneath them larger evergreen Rhodendrons provided splashes of colour.

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This comfortable set of table and chairs was simply too enticing for us. We just had to have more teas and cakes in order to try them out!

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As we enjoyed our refreshment we also enjoyed the colourful planting around us.

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We also looked up to spy this imposing cockerel windvane. Once we had enjoyed our refreshment we left the gardens of Upper Shelderton Hall having enjoyed yet another brilliant Yellow Book garden. We can’t wait for the next!

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Tags fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, gardening, National Garden Scheme, NGS, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, shrubs, trees, Yellow Book, Yellow Book Gardens

colours ornamental trees and shrubs spring gardening trees

Cercis – the best tree for the May garden?

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 26, 2015

We have a Cercis canadensis in our garden and every year we look forward to its flowering period. The flowers are like small pea flowers and are the deepest brightest pink possible. In some years the flowers come before the leaves make their appearance and in others the leaves and flowers are out together. This May the flowers are at their best just as the leaves are appearing so we can appreciate the pink flowers against the new bronze foliage. Strangely the flowers form straight on the bark of the trunks and branches of this Cercis which attracts attention from our garden visitors.

The common name for this tree is the Judas Tree.

Simply enjoy my photos of this wonderful tree.

We have a close relative in the front garden called Cercis canadensis “Forest Pansy” which is grown for its deep purple foliage and its black branches in winter. Where we live in the UK midlands this tree doesn’t normally flower but this year following a wet winter and warm dry early spring ours is trying hard to bloom. The buds have been half-open for over a month now and seem to be struggling to open. Perhaps a warm and sunny period of weather will spur it on. Fingers crossed!

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Tags blossom, cercis, Cercis canadensis, Forest Pansy, garden trees, judas tree, ornamental trees, spring blossom, trees

allotments community gardening meadows Shrewsbury Shropshire

Celebrating Spring at our allotments

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 24, 2015
1 Comment on Celebrating Spring at our allotments

At our allotments, Bowbrook Allotment Community, we celebrate each season of the year. We celebrated Spring in late April, with activities and games for the children followed by a BBQ sat around our new fire pits.

One of our members, Sherlie had planned craft activities for the children including painting faces on pebbles complete with moving eyes and decorating plant pots.

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Our social celebration days provide the chance to catch up for a chat and to get to know each other better. It lets new members meet their fellow gardeners too. The fire pits draw people in like magnets.

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Out tea committee, the Tea Bags, were on hand to keep us all plied with tea and coffee and cake of course!

Michael, our machinery expert always finds time to look after our machines and teach others as well as looking after his own plot. He showed us how to use our new strimmer and demonstrated different cultivators and tillers. This gave members the chance to try machinery out with Michael on hand to help out and advise. Everyone feels so much more confident after advice from Michael.

We always try to involve children in some gardening activities too giving adults and children a chance to discover skills together. At our Spring Celebration we sowed wildflower meadows in pots. Everyone joined in from the youngest upwards. The youngest gardener is Edward who loves his gardening already especially watering. He has a wonderful sense of humour so he really enjoyed showering me with a hose!

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The children are now looking after their mini-meadows and we have made them responsible for watering and checking on them regularly. It is good to see how keen the youngsters are to sow seeds and tend them afterwards. These meadows will form a part of our display at this year’s Shrewsbury Flower Show – in fact we hope they will be the centre piece.

We also provided the children with games to play which involved them in exploring the site and its wildlife areas. We challenged them to fit as many tiny objects as possible into a matchbox, and challenged them to take their parents and/or grandparents off on a scavenger hunt. We love to see different generations getting involved in our activities. It is so heartening to see how involved children can be learning about and enjoying being close to nature and gardening.

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We finished off with a BBQ as has become a tradition here at our allotments. Our new table and benches proved a real hit. What a great day we had!

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Tags allotments, Bowbrook Allotment Community, children and gardening, communal gardens, community gardening, community spirit, spring

flowering bulbs garden photography gardening hardy perennials National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs Shrewsbury Shropshire shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Gardening Scheme" Yellow Book Gardens

What our visitors saw! Our first NGS open Day of 2015

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 21, 2015
2 Comments on What our visitors saw! Our first NGS open Day of 2015

This year we are opening our garden five times, once each month from April to August so that visitors can see it develop as the year progresses. Our first opening was on 15th April, a sunny warm day so we were pretty busy. This blog is a wander around our Avocet garden with my camera just before our visitors arrived. Enjoy a wander with me.