Category: gardening

A Week in Cornwall – The Eden Project – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 16, 2019
1 Comment on A Week in Cornwall – The Eden Project – Part 2

I promised to return with this post from the Eden Project in Cornwall continuing just as we were about to enter the Mediterannean Zone. I have to admit I prefer this dome to the Tropical Zone, but I can’t explain why. It simply feels more comfortable.

The structure of the dome reflects the framework supporting these vines.

It was the plants that flowered so full of colour that made this dome so exciting.

Arid plantings contrasted strongly with the brighter Med plantings, and it is the structure and texture of the arid plants that made them so attractive.

I will finish this look at the Eden Project biomes with a couple of photos of some lively sculpture.

In a future Cornwall holiday post I will share our visit to the other Tim Smitt project, The Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Tags arid planting, Cornwall, Eden Project, gardens of Cornwall, mediterranean plants, Tim Smitt

architecture buildings garden buildings garden design garden paths garden photography garden seat garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture

A week in Cornwall – Part 2 – The Eden Project

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 10, 2019
1 Comment on A week in Cornwall – Part 2 – The Eden Project

It had been years since we last visited the Eden Project, so we were excited to return when we holidayed in Cornwall in the Autumn of 2018. We knew that there would have been so much development in that time. When we did visit again during our week’s holiday in Cornwall, the project had developed almost beyond belief. The first view of the domes from the top paths is always stunning and most inviting. The domes were the brainchild of founder Tim Smitt and designed by architect Nicholas Grimshaw.

The walkway down to the main feature, the project’s domes, was early in its development when we last visited so we were amazed at how interesting it was on our return visit. Here is a taster of what we saw as we descended down to the domes.

The first dome is the rain forest zone, where plants that we see more often as house plants grow healthy and tall, flowering and fruiting as in the wild. Exploring the dome takes you right up to the top of the building which affords great views. Wandering back down gives us as much interest to enjoy as on the climb up. Exploring this dome is quite an experience!

After exploring the tropical dome we had a break for refreshments, coffee and cakes as usual and then moved along the corridor leading to the Mediterranean Zone. That is the subject of the next post.

Tags Cornwall, Eden Project, gardens of Cornwall, greenhouses, tropical plants

garden arches garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture village gardens

A Week in Cornwall – Part 1 – Poppy’s Cottage Garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 7, 2019

We had a week in Cornwall September last year so here is a series all about our explorations ans wanderings.

Early on in our week away in Cornwall we set out to visit a little garden in the middle of the countryside, Poppy’s Cottage Garden. After a difficult year of weather the garden showed a little wear and tear, as did gardens everywhere.

Poppy had designed and created a garden that entices visitors to explore and wander, corners to look around, archways to pass through and seats to rest upon and absorb the atmosphere.

However strange seasons are and how muddled up plants must become they seem to not only survive but even produce flowers.

The garden, like most cottage styled patches was attractive to wildlife adding a further level of interest. Added movement, sounds and colours.

Every cottage garden needs a piece of sculpture or two, serious or humourous.

We enjoyed the plant combinations which are a strong feature of this little garden. The other planned garden visits were for much bigger gardens.

Tags Cornwall, cottage gardens, gardens of Cornwall, Poppy's Cottage Garden

colours garden design garden paths garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials light light quality National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs The National Trust trees Wales water garden water in the garden woodland woodlands

A quick visit to Bodnant Gardens – mid-May

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 5, 2019
1 Comment on A quick visit to Bodnant Gardens – mid-May

Instead of my usual series of posts where we visit the same garden every month of the year, we have decided to look at two gardens one large and one small. This is because it is impossible to find another good garden that is open all year and easy to get to.

For the big garden we have chosen the National Trust’s Bodnant Garden in North Wales which we shall look at over the seasons and for the small garden we have chosen Wildgoose Garden and Nursery closer to home here in Shropshire which we shall visit each month during its open season.

To start this series I am going to look back at a visit we made to Bodnant back in May 2018 to give an idea of its beauty.

A final day out on our Anglesey holiday was to visit the gardens at Bodnant just slightly inland from the North Wales coast. It is a garden we have visited and enjoyed many times before and at all times of the year. The one strength of the garden is that is has so many different faces to be discovered and enjoyed.

In recent years a rectangular border alongside a tall stone wall has changed completely becoming a hot border, full of flowers and foliage the colours of fire. On a sunny day they really light up.

Directly opposite and in complete contrast is a formal area of low trimmed hedges holding together borders of tulips.

The Winter Garden at Bodnant is one of the best in the UK, and although superb in its special season, the winter, it is still an interesting garden in the summer.

The narrow gravel paths take us into the shady areas beneath mature deciduous trees. Bluebells added a blue mist to the rich green grassed areas.

What many visits make the journey to Bodnant for are the bright clashing colours of rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. We however are not great fans of these acid loving bloomers, but here are a few shots for those who do.

An area of Bodnant gardens we have rarely reached over the years because of my mobility problems is the deep steep-sided valley with tall trees towering over a beautiful sparkling stream which meanders along its length. After recent surgery I can now manage to get down to this magical dingle. The magical atmosphere is created by the huge trees that tower above visitors who wander the gravel paths along the valley running close to a clear mountain stream, and on the banks beautiful bog and water loving plants grow happily. Primulas, hostas, ferns and Skunk Cabbage add colour and texture to the scene.

No doubt it won’t be long before this great garden is featured in another of my greenbenchramblings posts as we usually wander around its Winter Garden early in the year.

Tags ancient trees, Bodnant Garden, gardens of the National Trust, gardens of Wales, hot border, hot garden, National Trust, National Trust Gardens, rhododendrons, stream garden, streams, The National Trust, trees and shrubs, winter gardens

garden arches garden design garden paths garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public pathways

Garden Entrances and Archways – No 6 in a very occasional series

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 24, 2019

This is the sixth post in this very occasional series concerning gardens entrances and archways. So here are photos taken over the last few months of these important design elements of gardens large and small.

Firstly here are some entrances we discovered at Batsford Arboretum in the autumn, on a dull showery day. The red bridge certainly added a burst of colour and invited visitors to cross over its boards and discover planting on the fare side. The friendly black wrought iron gateway lead visitors into an orcharda area as an alternative to following the main driveway.

The three pics below show how steps can provide entrances to invite the visitor to wander and see what is at their tops. The first photo is in our own Avocet garden while the second is at Gregynog an NGS Yellow Book garden in Powys. The third flight of steps are wooden and lead the wanderer up through dense woodland shrub and tree plantings.

Sunningdale, an NGS Shropshire garden near Wem, a market town north of Shrewsbury was a garden designed to make you explore and the several entrances and archways there excouraged the visitor to make choices and discover different parts of the town garden.

More pictures now from Gregynog, another NGS garden, this time a woodland garden with several different facets as seen in the photos below.

Down in Cornwall for a September holiday last year we found plenty of interesting entrances and archways in the varied gardens we visited. Firstly we visited Poppy’s Cottage Garden. The first picture below shows its rather odd entrance from the road.

Then we explored a strange garden to find in Cornwall, The Cornish Japanese Garden.

The gardens at The Eden Project gave plenty of varied places to enjoy.

Back closer in home here are a few photos from Hergest Croft Gardens

Here are three mystery photos for which my memory has let me down. I simply can’t remember where I took them!

The last pair of pics feature a beautiful gate at the Picton Garden near the Malverns, the garden that holds a National Collection of Asters. The gate leads you on a journey into beautiful mixed borders studded with masses of Asters. The secong pic features an archway from our very own Avocet patchwhich is designed to entice visitors to follow the central path and take the many inviting sideways paths.

Tags garden arches, garden gates, gateways, pergolas

garden design garden paths garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials Herefordshire indoor plants ornamental trees and shrubs pelargoniums trees

Return to the gardens at Hergest Croft

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 15, 2019
1 Comment on Return to the gardens at Hergest Croft

We always enjoy returning to visit and explore gardens we have loved discovering before. Hergest Croft gardens are one of our favourite places to visit and we have visited at several different times of year. In 2018 we made a journey down into Herefordshire in the middle of September for an early autumn/late summer visit. The building itself is a beautiful “arts and crafts” style villa of brick with features and details to give it a special look. The driveside provides a good place to house plants for sale particularly trees and shubs propagated from the garden’s specimens and some interesting herbaceuos plants. Alongside the entrance is a stunning glasshouse that matches the main house wonderfully and it is here that we begin each visit, after of course coffee and cakes in the tea room. This tea room has a special extra, a lovely outdoor seating space, a covered veranda.

Beneath the veranda we enjoyed looking at a border of dahlias and over the top of the border to the borders surrounding the lawn. Here we spotted the first of a series of artworks created on slates, very delicate botanic drawings.

More plants for sale grace the walkway along the side of the house, again interesting plants propagated on site from their own plant material.

We next moved into the glasshouse where we always enjoy perusing the delicate plants flowering away happily. Let me share this little gallery with you. Please click on the first pic then use arrows to navigate.

Here is a selection of the photos I snapped as we wandered around Hergest Croft gardens, which helps to illustrate how varied the garden is and what a wide selection of plants are grown there. There is a huge collection of rare and unusual trees here including several “Champion Trees” which guaranteed plenty of interest as we wandered the pathways.

There is just so much at Hergest Croft it is hard to do it justice, but I shall finish with a few selected photos of the many I took to help give a taste of this wonderful Herefordshire garden.

Tags gardens of Herefordshire, gardens open to the public, hardy perennials, Herefordshire, Hergest Croft, trees and shrubs

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses Shrewsbury Shropshire South Shropshire Winter Gardening winter gardens

My Garden Journal 2019 – January

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 4, 2019

Back with my new journal for a new year, my Garden Journal 2019. January is often described a s a quiet month in the garden and gardeners are often told to keep inside in the warm, order seeds from catalogues, clean their sheds and sharpen bladed tools and clean up all tools. But in reality a good garden is a good garden for 12 months of the year and a good gardener keeps his bladed tools sharp continously, all his tools are cared for througout the year and there is plenty to look at and enjoy in the garden and plenty of interest to be found in plants.

I begin my January journal entries with the words, “What is in flower in our Avocet patch early in January? A quick wander around on a calm, dry day with camera in hand provides the answer. I thought I wouls be out in the garden for 10 minutes or so but there was so much t lok at that it was three times longer.”

I shared a set of 8 photos showing “Violas, Cyclamen, members of the Primula family and even an adventurous Rose.”

I then went onwards with my camera into the greenhouse which is not yet heated at all, so we are simply keeping things ticking over. Soon we will put heat on and the heated propagating bench in readiness for the exciting task of seed sowing. I wrote, “The greenhouse is a busy place in the winter full to overflowing with over-wintering sensitive plants, autumn seedlings ticking over and cuttingstaken late in the year.”

Examples of these sorts of plants are shown in the set of photos, including seedling Achilleas, Fuschia thalia and Sedum Matrona cuttings.

On the opposite page I looked at some of our many grasses that shine in January and shared a set of pics. “Grasses come into their own in January both deciduous and evergreen. Carex are exceptionally valuable winter grasses.”

Carex elata aurea Carex elata aurea

Calamagrostis “Northwood” Miscanthus sinensis Carex “Evergold”

Carex elata “Evergold” Uncinia rubra Carex “Frosted Curls”

Carex elata “Bowles Gold” Anemalanthe lessoniana

Calamostris brachytricha Carex buchanii

On the following double page spread I moved on to look at some of our berries and foliage plants giving interest in January. On the first page I wrote, “Throughout the winter birds especially members of the Thrush family enjoy gorging on the berries on our trees and shrubs. We grow berrying plants for the birds to eat as well as for our own visual feast. By January a few are still left over.”

Guelder Rose Mahonia “Winter Sun”

Honeysuckle berries Malus “Admiration”

Native Holly Iris foetidissima

Cotoneaster Libertia

Sarcococa confusa

We can now look at the opposite page and consider some of our interesting foliage, where I wrote, “In January interesting foliage catches the eye, variegation, dusting with silver, glaucous or ruby coloured.”

Eucalyptus parvula Rhamnus aureomarginata Eleagnus ebbingei

Coprosmia “Pacific Night” Pinus mugo “Mumpitz”

Hedera helix “Long Trail Yellow” Hebe

Budleja “Lochinch” Euphorbia lathyris

Over the page I wanted to share the disaster we had with our old fence that backed our Seaside Garden. I wrote, “I shall now report on the progress we have made with our winter projects and look at work in progress too. You will not be surprised that strong winds broke down the fence panels backing the Seaside Garden so this area neededa complete renovation. The old fence was soon replaced jointly with our neighbours and the new, better quality fence presented opportunities to put up vine eyes and wires. We planned to plant plenty of new climbers as well as renew and replenish the other plants and artefacts. We decided to include more plants this time.”

The new fence ………………….

The trellis goes back up and the vine eyes and wires are being fixed up.

The climbers are planted ……………. and grasses soon join them.

To finish the month of January off, we can have a quick look at what the finished revamped seaside garden ended looking like, ready for the growing season ahead.

I wrote, “We had great fun rebuilding the Seaside Garden despite cold temperatures made more severe by the icy cold winds. So, wrapped up well against this typical January weather we put up old fishing nets from Scotland, sea-washed driftwood from Devon and Anglesey plus shells and pebbles.”

“Avian des res!”

“House Sparrows”

“Titmice”

“Wrens”

“Meanwhile we continued to change the 3 beds around the back grass into a new hot garden. Sadly we messed up the grass so had to also prepare this for repair. We have now finished planting the new plants and repaired the grass area ready for seeding in March.”

So there we have my entries for January in my 2019 garden journal.

Tags climbers, climbing plants, cyclamen, flwering bulbs, grasses, seaside border, seaside garden, spring bulbs, spring flowers

architecture fruit and veg garden arches garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public kitchen gardens ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture roses sculpture village gardens

Our Short Break in Stratford -on-Avon – Part 3 – Anne Hathaway’s cottage and garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 31, 2019
1 Comment on Our Short Break in Stratford -on-Avon – Part 3 – Anne Hathaway’s cottage and garden

Anne Hathaway was Shakepeare’s wife and her cottage and garden are probably one of the best known tourist destinations in England, so we were pleased to be visiting in mid-week when we hpoed it might be a little quieter. Luckily we arrived just ahead of a party of schoolgirls, excited, boisterous and noisy.

Visitors were allowed into the cottage in small groups each of which received an introductory talk from a knowledgeable guide. Her chat prepared us well for our visit. We had a wandewr around the cottage interior although really we wnated be outside exploring the cottage style garden.

This set of photos give you the sense of the cottage’s beauty, intimacy and atmosphere. Beautiful gable windows pierce the tiled roof while climbing and scented plants snuggle up to its walls. The gardens are both productive and ornamental, with vegetable patches, fruit production and orchards as well as meadows and mixed borders. A beautiful woven “moongate” adds interest alongside many other sculptural pieces.

To help share our experiences at the Anne Hathaway cottage and garden I will use a gallery of shots taken during our exploration of the cottage interior, the garden and the grounds further afield. Enjoy by clicking on the first photo then navigate with the arrows.

Tags Anne Hathaway, Anne Hathaway's Cottage, cottage gardens, fruit and vegetable growing, productive gardening, Shakespeare, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire

autumn autumn colours garden design garden paths garden photography garden ponds gardening gardens hardy perennials National Garden Scheme natural pest control nurseries ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture Shropshire shrubs town gardens trees Yellow Book Gardens

Another NGS Yellow Book Shropshire Garden – Sunningdale

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 21, 2019
4 Comments on Another NGS Yellow Book Shropshire Garden – Sunningdale

I would like now to look back to the summer gone to share some visits and re-visits to other National Garden Scheme (NGS) gardens from a town garden to a huge old garden in North Wales.

The garden at Sunningdale is a half acre town garden in the north Shropshire market town of Wem. Friends had recommended the garden to us so as the garden opening season is coming to an end we decided to make the half hour journey northward up the A49.

We received a warm and very cheerful welcome as we took a path through an open gateway, which took us around the side of the house to reveal a garden that invites visitors to wander. We discovered some interesting bits and pieces on our way around the side of the villa. Plus of course some exciting colours from flowering plants.

This delicate tall elegant yellow flowered plant was unknown to us and luckily labelled, Dendromecon rigida, the Poppy Tree. What a treat it always is to discover new plants.

Interesting pruning techniques and styles by the owners had breathed new life into otherwise rather dull conifers. Conifers are carved into recesses for seats or entranceways to another part of the garden, or simply to frame a piece of sculpture.

These solid conifers have been carefully trimmed in a way that implies almost drawing with shears. Beautiful!

To share the rest of this lovely garden I shall finish of with a gallery which follows our wanderings discovering so many different aspects of the garden. Enjoy by simply clicking on the first photo then navigating using the arrows.

Tags cloud pruning, garden ponds, garden pools, NGS, NGS gardens, pergola, topiary., town gardens, water in the garden, Yellow Book Gardens

colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture Shrewsbury Shropshire trees

My Garden Journal 2018 – December

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 18, 2019
1 Comment on My Garden Journal 2018 – December

Here we are with the final visit to my Garden Journal 2018, as we discover what has been going on at out Avocet patch in December. It has been a year of difficult weather for us gardeners with freezing winds, a wet spring followed by a drought in the summer. It has been a bit of a trial really encouraging things to grow and struggling to get new plants established. But of course none of this spoilt our enjoyment of our garden and gardening itself.

I began my entries for December by writing, “December arrived on the scene feeling milder but certainly not brighter than November. Thankfully the winds were gentle and had turned from the cold air carrying Easterlies to the warmer, wetter Westerlies. The winter sun sends low rays of light that capture the colours and textures of our trees especially Betulas and Prunus serrula.” I then featured photographs of our Prunus serrula and some of our Betulas.

Over the page I moved on to look at our ferns and then small shrubs with many coloured foliage.

I wrote, “Ferns are so useful in the garden mostly in places of shade or partial shade. In December they still look fresh and vibrant. A few though show browning of leaf edges and some die right down turning a rich gingery-brown.” Then I shared a selection of photos of some of our ferns.

On the opposite page it was our small shrubs that sport interesting foliage that featured. We have only recently started using low growing shrubs for their foliage as we are discovering how much interest they can add to a border when flowers are lacking. I wrote, “Winter is the season when evergreen broadleaved shrubs come to the fore, leaf surfaces get glossier, colours darken and extra colour appears especially pinks, creams and rubies. Here is a selection of shrubs we have just bought especially for their foliage, although some will also flower and fruit.”

Turning over the page we can see glaucous foliage being featured. I wrote, “As the last leaves fall from our deciduous trees and shrubs, we can appreciate their skeletal shapes. At the same time evergreens come to the centre stage. But I am going to show our evergreys in my December journal entries.”

Here is a selection of photos of some of our many glaucous foliaged plants, a climber, some shrubs and some herbaceous perennials.

One of our recent plant discoveries that we have been absolutely deilghted with is Coronilla glauca Citrina, a wonderful shrub that we grow as a climber on the trellis around our oil tank. In my journal I wrote, “Coronilla glauca Citrina is an underated winter flowering shrub with glaucous foliage and citrous coloured pea-like scented flowers. Grey and lemon together is a beautiful partnership. Equally underated are all the members of the Cotoneaster family.”

And here are a few of our many Cotoneasters, a family of shrubs we have grown in every garden we have ever had.

Turning over once more we discover two pages concerning our ongoing garden projects whch we started in the autumn.

We were forced by circumstances to rebuild our Seaside Garden when gale force winter winds broke the fence behind it. With our next door neighbours we soon got new ones back up. Seeing every negative happening as an opportunity we saw this new longer fence as a great place for interesting climbers and we decided to start the Seaside Border all over again. So at the end of the month we got started, but there is lots more to keep us occupied through part of January. I wrote, “Strong December winds destroyed a section of fence, the one backing the Seaside Garden. To repair it we had to strip out the area, plants and artefacts, but this did afford us the opportunity of refurbishing it.”

Here are some of the new plants waiting to go into the “new” Seaside Garden to join those we saved.

On the opposite page I talk about carrying on with our other editing jobs that we started in the autumn. I wrote, “As December draws to a close and the holiday times approach we take advantage of any dry days to catch up with our projects, new steps for the Chicken Garden, planting hundreds of bulbs and replanting the Hot Garden in its new position.”

And so to the last page of my 2018 Garden Journal, when I wrote, “December ended frost free. Sunshine caught special features of plants while raindrops hung on leaves, twigs and sculptures.”