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.

Irises at Trentham

When we made our monthly pilgrimage to the wonderful gardens at Trentham for my “garden for all seasons” posts, we were particularly taken with the variety of irises on show integrated into the borders designed by Tom Stuart-Smith.

Most were the large flowered exuberant bearded irises but the more delicate demure Iris sibirica were there to be admired too. My first set of pictures are of the blues and purples and all their variations.

2014 05 29_9714 2014 05 29_9718 2014 05 29_9720

2014 05 29_9745 2014 05 29_9843 2014 05 29_9746 2014 05 29_9762 2014 05 29_9734 2014 05 29_9756

2014 05 29_9794 2014 05 29_9764

Blues and purples combine well with a variety of other colours within the flowers of some irises, with the uprights in a different colour to the falls.

2014 05 29_9841 2014 05 29_9840 2014 05 29_9740 2014 05 29_9845 2014 05 29_9728 2014 05 29_9842

Brown and yellow flowered iris seem to add real depth to mixed plantings in the borders. Some of the browns are very unusual to see in flowers other than iris.

2014 05 29_9729 2014 05 29_9737 2014 05 29_9846 2014 05 29_9736 2014 05 29_9738

The gardeners here had cleverly matched a clump of brown Irises with the china blue of Amsonias. What a great combination, but not one that springs to mind when designing borders but we shall most certainly remember it for future use.

2014 05 29_9761

In one of the display gardens, one designed in a Japanese style, Iris sibirica grows in clumps around the edge of a pool. They contrast well with the yellow of the Trollius in the one shot but compliment the glaucous Hosta foliage in the other.

2014 05 29_9688

We also found Iris sibirica growing within the Piet Oudolf designed borders working in a subtle combination with a Nepeta.

2014 05 29_9753 2014 05 29_9754

As we were on our way out of the garden we walked along the banks of the lake and discovered this lovely bright stand of our native iris, Yellow Flag. These can stop you in your tracks as well as any produced by plant breeders. They are always good to see and flower for a lot longer than their cultivated cousins. They present a most suitable finale to my tribute to the Irises of Trentham.

2014 05 29_9872

Tags bearded iris, garden photography, gardening, iris, iris sibirica, irises, Piet Oudolf, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Gardens

garden design garden designers garden photography gardens gardens open to the public outdoor sculpture Piet Oudolf Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith

Happy 10th Birthday Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 12, 2014

On our May visit to the gardens in Trentham which we are following this year in order to check it out as a “garden of all seasons” we were in for a surprise. Not only had the gardens blossomed since our April visit but we also arrived to discover that Trentham was celebrating its 10th birthday. So the gardens were full of excited visitors and extra attractions. Balloons and banners soon revealed why there seemed so many more people there than usual. We then realised we had chosen a great day to visit and also a great year to look at the gardens through the months in Greenbenchramblings posts.

The photo above right shows the view across Piet Oudolf’s “River of Grasses” and in the background a stream of visitors passing through to reach the celebrations.

2014 05 29_9827 2014 05 29_9835

We soon came across strange happenings whenever we turned a corner to enjoy the next section of the garden. The huge colourful butterfly and his friend the giant plant posed willingly for my camera.

Around another corner we discovered a horse and cart passing by and a huge choir preparing to perform the “Happy Birthday song”.

It wasn’t long before we glimpsed two giant gardeners and a strange statue.

The statue wasn’t behaving how statues should. She didn’t just stand elegantly and sublimely for people to admire. She gave an occasional wink, a little smile or smirk at passers by, who were surprised and a few scared out of their skin. Some youngsters just were not sure what to make of her.

Ten years ago the gardens were reborn and opened once again and two of Europe’s greatest garden designers, Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolf were brought in to redesign great swathes of the old garden creating modern herbaceous plantings within the old parkland and Italian gardens. This juxtaposition of old and new has worked well as anyone who follows this blog will know from my many posts about the garden at Trentham but they also know how to proudly celebrate their birthday.

After treating ourselves to a scone and a cup of tea we discovered a falconry display about to begin. We enjoyed a great display by owls, eagles and falcons.

Children were engaged in many unusual activities. We were particularly taken with this idea. Making faces on the trunk of an old tree out of clay and collected natural objects.

2014 05 29_9836 2014 05 29_9839

The last treat of our day was to listen to a few songs performed by a local brass band, who had polished their brass instruments and brushed up their uniforms.

2014 05 29_9852

So there we have it – the 10 year birthday celebrations of the gardens at Trentham. Here’s to ten more!

Tags celebrations, mime artists, Piet Oudolf, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Gardens

climbing plants colours flowering bulbs garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials irises Italian style gardens meadows ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture Piet Oudolf roses sculpture Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith trees water in the garden

A Garden in May – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 10, 2014
3 Comments on A Garden in May – Trentham

Here we are with post number 5 of this series looking at the gardens at Trentham where we are trying to discover if Trentham really is a “garden of all seasons”. For our May visit we were hoping for better weather as rain has greeted us on every other visit. It may seem a bit late to be posting this post but we have been so busy getting our garden ready for our summer visitors and the allotment community gardens ready for our NGS Open Day we are now behind with everything. We are getting behind at being late!

But the day dawned wet yet again.

2014 05 29_9874 2014 05 29_9827

We were amazed by the number of people around and the queue of visitors waiting to get through the turn styles. The majority of these visitors were young families. Soon we saw clues about what was going on – balloons, bunting and banners. It all pointed to the day being a special one for Trentham Gardens – their 10th birthday since reopening.

The area called the River of Grasses designed by Piet Oudolf has gained a lot of patches of colour from perennials among the strongly growing grasses. Persicaria bistorta, Amsonia and Trollius were particularly in evidence.

2014 05 29_9685 2014 05 29_9686

2014 05 29_9689 2014 05 29_9687

2014 05 29_9690 2014 05 29_9688

When we moved into the Piet Oudolf prairie borders we noticed that the growth of the herbaceous plants since out last visits was amazing.

2014 05 29_9695 2014 05 29_9697

2014 05 29_9692 2014 05 29_9698

2014 05 29_9693 2014 05 29_9696

2014 05 29_9691 2014 05 29_9694

After enjoying the fresh colours in this area we wandered across neatly mown grass towards the Italianate Garden, and on the way we passed the Hornbeam Arbour and through a Hornbeam archway. We found evidence of the newly cut area where seagulls of crocus and snowdrops were earlier in the year (see earlier posts in this series). Now they appear as ghosts in the grass.

2014 05 29_9700 2014 05 29_9701 2014 05 29_9702 2014 05 29_9699

In the Italianate Garden the gardeners were planting out large specimens of Cannas with huge incredibly marked and coloured leaves.

From the Italianate Garden we get our first views of the garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, where he imposed modern style herbaceous plantings onto the original Italian Garden. Since last month these borders are showing so much colour and to begin with it is hard to identify what plants are providing all the colour.

Closer up we found the colour was from Alliums, Euphorbias, Amsonias, Irises, Rogersias and Astrantias. Enjoy a tour of these borders.

Last time we were here the gardens above the Tom Stuart-Smith borders was yellow with daffodils naturalised in the grassed banks. On this visit the colour was purple and it was provided by hundreds of purple globes of Alliums. A young photographer was snapping away.

A new woven figure has appeared on the grassed banks.

More Alliums were naturalised in the grass beneath the mature trees from the otiginal parkland plantings. They added colour to our walk over to look at the Display Gardens.

Here the newly planted gardens were taking shape.

As always our wanderings around the gardens at Trentham finish with a walk along the Rose Walkway. Yet more Alliums grew here in between the roses.

Wisterias were flowering as they climbed over the metalwork and added colour and scent to our walk.

We came across this pink flowered shrub which although we had seen it before we could not remember what it was. It was a beautiful shrub. Any ideas?

I finish our May wander of this amazing garden with a few views from the rose walk looking over the River of Grasses.

Tags foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, meadows, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, Piet Oudolf, shrubs, Tom Stuart-Smith, trees, Trentham Gardens

Cheshire climbing plants colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public half-hardy perennials hardy perennials light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs spring gardening trees water in the garden woodland

The Dorothy Clive Garden

I promised at the end of my post about the wild colours at Dorothy Clive to take a wander with my camera to show the milder coloured side of this lovely garden in late spring. We usually visit this garden in the late summer or early autumn when the mixed borders simply zing! The oranges of Leonotis and Leonorus and the reds of Crocosmia “Lucifer” work in wondefully to give a burst of fiery colours. Annuals mix with perennials and the odd shrub in long sweeping borders. When we had the invitaton to visit in early May we jumped at it, hoping to see a side to the gardens we had not seen before. We turned left by the cottage into the dell full of the outrageous colours of the Rhododendrons and Azaleas as featured in my previous post.

2014 05 08_8963

But there was more here than just bright colours, and we soon discovered a rich selection of woodland plants.

2014 05 08_8976 2014 05 08_8965

2014 05 08_8966 2014 05 08_8964

2014 05 08_8967 2014 05 08_8979

2014 05 08_8968 2014 05 08_9025

As in many gardens over the last few years the gardeners have realised the beauty that lies beneath the floral displays of the Rhododendrons – the sculptural form of their trunks and branches. Clever pruning techniques brings the beauty of their form to the fore.

2014 05 08_8975 2014 05 08_8986

Leaving the dell we wandered the winding paths towards the Laburnum Walk which we were expecting to be in its most glamorous clothes. We found more woodland favourites and more flowering shrubs and small trees. We enjoyed the purity of the white flowered Magnolias.

2014 05 08_9003

Lovely vistas opened up as we left the more densely planted areas under the mature trees. the mixed borders here had a very gentle feel to them.

The Laburnum Walk was not in flower as much as we had expected but the sun came out after a storm giving added freshness to the light and we enjoyed walking slowly through the tunnel of Laburnums.

Golden Hop climbed among the Laburnums and gentle coloured perennials sat at their feet.

The newest area at Dorothy Clive is the Edible Woodland and this has developed nicely since our last visit.

We managed to quickly walk part of the sloping gardens before the rain came in ferociously and drove us to an early finish to our visit. Hopefully the few photos I managed to take as the rain approached will give some idea of how delightfully planted this part of the garden is.

I am not a great conifer fan but the colours of these cones against the glaucous needles looked amazing. I am beginning to enjoy Pines now and appreciate them far more. I am sure we shall be visiting the Dorothy Clive Gardens again before long and then perhaps we can concentrate more on this gently sloping section.

Tags Dorothy Clive Garden, foliage, garden photography, gardening, ornamental trees, rhododendron, shrubs, trees

colours flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden buildings garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens grow your own irises light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire shrubs succulents water garden water in the garden

Aiming for a year round garden – early summer.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 4, 2014
4 Comments on Aiming for a year round garden – early summer.

Number four in this series of posts concerning our aim at ensuring that our garden all year round sees me and my trusty Nikon wandering the paths of our garden in the last week of May. so come with me and see what you think. Are we still on track?

As usual we shall begin our wanderings in the front where right by the front door we find our personalised trug and our climbers growing in the old galvanised container. Opposite the front door the Freda Border is looking full of interest.

2014 05 27_9660

Round the front of the house the Chatto Garden seems full of chartreuse highlighted with brightly coloured Irises.

Our mixed borders are full of many different textures, shapes and colours provided by the herbaceous plants and the shrubs.

As we move into the back we find our lush colourful planting in the Secret Garden and the Chicken Bed. On a sunny day you need sunglasses to appreciate these areas.

2014 05 22_9535

Down by the pool the Japanese Garden is dominated by the Acers but in the Bog Garden the big leaves of the Rheum and Hostas pick up any shaft of sunlight.

2014 05 22_9514

How about this for a self-seeder, an Anthirinum in the deepest pink possible with tiny splashes of yellow and orange growing alongside a red leaved Acer.

2014 05 22_9520

Looking from the Summerhouse the garden looks full of, so is now a lovely place to sit with a coffee and enjoy our hard work.

2014 05 22_9518 2014 05 22_9519

2014 05 22_9511

Moving back towards the greenhouse we can take a look at the Crescent Bed and around the Rill Garden. Just look at this little flower hovering above the leaves of the Aeonium.

From the Rill Garden we can see the Seaside Garden which we recently revamped.

We often miss out the mini-gardens on our wandering blog posts so we shall have a look now at the Fern Border, Shed Slate Garden, the Salad Beds and the Slate Scree Garden.

So there we have it, our garden in early Summer. We hope it is still looking good. The next post in this series will be in mid-Summer when we shall be fast approaching our first ever opening under the National Garden Scheme. Seeing our own garden in the famous Yellow Book certainly makes you look closely at our garden.

Tags foliage, fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, gardening, grasses, grown your own, National Garden Scheme, NGS, ornamental trees, Shropshire, shrubs, Yellow Book

colours garden design gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses succulents

Our New Planting Boxes

We must all have parts of our garden which disappoint us every time we pass by. Our disappointing bit is a part of the garden we not only walk past but also drive past as we enter our property and it is the first thing visitors see. We have a gateway at the end of our drive with a walk creating a funnel effect. Sadly this wall is not made from beautiful stone or old brick but dingy old 1960’s reconstituted stone or perhaps even concrete. It is an eyesore and at last we have got around to doing something about it – it has only taken 11 years to get started!

We decided to paint the wall a pale cream to match the house and then place some planters in front of it. We hope this will create a feeling of a warm welcome as you enter the driveway.

We bought three personalised planting boxes and a trug and went off to our favourite nursery, where after our usual coffee and carrot cake we bought a selection of perennials for the boxes and alpines for the trug. We bought 3 each of five different perennials and planted them out with our own seedlings of grasses which Jude had nurtured and brought on to suitable size. The perennial hardy herbaceous plants we bought were Catananche caerulea “Alba” with white flowers similar to cornflowers with the added interest of contrasting dark purple centres and yellow stamens, Salvia superba with its bright purple-blue spikes of flowers, Knautia macedonica with deep red “pin cushion” flowers, Veronica longifolia “Blue” the tallest of all with its elegant spikes held 3 feet high and the lovely white daisy Leucanthemum superbum “Alaska”. Fingers crossed now that they thrive in our boxes and give a warm welcome to our summer visitors.

2014 04 18_8218

As well as the boxes we had a wooden trug stenciled with the words “born to garden”. This was a saying I first saw when visiting a Yellow Book open garden a few years ago. There the phrase was on a sign cut from wood and displayed on the inside wall of a summer house. I sought out the gardener to ask where he had found the sign but he was unable to help as it was a gift. And I have been looking out for it ever since. when we ordered our personalised boxes it seemed a good opportunity to make our own version.

We planted a selection of alpines and succulents in it after adding a mixture of grit and multi-purpose compost – Frankenia thymifolia with its small pink flowers, Sedum glaucophyllum “Lizard a succulent which forms a low mound of rosettes with tiny white flowers in the summer, Delosperma nubigenum with its vivid yellow daisy like flowers, Sempervivum x fauconetti a house leek with a spider web covering, a yellow flowered alpine Potentilla and the tiny daisy Erigeron karvinskianus “Profusion”.

2014 04 19_8225 2014 04 19_8226

We left all the new plants to settle into their new homes in the shelter of our wood-store before putting them in their final homes by the newly painted new gateway wall.

Just a month later they look like this – can’t wait to see them in flower!

Tags container gardening, garden photography, gardening, grasses, hardy perennials, Houseleeks, succulents

Cheshire colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public Hardy Plant Society HPS light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs photography shrubs spring gardening

Wild Colours at the Dorothy Clive Garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 30, 2014
3 Comments on Wild Colours at the Dorothy Clive Garden

We visited the Dorothy Clive Garden recently with a few fellow Hardy Plant members. This garden is famous for its spring planting in the section called The Dingle – Rhododendrons and Azaleas in the wildest colour combination possible. These aren’t our favourite shrubs but we do enjoy going to this garden to see them once in a while.

Just look at these pics! From the moment we arrived at the cottage the borders on either side of the doorway were alive with colour.

I know I said we are not the biggest fans of these flowers but Jude the Undergardener was impressed with this one. She was impressed by the gentle colours and contrasting spots.

2014 05 08_8971 2014 05 08_8972

I however was taken with this bright orange beauty! Certainly nothing subtle here – I simply love orange in the garden and this flower and bud is so rich.

2014 05 08_9009 2014 05 08_9000

In the next post I shall look at the rest of the garden where things are a little calmer and kinder to the eye.

Tags azaleas, Cheshire, colour, Dorothy Clive Garden, rhododendron, shade gardening, woodland gardening

colours flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening gardens grow your own hardy perennials Hardy Plant Society herbs kitchen gardens light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening Staffordshire trees village gardens woodland

Pauline and Derek’s Woodland Garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 26, 2014
6 Comments on Pauline and Derek’s Woodland Garden

This is the third post in my series of post about gardens of friends. In this post I shall share with you a visit Jude “The Undergardener” and I made with a couple of other Hardy Plant Society friends to the woodland garden of fellow members, Pauline and Derek. It was a wet, dull day when we set out but as we approached the village of Loggerheads things were looking a little more optimistic. Just outside the village we found “Broomside” where Derek greeted us as we got out of the car. Quickly passing through the front garden to get out of the rain gave us clues as to what to expect. We couldn’t wait to see more!

2014 05 08_8962

Pauline had prepared the coffee and tempting biscuits so that took priority. When we were ready for a guided wander the weather turned back to heavy rain so we donned rainwear and carried on regardless. We are after all “Hardy Planters” so mustn’t be put off by the weather, whatever it throws at us.

These general garden views show the richness of its planting and give a hint of the inviting atmosphere.

2014 05 08_8937 2014 05 08_8933

2014 05 08_8935 2014 05 08_8938

Despite the rain the light was good for photographing foliage plants. With contrast reduced textures were highlighted. Woodlaand plants seem to possess a richness in texture and colour in their foliage.

2014 05 08_8936 2014 05 08_8949

The late spring blossom on the trees and shrubs and the flowers on perennials were still a delight and somehow even more welcome on such a dull day.

This garden is full of special plants but these three stood out even among such quality planting. Purple cones, purple Trillium flowers and a creamy Paeony.

2014 05 08_8930 2014 05 08_8932

After enjoying the woodland section of the garden we stepped up a few steps, one of which was the root of a tree, to find the veggie patch.

Derek had an impressive collection of mints. We enjoyed their varied scents. This one, with its long slightly glaucous leaves was I think was Mentha buddleifolia, one I had never seen before. Indeed I wasn’t aware of its existence.

After exploring the paths winding through the vegetable garden we found a colourful mixed border along the side of the house. Here colourful Euphorbias added extra brightness to more rich planting.

Pauline has discovered a novel, attractive and effective way of labeling her plants. She writes their names on pebbles which are then placed at their base. She also advised us on the best pen to use and gifted one to us. We shall certainly be trying it out!

2014 05 08_8929

We had a most enjoyable day even better for having defied the elements. It is good to share the gardens of friends and even better when you do so with other friends. Hardy Plant Society members are often a knowledgeable breed so we can always learn something from them and discover plants new to us. Pauline and Derek’s garden with its woodland atmosphere afforded us a refreshing change after working hard for a few days in our own South facing exposed garden.

Tags foliage, fruit and veg, garden photography, gardening, grown your own, ornamental trees, shrubs, spring bulbs, Staffordshire, trees, woodland gardens

colours garden photography gardens gardens open to the public Land Art outdoor sculpture recycling sculpture

Decorated Bicycle Bits in a Garden?

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 22, 2014
2 Comments on Decorated Bicycle Bits in a Garden?

Yes, you have read the title correctly. This post is about decorated bits of bicycles in a garden. These are no ordinary bikes, these are decorated bikes or sometimes just decorated bicycle wheels. We were surprised by the sight of the first of these decorated bikes when we came across it in the grounds of Anglesey Abbey.

We discovered that they were there to celebrate an anniversary of cycling in Cambridge. Each bike or parts of bikes were decorated by knitters!

Just share our enjoyment of discovering them by looking at my photos.

Tags Anglesey Abbey, bicycles, Cambridge, celebrations, cycling, gardens, humour, National Trust

conservation countryside flowering bulbs hedgerows landscapes light meadows nature reserves spring bulbs Wildlife Trusts

A Fritillary Meadow – North Meadow, Cricklade

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 19, 2014
2 Comments on A Fritillary Meadow – North Meadow, Cricklade

We have a book at home where we list places we must go to, gardens we must visit and things we must do. A visit to the Fritillary Meadows in Wiltshire has been on our “Places to Visit” list for a few years now but we have been thwarted by the weather and the effect this has on these lovely flowering bulbs. This year we made it.

We drove down to Cricklade in Wiltshire and with great difficulty due to heavy downpours of rain making it hard to see, we found the first signs of where we were aiming for, The Fritillary Tearooms. The tearooms open each year when the Fritallaries are in full bloom and the proceeds go towards boosting the “Cricklade in Bloom” funds. Naturally we had to support them and so enjoyed a warming cup of coffee and a splendid cake before we embarked on our wet walk around the wet meadow. Apologies for the sloping photo of the tea shop but having one leg shorter than the other does sometimes result in strange sloping pics!

We entered the reserve, called North Meadow, run jointly by English Nature and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, via a bridge over the River Churn, one of the two rivers that skirt the wet meadow, the other being the Thames. In front of us lay an old, flower-rich hay meadow situated within the glacial flood plains of the two rivers. The meadow covers a vast area of 108 acres. It is designated a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Scientific Interest and is an internationally important reserve.

2014 04 21_8314 2014 04 21_8316

2014 04 21_8315 2014 04 21_8230

We were never far from one or other river as we walked the reserve margins. It was good to see beautiful ancient pollarded willows much in evidence aligning the banks of both. Seeing these brings back memories of my childhood fishing my local brook “The Carrant” whose banks were lined with them. We hid inside them as many were hollow and loved looking up inside them spotting wildlife mostly spiders and beetles but on special occasions a roosting Tawny Owl. The willows were pollarded which involved pruning them hard back to their main trunks every few years to harvest the stems for basket making and hurdle manufacture.

2014 04 21_8311 2014 04 21_8308

2014 04 21_8414 2014 04 21_8417

2014 04 21_8418 2014 04 21_8379

The reserve was one grand immense flat meadow which is flooded for a few months each year creating an unusual habitat for plants and all sorts of wildlife. At first glance we were amazed at the expanse of the meadow but somewhat disappointed at the relatively few numbers of Fritillaries visible. Seeing just one Fritillary is a treat though as it is such an unusual and beautiful flower. It is now sadly a “nationally scarce” plant.

2014 04 21_8232 2014 04 21_8234

Even though the light was very dull we soon spotted more of the little beauties we had waited so long to see and realised that there were far more than we had first thought. We grow Fritillaria meleagris in our spring border at home and in the orchard meadows on the allotment communal gardens but we had never seen them growing in their true wild habitat, the wetland meadows. We wondered just how amazing they must look on a bright day. To begin with we found them in small clumps including the odd white flowers which although lacking the checkerboard patterning have a delicate beauty of their own.

2014 04 21_8235

2014 04 21_8424

This wetland meadow habitat was home to other site specific species such as Comfrey and Kingcups, Lady’s Smock and Ragged Robin. Lovely old fashioned names for our native wildflowers. To maintain the special requirements of this collection of damp loving plants it is essential that the meadow is managed properly. It has to be grazed, used for hay and flooded for set periods.

2014 04 21_8309

We were surprised to find one comfrey with yellow and green variegated foliage.

Along the margins of the meadow we stumbled upon these little carved stones, looking like miniature milestones. We later found out that they marked the plots allotted to individual “commoners” for haymaking.

As we reached about two-thirds of the way around the meadow the density of the fritillaries increased markedly and tall reeds grew on its margins.

2014 04 21_8306

2014 04 21_8294 2014 04 21_8293

The last part of our wander around this wet meadow was alongside the river once again where Willow and Blackthorn trees grew happily in the damp soils.

2014 04 21_8421

2014 04 21_8278

In a very damp patch we came across a clump of this very unusual looking sedge with its jet black flowers thus finishing off our visit to the field of Fritillaries with a mystery as we had no idea what it was.