Category: arboreta

The National Memorial Arboretum Part Two

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 10, 2013

We return in this second post about the National Memorial Arboretum where we left off.

This was a quiet place, full of bird song and the quiet voices of the visitors deeply affected by the sense of the place.

Seats to sit upon

to sit and think

to sit and to remember

lost ones.

Share now a few images of the place to show its variety, its beauty and its sadness.

2013 11 30_5433

We walked slowly up a gentle sloping path giving us a spiral route to the “Armed Services Memorial” with a solemn “wall of names”. The sculptural pieces here were astonishing, powerful and thought provoking.

2013 11 30_5356

Below, the sculpted hand indicates the place where a shaft of sunlight pierces two slits in two walls. They line up on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month each year the time when the First World War ended. It is the time the nation remembers each year the members of the armed forces lost serving their country.

A massive curving wall has carved into it the names of all armed service personel who have died in service since the end of the Second Wall War. To see all these names together illustrates the futility of war so clearly. Worst of all was the huge area left blank as space for those yet to die. The United Nations should hold their meetings here and every Member of Parliament from every nation should spend some time here at the beginning of every session of their parliament. I wonder if it would make any difference?

We found smaller memorials which were more specific and sometimes outside the realms of armed conflicts.

The essential work of the Bevin Boys, the miners who kept the mines open during WW2 was celebrated in these wonderful relief carvings. Powerful just like the Bevin boys themselves.

Men who lost their lives building the railways in the Far East as prisoners of war were commemorated by a garden of many varieties of Sorbus growing around reconstructed sections of railway lines.

A few of the gardens help us remember the loss of lives of those serving the nation but not in the armed services. Here we celebrate the bravery of the men of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. A sturdy figure carved from stone reflects the strength of character of these people as he looks over a seaside landscape.

One of the most incredible memorials was a tribute to the men of the railways.

We even found a memorial to the soldiers from our home county of Shropshire.

The Jewish Memorial was a truly beautiful piece of art as well as a moving memorial piece.

As the light faded over the memorial arboretum the trees tops began to fill with the sounds of starlings settling down to roost. To the birds this garden is a home giving them shelter, food and a place to nest.

I will leave you with a few deeply moving pictures.

2013 11 30_5364_edited-1

And finally a picture of the Bazra Wall to illustrate that we never learn. With all the waste of lives over the centuries it still goes on.

Tags arboretum, memorials, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, remembrance

arboreta autumn autumn colours gardens open to the public memorials ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs trees woodland

Trees to remember by – The National Memorial Arboretum – Part One

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 8, 2013
1 Comment on Trees to remember by – The National Memorial Arboretum – Part One

Wendy, one of our allotment friends, told us all about her visit to the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield and she thought we would like to visit too.

I arrived with expectations. I envisioned a collection of trees with large areas given over to formal memorials. These areas I thought would have a cold atmosphere like an empty church and I felt the whole place would possess the deep silence of a “Poppy Day” remembrance ceremony around a village war memorial.

I was so wrong.

It was an amazing place. But not a place to enjoy as such but a place with an atmosphere that you feel deeply. It was such an emotive and wonderful experience that emotions engulf you. It has a its own special atmosphere, an atmosphere that is hard to describe as the right words are impossible to find.

Close to the chapel near the entrance is a small garden with a beautiful armillary sundial at its centre, while the pillars holding up the covered entrance display a sense of homour in the carvings.

We explored the site following avenues of acers and cherries leading to small wooded areas and copses mostly of native deciduous trees. A simple arrangement of closely trimmed berberis spheres form the Garden of Innocents.

As we wander around please join us, as we appreciate the beauty of the trees and the calm of the spaces. There were signs of the recent Remembrance Day Ceremonies throughout the site, some at the base of memorials others blown into hedges and trees.

Amongst the memorials dedicated to various sections of the armed forces were other memorials or areas of celebration. The photos below are of a golden garden dedicated to couples who had celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversaries. Trees had yellow fruit such as varieties of Malus or golden stems such as the Yellow Ash.

The next memorial was for Polish servicemen who had lost their lives fighting alongside British armed forces.

We moved on through woodlands showing autumn colouring interspersed with memorials until we came across a most disturbing area, called “Shot at Dawn”.

This area was to help us remember the men shot at dawn by their own comrades under orders from commanding officers. We were deeply moved here as the cruelty of man at war and the needless waste of young lives were clearly displayed. How could officers in the First World War believe they had the right to order soldiers to kill their fellow men? The “crime” that these young soldiers were found guilty of was “cowardice” – surely they could be forgiven for fear and for not being willing to kill. The true cowardice here lies with the officers who used their rank and “superiority” to make others kill colleagues. Each post represents a real person and each post holds a small sign. Each post a brother, a son, a father, a best friend ……………..

This was a sad place!

We left in silence and deep anger to find a way marker close by on a pathway crossing through the arboretum which acted as a reminder that we were in the National Forest.

This unusual garden was dedicated to members of the Fairground Entertainers hence the horse from a “Gallopers” fairground ride.

As we turned a corner I stopped in my tracks. We were facing a memorial with the badge I knew so well. As a child I remember seeing it on the front of my father’s army cap. My stomach felt empty and my heart skipped beats. Suddenly it seemed very close to home.

My father survived the war but its effects could be seen hanging over him, the shaking hands, the sudden bouts of anger, changing temperament, the hatred of loud noise and the dislike of time wasting.

Next was the memorial to the paratroopers, a beautiful sculpture displaying strength and bravery.

We shall continue our journey around the National Memorial Arboretum in my next post, but please share a few words we wrote as we sat quietly over coffee at lunchtime.

Peaceful place to celebrate waste

Lives wasted in war

Trees peacefully grow in lines

Celebrating soldiers’ short lives

Trees giving hope for a future

Tags arboretum, memorials, ornamental trees, remembrance, shrubs, trees, woodlands

arboreta autumn autumn colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs photography trees woodland

Another Day at Bodenham

We have shared a visit to the wonderful arboretum near Kidderminster in Worcestershire before but we visited again this autumn and were equally enthralled by the collection of trees, common, less well-known and even rare. So come back with us now on our return to Bodenham. Let us simply celebrate in photographs!

It is always good to find a tree you do not know, one you have not got the faintest idea what it might be. At Bodenham on this visit it was the Wingnut Tree.

Tags acers., arboreta, arboretum, trees

arboreta architecture buildings Cheshire gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs photography

Telescopes and Trees – part two

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 28, 2013
3 Comments on Telescopes and Trees – part two

Back at Jodrell Bank as we explored the arboretum nestled amidst natural woodlands, we looked forward to finding our first Sorbus. We were surprised upon finding them that several had already lost all their foliage and some had dropped all their berries too. Luckily the majority still looked good.

Sorbus “Leonard Messell” was a good one to start off with. Its berries were the palest of pink with a deep blush and they were enhanced by finely cut foliage.

With larger berries in a coral pink Sorbus yunanensis looked a distant relative. Its leaves were much larger and far less divided.

Sorbus kewensis was a tall stately specimen of a tree.

Where trees had lost all foliage and their berries hung on bare branches they looked very stark against the clear blue autumn sky.

There were more to be found around each corner as the path took a turn, each with its own special colour, size and shape of berry.

After enjoying so many wonderful berried trees we left the arboretum and spent the last hour left to us while the site remained open enjoying a closer look at the telescopes and the parkland in which they sat. These massive creations of man certainly lacked the delicacy and wonderful colours of Mother Nature’s creations but they did have an attraction of their own when set against the clear blue sky.

Tags arboretum, rowans, sorbus, telescopes

arboreta autumn autumn colours Cheshire colours garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs wildlife woodland

Telescopes and Trees – part one

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 20, 2013
1 Comment on Telescopes and Trees – part one

Telescopes and trees do not normally go together but there is one very special place here in the Midlands where they certainly do. We drove northwards on the A49 making our way into Cheshire in search of Jodrell Bank famous as a space research centre created by Sir Bernard Lovell. He was a man with varied interests trees, cricket and space. Here in Cheshire he indulged in two of his passions trees and space.

We passed through part of the information centre to get to the start of the arboretum trail and we tried to read some of the information panels and studied complicated diagrams. We were instantly lost – the realms of space are not within the realms of our understanding. We both find it fascinating but it all seems way beyond our understanding. At least we tried before moving into the arboretum – trees we can appreciate and understand.

This arboretum holds two National Collections, crab apples and rowans. Malus and Sorbus to be more botanically correct. These are two of my favourite families of trees, if only they had Betulas as well! I would have been in my element!

We had read on the website before coming that the paths can get wet so sensible footwear was advisable. We wore our walking boots and we were so pleased that we had. The paths were so wet often the water was almost to the top of our boots, but it didn’t spoil our enjoyment of a wonderful collection of trees set amidst a natural woodland setting.

A collection of deciduous Euonymus welcomed us as we passed through the wooden gate, their wild coloured berries and bright autumnal leaves were a treat for the eyes.

We wandered through woodland towards a fairly recently created garden designed by Chris Beardshaw. Before entering his garden we found a little collection of Berberis clothed in their waxy red berries which hung in long racemes.

Chris Beardshaw’s garden was designed to reflect the creation of space itself and was a strong design based on spirals and circles with a gentle mound at the centre affording us the opportunity of appreciating these shapes from above. The main planting was willows, grasses and perennials.

Soon after a circular walk around this garden of circles and spirals we discovered the first of the Crab Apples and they were laden with fruit, their miniature apples in sizes varying from tiny beads up to golf ball size.

This golden fruited variety in the two photos below are “Comtesse de Paris” and the red fruited variety below them with fruit reminiscent of the haws of our native Hawthorn is “Mary Petter”. Close by the stump of a felled old tree had been carved into a proud looking eagle. Upon the eagle we spotted a ladybird sunning itself perhaps finding extra warmth on the wood of the stump. Better camouflaged was the Shield Bug we found just inches away.

Malus “Indian Summer” was one of the newly planted specimens probably a cultivar newly developed although some of the old original crab trees were now being replaced as they died off.

But there was much more to this part of the arboretum than the wonderful crab apples, and we discovered interesting trees at every turn in the path and around every clearing, birches, walnuts, whitebeam and maples. In this area of the garden migrant thrushes were busy feeding up after their long journeys. All these crab apples, sorbus and other fruiting trees and nut bearing trees provide a wonderfully rich restaurant for them.

Two trees caught our attention but we didn’t particularly like either of them and they both seemed so out of place in this natural feeling woodland. They were more “novelty features” than attractive trees. First photo is of a strange weeping conifer and the second a columnar Whitebeam.

I shall finish part one of our visit to Jodrell Bank Arboretum with a photo of a lovely golden crab apple with blushed cheeks. My next post will be part two when we shall be on the look out for the second featured group of trees, the Rowans or Sorbus.

2013 11 04_4907

Tags apples, autumn, autumn colours, birds, dogwoods, garden wildlife, gardening, ornamental trees, thrushes, wildlife, winter migrants

arboreta climbing plants colours countryside garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public hardy perennials Hardy Plant Society herbs kitchen gardens meadows NGS ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire South Shropshire woodland

Jessamine Cottage – a country garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date August 9, 2013
6 Comments on Jessamine Cottage – a country garden

Jessamine is a garden with atmosphere. Peaceful. Gentle. Enticing.

The beautiful sign with the name carved into a stunning block of slate sets the scene and it fits beautifully into the Shropshire countryside. It is another wonderful place to visit within a half hour drive of our home.

The owners greeted us upon arrival and we had tea and Bakewell tart sat on the balcony of the cabin that serves as teashop and ticket office. This is a “his and hers garden” nurtured by just the owners. The husband half of the team took a break alongside us on the balcony and relished a huge mug of coffee. He looked as if he deserves it and he told us that he was in the middle of sorting an overgrown bed alongside the pool. It was a hot day and he needed his break.

The view from the tea balcony is of wildflower meadows carpeting the ground beneath an avenue of lime. Beyond these limes colourful borders glow with rich yellows. The meadows were alive with bees, butterflies and hoverflies, which is a delight and a relief at the same time as this year so far has been so difficult for these beautiful and essential creatures. They are our greatest garden allies and we just could not garden without their help as pollinators, pest controllers and the providers of joy for us.

Suitably refreshed and genned up on the history of the garden we headed for the hot coloured border which again was full of blooms which support insect life. It seems we home in on the warmth of these flowers just as our gardening allies do.

The meadow moved gently in the breeze and the subtle rustling drew us closer to see what was in flower. Some colour was provided by the grasses themselves especially the delicate yellow seedheads seen in the photo below.

We were particularly taken by this simple white rose with its simplicity of flower and pure rose scent. Just the scent a rose should have!

A hedgerow bordered the meadow and avenue garden and hid the rest of the garden from our view but carefully cut gaps in the hedge enticed us through where we were to discover a rose garden and a small arboretum. Mrs Greenbench was particularly taken with the roses climbing up poles, so we are considering the idea as a useful addition to our garden at “Avocet”.

There were a lot of well positioned seats dotted around the garden in shade and in the open – a seat for every occasion!

Beyond the arboretum and at the furthest and lowest part of the garden was a shady garden and close by a pool, both providing respite on this warmest of days.

But there was still more to come as back beyond the teashop was a very productive fruit and veg garden and to get to it we passed a bed of marjorams in all shades of purple from almost white to deep purple. But they were magnets for bees, butterflies and hoverflies. Sweet Peas added a further dimension, scent and they graced the cross over point of the grass paths that divided the productive garden into sections.

We ended our warm afternoon visit to this exquisite garden nestled at the bottom of Wenlock Edge back in the tea shop where we considered if Jessamine Cottage would make a suitable visit for the Shropshire Branch of the Hardy Plant Society. Jude and I have been given the task of organising the visits and speakers for this organisation for the next three years so we are beginning to look at gardens we visit with a more critical eye.

Was Jessamine Cottage a possibility? Yes, most definitely. It is on the list!

arboreta Banbury countryside garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public hardy perennials meadows National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs Oxfordshire trees woodland

Broughton Grange – the outer edges.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 6, 2013
1 Comment on Broughton Grange – the outer edges.

Back to Broughton Grange and we can go through the piece of garden architecture, the stumpery arch and find that it becomes a whole garden growing around stumps on the other side. Old stumps were beautifully planted with varieties of Hostas, Ferns and Alchemilla.

Beautifully curved paths presented us with rich choices. Each path led to interesting specimen trees. Of course I had to start by following the route to the chestnuts, their deep salmon coloured towers of flowers covered even these young trees.

Cut through the arboretum were straight avenues each featuring a different variety of tree, such as chestnut and lime. This was a an effective contrast to the sinuous paths wriggling through the meadows growing under the young trees throughout the arboretum. These avenues gave long views to the Oxfordshire countryside beyond the boundaries of the garden and parkland.

So if you like good garden design, interesting plants, trees, meadows and of course the obligatory coffee and cakes and want a good relaxing day out keep an eye on the website for Broughton Grange and make sure you go along and see it for yourself.

Tags arboretum, avenues, chestnuts, garden photography, gardening, meadows, ornamental trees, Oxfordshire, trees, woodlands

arboreta Banbury climbing plants colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public half-hardy perennials hardy perennials meadows National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture Oxfordshire photography poppies shrubs The National Gardening Scheme" trees walled gardens

Broughton Grange – a walled garden plus.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 4, 2013
4 Comments on Broughton Grange – a walled garden plus.

Back to Oxfordshire and this time we shall share a wander around a most wonderful and varied garden which we were privileged to visit recently. The gardens at Broughton Grange are only open a few days a year in support of charities and we visited on a weekend when it was open under the auspices of the National Garden Scheme, The Yellow Book.

We arrived not long after it opened and approached across a traditional wild flower meadow through which was cut a vehicle width track. Without thinking we drove slowly across the grass, the fact that we were taking a mechanical monster over something so delicate and special made us move as gently as possible.

Although there is plenty to see here we had to immediately make for the walled garden which had been designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. I was so keen to explore this garden that I even did without my pre-explore coffee! I was glad I did!

The design had a strong structure beneath it, both of hard landscaping and natural frameworks, which provided a network into which the plants could grow, softening the hard surfaces as they did so.

The planting scheme here had a wonderful coherence which allowed your eye to move slowly across a delicate colour palette but sometimes individual plants stood out from the crowd and demanded a closer second look. Luckily for us there were lots of access pathways so we could delve into the borders to enjoy a close look at specials that caught our eyes.

First a few shots of borders………….

………… and now for some of the glittering stars!

Foliage played an important role here too, with leaf texture, shape and colour adding further interest to the plantings.

We spotted this little cameo as we were leaving the walled garden to explore the outer grounds. A piece of accidental garden sculpture?

Outside the walled garden many acres awaited discovery by Mr and Mrs Greenbench. Woodland, a new arboretum, meadows and features such as this Laburnum arch – sunglasses were essential if you wished to pass through it!

Nearby a new patch of woodland featured many native trees plus a select few non-natives, such as lilacs with rich fruity scent that filled the air all through the neighbouring trees.

We wandered through an interesting garden in front of the house itself on our way to the arboretum. Here little meadows full of airy wild flowers and native grasses moving gently in the summer breeze bordered a parterre with bright blue obelisks as highlights.

As we left the old woodland to enter the newly planted arboretum we discovered a stumpery. We have a soft spot for stumperies and this was an interesting one as it was designed and laid out to form a welcoming funnel between the two sections of garden. From the woodland side the stumps build up to form a gateway.

So in my follow-up post about this wonderful garden I shall begin with the stumpery.

Tags stumpery

arboreta birds fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening grow your own hardy perennials Hardy Plant Society HPS meadows ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire South Shropshire village gardens

Holly Cottage – another garden visit with the HPS

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 22, 2013
8 Comments on Holly Cottage – another garden visit with the HPS

June 16th and we are visiting two gardens with fellow members of the Shropshire Hardy Plant Society. In my previous post I shared our morning visit to “Fairview” and now we move on to Holly Cottage just a few miles away for the afternoon. To get to the cottage we had to drive over a few fields dodging sheep and when we parked up the heavens opened and the temperature plummeted. Bravely we donned waterproofs – it was well worth it. The garden at Holly Cottage ran downhill from the cottage and within its two and a half acres formal and informal plantings of herbaceous plants mingled with mature trees, meadows, a pond and even a small stream.

Just as we were impressed by the veggie patch at Fairview in the morning, the fruit and veg garden at Holly Cottage impressed too. This veggie patch practised organic principles to produce quality harvests.

Part of following organic principles is to encourage wildlife to garden with you and here there were nest boxes and bird feeders in evidence as well as a meadow, a small arboretum featuring mostly native and wildlife attracting trees and shrubs. A comfy rustic bench was also positioned where we could appreciate it all.

We like to find original new ideas or twists on old favourites during our garden visits. At Holly Cottage we came across this wonderful example of high-rise living for plants.

As with any garden the plants are the stars and on a dull, wet cold day such as this these stars are needed even more. Holly Cottage’s plants did not let us down. They lifted our spirits out of the gloom.

Tags fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grown your own, meadows, organic gardening, shrubs, trees, wildlife

arboreta garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs photography trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

Betula at Bluebell

Back to Bluebell Arboretum for a look at their collection of my favourite trees, the Birches. Browse the photos below and you will see why.

Betulas are particularly popular at the moment because of an interest in coloured and textured bark. This is coupled with a surge of interest in the creation of winter gardens within major gardens open to the public, an interest influencing plantings in smaller private gardens. I thought a gallery of our favourites at Bluebell would show the amazing variations.