Category: gardens open to the public

A Week in the Lake District – Part 3 – Hill Top

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 23, 2015
1 Comment on A Week in the Lake District – Part 3 – Hill Top

We were looking forward to visiting the Lakeland home of the children’s author and artist, Beatrix Potter and discovering more about her life. We already knew she was far more than just the author of the Peter Rabbit series of books. She was a farmer, conservationist and wildlife artist and generous donor of land to the National Trust.

We followed narrow lanes to the village of Near Sawrey and squeezed the car into a tiny car park and purchased our timed tickets. Hill Top is very popular but also tiny so the National Trust have instigated a timed ticket system. A short wander through the village and we walked through a gate to find a blackboard with a lovely welcoming message chalked on it.

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We walked up the long garden path towards the cottage itself.

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The front of Hill Top was swathed in scented, white flowered Wisteria which brightened up its drab grey finish. Borders of typical cottage garden plants sat on both sides of the front porch. The cottage was originally a farmhouse built in the 17th Century and bought by Beatrix in 1905 using the proceeds from her first published book, the one and only “Tales of Peter Rabbit. The cottage featured in her children’s books.

Photography was not allowed in the cottage itself but walking from room to room it felt as if we were seeing it just as if Beatrix Potter had just popped into the garden to cut some flowers. Letters she had written were awaiting an envelope on her writing bureau and drawings and paintings were sat on her desk. Furniture seen by thousands of children for over a hundred years in illustrations in her Peter Rabbit series of books were in every room.

We moved back outside into the sunshine and found the little vegetable garden well known as the garden of Mr MacGregor. Hazel bean poles and an old wheelbarrow and watering cans seemed so familiar.

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From the vegetable garden we gained great views of the cottage.

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We wandered back down the sloping garden path and enjoyed the cottage garden flowers with their bright colours and rich scents.

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When Beatrix Potter died she left 14 farms and their land plus sheep that grazed on it to the National Trust. Since then the National Trust have continued to purchase large areas of the Lake District which helps keep it such a beautiful place for all to enjoy.

Wherever you go in the Lake District you see Herdwick Sheep grazing in the fields from lowland fields to upland fell sides. Beatrix Potter helped prevent this local and specially adapted breed of sheep from becoming extinct. She was the first female President of the Herdwick Sheep Society.

After visiting Hill Top we wandered back through the village and in a front garden we noticed a scarecrow based on Mr MacGregor. The villagers are obviously proud of their most famous past resident.

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Tags Beatrix Potter, Cumbria, fruit and vegetable growing, National Trust, Tales of Peter Rabbit, The Lake District, The National Trust

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

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 flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials National Trust natural pest control ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Trust trees walled gardens

Croft Castle Month by Month – Part 4 – April

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 6, 2015
1 Comment on Croft Castle Month by Month – Part 4 – April

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It is already time for our fourth visit to the National Trust’s Herefordshire property, Croft Castle. On this visit the sun shone on us and we enjoyed a lovely warm spring day.

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The first noticeable change was that there was now life in the trees as buds were bursting and delicate bright green leaves were making their entrance.

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The ancient Sweet Chestnuts were beginning to show glossy ribbed fresh green foliage.

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Different wildflowers added colour to the little meadow area that we pass on our way to the walled garden, Lady’s Smock with the softest possible pink petals, white and purple Fritilleries and buttercup yellow Dandelions.

Beyond the meadow we passed through the gateway in the stone wall and got a glimpse of the castle and its chapel. We then walked along the deep long mixed border.

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We arrived expecting to see big changes in the walled garden itself and immediately we were struck by how lush green everything looked.

In the bothy we read the job list for the gardeners. The greenhouse had a surprise in store for us, these zingy orange Clivia flowers. I couldn’t resist taking a shot of the peeling paint on an old wooden seat.

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Although there was little sign of growth on the vines the Apples were showing their first blossoms and the Rhubarb plants were producing strong stems. The garden staff had already picked a large crop. In the Rose Garden Tulips provided bright patches of colour.

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In readiness for the next school holiday the staff had put out games from times past. Jude the Undergardener just couldn’t resist it!

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Close to the Hopscotch game our noses were attracted to the scent from the Wisteria flowers.

We loved this sign explaining why some grass was left uncut.

We discovered colour in every border in the walled garden, flowering bulbs and early shrubs.

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Next visit to the gardens at Croft Castle will be in May when Spring will be in”full swing”.

Tags Croft Castle., Herefordshire, National Trust, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, Sweet Chestnut, The National Trust

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Gardening Scheme" trees walled gardens water garden water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Yellow Book Gardens – 3 – Brobury House Gardens

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 1, 2015

For our third Yellow Book Garden visit we found another garden set in our neighbouring county of Herefordshire, so we drove down through the beautiful countryside of South Shropshire and North Herefordshire. It was a sunny day with a sparkling blue sky. Brobury House Gardens are open for much of the year but on the day of our visit they were open for the NGS Yellow Book Scheme. Their website was enticing so we arrived with high expectations. The garden was situated alongside the River Wye so we were looking forward to views of the Wye, probably the most picturesque river in England.

We began as usual with coffee and cake which was served in a beautiful conservatory with seating in and out. The view we enjoyed as we sat enjoying our refreshments increased our expectations. We were given a beautiful plan of the garden with some details of the garden and from this we learned that the garden was being redesigned and a lot of replanting had taken place.

As we approached the conservatory we spotted this beautiful blue Clematis and a nice barrow of plants for sale. From the conservatory we admired this beautiful, gnarled Mulberry tree reputed to have been planted by the naturalist and diarist the Rev Francis Kilvert. Close by, yellow tulips lit up the borders.

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Among the tulips we were pleased to see a Drimys showing its delicately scented yellow flowers. We have a couple of these evergreens in our Avocet garden but we have rarely seen them elsewhere.

From the pond, in the section of garden inspired by Lutyens, we got a wonderful view back to the house.

After the formality of the Lutyens styled garden we wandered down to the strongly contrasting stream and informal pools. Close by was a stand of mature white stemmed Birches, which glowed on this sunny afternoon.

As we followed the narrow stream of clear water we found a border of Hellebores under the shade of tall native deciduous trees. The stars of this border were the Hellebores with flowers the colour of Primroses.

The stream continued its short journey to the River Wye through beautifully planted bog gardens.

As we left the boggy areas we found a stand of Weeping Silver Pears covered in white blossom.

The stream beyond the boggy areas became narrower as it passed through sloping meadowland. Here our native Snakeshead Fritillaries graced its banks and among the purple flowers we discovered this white beauty with thin green lines on the outside of its petals.

Behind the coach house the walled kitchen garden has been renovated and redesigned. It still has peaches growing on the walls and the greenhouse range has been beautifully restored.

We were drawn by the varieties of Tulips in flower in this area, especially this stunning lily flowered orange bloom.

We had one border still to see, a long border against the wall below the house. Spring bulbs featured strongly here so it was a very colourful border.

And naturally we had a coffee before we made the journey home, this time we sat outside on the terrace as the weather had improved throughout our exploration of this interesting garden and the chill wind had lessened. We shall certainly recommend this garden to our friends.

Tags Brobury House, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, NGS, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, tulips, walled garden, water, water gardening, water in the garden, Yellow Book Gardens

garden design garden furniture garden photography garden seating gardens gardens open to the public

Are you Sitting Comfortably? – Part 5 of a very occasional series

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 25, 2015
1 Comment on Are you Sitting Comfortably? – Part 5 of a very occasional series

The time has come once again to share with you the latest collection of photographs of garden seats that we have discovered on our visits. This is the fifth in my very occasional series of posts.

The first selection were all found during our visits to Croft Castle in Herefordshire.

This batch of seats all live in the Bishop’s Garden in the grounds of Wells Cathedral in Somerset.

We remain in the South West of England for our next set. In the grounds of the Painswick Rococo Garden we found traditional garden seats of stone, wood and iron in the main gardens but much more rustic seating in the area set aside as a nature reserve.

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I think I can just squeeze in this little blue job from Dunham Massey in Cheshire.

And that is it for the fifth post in my very occasional series about garden seating. One day in the future number six will appear but who knows when? Perhaps when I have found enough interesting seats to sit on that are worth sharing with you.

Tags garden furniture, garden seating, garden seats

flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden buildings garden wildlife gardening gardens gardens open to the public grow your own hardy perennials National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Trust trees

Croft Castle month by month – part three – March

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 9, 2015
3 Comments on Croft Castle month by month – part three – March

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So back we went for the third of our monthly visits to the Herefordshire property of theNational Trust, Croft Castle where we had a wander to see what had changed since our visit in February. As usual we began our tour by checking out that the coffee and cakes were still up to our high expectations! To get there we walked past the parkland which features the ancient Sweet Chestnuts. These old trees were still showing no signs of spring, their buds tightly closed.

Suitably refreshed we cut through a meadow area on our way to the walled garden, and in that meadow little patches of colour shone out, white Wood Anemones, the purple of Fritilleries and the yellows of Celandines and Dandelions. Amongst these the patterned leaves of Arum Italicum, our native Arum Lily clothed the ground. Fritilleries although dramatic flowers with purple chequerboard patterned petals were remarkably difficult to make out among the grass.

The long, deep mixed border was showing colour too, mostly primulas and bulbs.

We walked quickly along the long border trying to avoid the biting wind and reach the protection of the walled garden. When we caught the first glimpse of the doorway into the walled garden we were amazed to see that the little section of cobbled path the gardeners had recently discovered had now been exposed and restored right across the lawned area.

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Passing through the little doorway you can see in the photo below at the right hand end of the wall gave welcome relief. There was no wind within the walls and the temperature was so much warmer. It made the day feel comfortable to wander in so we slowed down and took time to look.

The long border beneath the wall had a scattering of blooms such as these Pulmonaria and Muscari and the buds on a few of the shrubs were beginning to burst. The vineyard however was still deep in its state of hibernation.

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As usual we were tempted to go through the blue gates into the working heart of the walled garden. We discovered a newly created fruit garden and close by a Rhubarb plant waited patiently to take its place.

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In the greenhouse plants had been potted up ready to be sold later in the season, including this array of Pulmonarias.

Back out in the main walled garden we found more Rhubarb and this looked well on its way to being ready for harvesting. There were signs of spring everywhere in the protected environment within the wall, fresh greens and reds of newly burst buds on willows and roses.

We noticed as we wandered around the comfortable grassed paths that whenever we caught a glimpse of the garden buildings they seemed to be framed by trees and hedges.

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Leaving the walled garden behind we followed cobbled patterned paths beneath old fruit trees underplanted with Primroses and Daffodils.

The enclosed courtyard garden was full of the contrasting colours of Primroses and Chionodoxa. A cheerful sight!

We seemed to be at Croft on a day when many volunteer gardeners were working on site. They seemed to be enjoying their work and their time was punctuated with laughter and chatter.

Bees, hoverflies and a few butterflies were out enjoying the early spring sunshine and a little unexpected warmth.

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Our next visit will be in April when we expect to see Spring in full swing.

Tags bees, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, National Trust, ornamental trees, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, The National Trust

Cheshire colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public light light quality National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs spring bulbs The National Trust trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

Winter Wonderland at Dunham Massey – part two

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 5, 2015
1 Comment on Winter Wonderland at Dunham Massey – part two

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Welcome back to the National Trust property Dunham Massey in Cheshire where earlier this year we enjoyed our annual exploration of their wonderful Winter Gardens. No winter flowering plant can have more presence than Cornus mas, the Cornellian Cherry.

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Better known perhaps are the Witch Hazels with their flowers of yellow, orange and red which glow like fire in the slightest brightness of the winter sun.

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Deep inside their brightest of ribbons of petals deep secrets hide, revealed only when the petals fall.

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In part one of this two part visit to Dunham Massey I shared with you my love of the biscuits and browns, the last of life from the previous seasons. Now I will share some more beautiful details in close up, using a close-up attachment on my Nikon. It really brings out the importance of structure and the richness hidden in these modest colours.

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Amazingly exactly the same colours are there to be found in the bark of a winter garden’s trees.

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On some old flowerheads from last year, especially the Hydrangeas, the dominant colour is bone white which does look good too!

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As we wandered around the Winter Garden paths which meander among the borders we kept getting glimpses of a shrub which looked to be still in its Autumn coat. We couldn’t get close enough to see what it was so before leaving we sought it out and discovered it to be a Mahonia of the japonica/bealii type but we were not sure which one and it wasn’t labeled. Below is the photo I took to show its bright “autumn” colours against the intense dark greens of surrounding evergreens.

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Naturally I must finish off this double dose of winter beauty where I began, singing the praises of white barked birches! Singing their praises through the lens of my camera!

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Tags betula, betulas, birches, Cheshire, Cheshire gardens, cornellian cherry, cornus mas, Hydrangeas, National Trust, The National Trust, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter gardens, witch hazels

Cheshire colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardens gardens open to the public irises light light quality National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs spring bulbs The National Trust trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

Winter Wonderland at Dunham Massey – part one

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 4, 2015

We are in the habit of visiting the gardens of the National Trust property, Dunham Massey, especially since their Winter Garden has matured. We tend to visit in February. This year we made our annual pilgrimage on a sunny, mild day right at the end of the month.

The new visitors centre of glass and wood gives a fresh new welcome and these beautiful etchings in the glass feature throughout. They set the atmosphere to prepare you for the wonderful winter garden.

On the walk to the garden we passed this dead tree now cut down and the wood used to create a wildlife habitat. Brilliant idea!

As soon as we had taken our first steps in the garden we could see what we could expect, with this border of coloured stemmed shrubs, Cornus “Midwinter fire” and Rubus thibeticanus against a background of ilex crenata and a mixture of conifers.

A few paces further on and the large numbers of white stemmed birches, Betula utilis “Dorenbos” appeared like a ghostly forest, with a carpet of Snowdrops adding to the atmosphere. You must know by now how much I love Betulas so you can imagine how planting them on this scale impresses me deeply. They enticed me to try out my new wide angle attachment on the Nikon. Not too sure about the vignetting on this one though!

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There was much more than white coloured plants to look at! And some lovingly selected plant partners.

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Not all the trees here in the winter garden were Birch either, there was plenty of room for others like this Prunus serrula and Acer griseum.

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As in any well-designed winter planting coloured stems are very potent, especially Cornus and Salix.

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But of course there were plenty of flowering plants to give us colour in the gloomiest of months, flowering bulbs, shrubs and even a few perennials.

In some areas we stopped to appreciate the beauty of an individual plant or even a single bloom but in others it was the sheer mass of planting that impressed.

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Other fresh growth provided interest without any colour other than browns and biscuits.

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Of course it is more natural to think of these lovely warm biscuits and browns when we consider the growth that was green or brightly coloured last year. And I love these colours when they are a result of decay and age as much as any other colour in the garden. Enjoy this little collage of brown and biscuit!