Category: gardens open to the public

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.

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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.

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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

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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

flowering bulbs garden design garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials Italian style gardens meadows ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs Piet Oudolf spring bulbs spring gardening Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith trees

A Garden in April – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 4, 2014
2 Comments on A Garden in April – Trentham

So here we are on our April visit to the gardens at Trentham, already the fourth in this series of posts looking at Trentham Gardens throughout the year.

We immediately notice that the fresh growth of Spring is well underway. The grasses in the River of Grasses are no longer brown and dead but putting on strong bright green growth. The herbaceous growth huddled in the grasses is looking vigorous with Trollius adding splashes of gold. Euphorbias look vibrant under the river of birches. Leaf buds are bursting on all the deciduous trees.

As we move into Piet Oudolf’s perennial prairie plantings some plants are well into growth where others have barely started. Thalictrum and Amsonias are looking particularly vibrant.

Leaving the Prairie area we immediately notice that the Hornbeam arbor has grown vigorously and is now looking like a big shaggy sheep. The bench is a great place to get a shaded, secret, quiet moment. The arbor looks like it could get up and walk away!

As you may remember from our earlier visits we move through grassed areas with shrub borders towards the Italian Garden, passing through an avenue of Hornbeam on the way. The tulips in this part of the garden are nothing short of startling! We are not sure at all of some of the colour combinations but they are definitely cheerful.

From here we take our usual look over Tom Stuart-Smith’s garden where bursts of colour mostly oranges and blues greet us. When we get closer we realise they are the colour is provided by Camassias and various Euphorbias.

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Let us now have a closer look at some of the individual plants of interest.

Firstly the strange Primula like flowers of Dalmera peltata looking like pink lollypops on tall sticks. The flowers come before there is any sign of the leaves and the flower stem appears out of the rizomes which sit right on the surface of the soil. The leaves when they do appear are equally dramatic – big circular leaves held right off the ground.

The flower shoots of Eremurus robustus, the Fox Tail Lily are appearing at the base of the whorl of leaves. These were the mystery leaves in last month’s visit. The grey-pink blooms of the Giant Red Deadnettle, Lamium orvala wrap themselves right up the stems between the leaf clusters.

The yellow pea flowers of the Thermopsis montana, variously known as False Lupin, Golden Pea, Revonpapu and so on, are just freshly out and blend nicely with the silvery green leaves.

As we leave the Tom Stuart-Smith gardens we notice, as we follow the gravel pathway to the display gardens, that the daffodils in colour on our last visit are still presenting a haze of yellow.

On our return journey through the garden we notice the newly emerging flower bud of this Allium, sitting like a table tennis ball in the centre of the three leaves. The fresh leaves on a deciduous tree stand out in sharp contrast to the dullness of its evergreen companion even in dull light.

Tulips adorn the Rose Walk where the roses are budding strongly. From here we can look back on the team of gardeners beavering away heads down in their waterproof jackets.

Looking through the rose pergola we can see the green growth in the River of Grasses. Alongside this path Corydalis is flowering at ground level whereas at a higher level the red leaves of the Acer manage to look cheerful in the rain.

So we leave Trentham in the rain yet again and look forward to our May visit when maybe we will see a little sunshine and a blue sky!

Tags foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, meadows, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees, Piet Oudolf, spring bulbs, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, trees, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials irises ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs spring bulbs trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

Three Winter Gardens – Part Two – Cambridge Botanic Gardens

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 16, 2014
1 Comment on Three Winter Gardens – Part Two – Cambridge Botanic Gardens

We had never been to Cambridge before. Lots of people told us it is just like Oxford its parallel university city. We decided to put things right and find out for ourselves so spent a few days there. One day we spent in the University Botanic Gardens where we were keen to explore the winter garden as we had heard good things about it.

We were pleased we decided to visit both Cambridge and its botanic garden as we enjoyed both immensely. The Botanic Garden was good enough to make us plan to return in different seasons. If a garden impresses in winter then it will at any time.

So for part two of my “Three Winter Gardens” we shine the spotlight on Cambridge. Look out for a post in the near future looking at the rest of the garden in winter too.

We knew we were in for a treat for within the first 20 yards of our walk after passing through the gate we were mystified by a couple of plants we did not know.

Luckily they were both labelled and I shall say what they are in my post about the gardens in general but first off to the Winter Garden. We were particularly keen to see this seasonal patch as it had been created in 1989 so now it is well established. Many gardens now boast winter borders or winter gardens and we have even created one on our allotment site in the communal areas, but these are mostly immature.

Trees and shrubs give the impact in any winter garden often as here at Cambridge they are birches and willows.

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We were particularly impressed with the use of ground cover, an aspect we have not used very well in our allotment version. We were to learn so much and go home full of enthusiasm to develop effective ground cover in our allotment’s winter garden. Ivies, periwinkles and hellebores added so much. We already use hellebores but not ivies and periwinkles but they present so many opportunities, with all the varieties in leaf colour, variegation and shape in ivies and flower colours in the periwinkles. Bergenias and grasses together worked well in other places, because of their unusual foliage colours and contrasting leaf shape.

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This was a very effective colour combination which in any other season probably wouldn’t have worked. Daphne mezereum and Forsythia Lynwood. Of course the daphne also provided that other essential of any winter border – sweet scent. The sweetest scent of all came from another Daphne, Jacquelin Postill.

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The coloured stems of coppiced and pollarded Cornus (dogwoods) and Salix (willows) have to star in any winter garden and they certainly did here along with Rubus.

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Two gems worth a special mention are the winter flowering iris and the wonderful leaves of Arum italicum marmoratum.

I shall finish with this photo looking back at the gently curving path through the winter border. The third of my winter garden visits will be to Anglesay Abbey, probably the best known and most polular of all the winter gardens in this country. We shall see if it deserves this accolade.

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Tags Cambridge, Cambridge Botanic Gardens, cornus, dogwoods, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, grasses, greenhouse gardening, shrubs, spring bulbs, trees, winter, winter gardens

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

Three Winter Gardens – Part One Dunham Massey

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 13, 2014

Every year we visit a winter garden but this year as a special treat to make up for such a wet, windy winter we decided to indulge ourselves by enjoying three. We aimed to visit Dunham Massey in Cheshire, Cambridge Botanic Garden and Anglesey Abbey.

The first was a National Trust property in Cheshire, Dunham Massey, a fairly recent addition to the new fashion of gardens designed to be at their best in the coldest time of the year.

When you approach the entrance to the winter garden here you pass an avenue of pleached trees with the most magical silhouettes. Years of heavy pruning has produced such interesting shapes.

We visited Dunham Massey a few years ago when the Winter Gardens were first opened so we entered with great anticipation. A couple of small mixed borders of winter interest give hints of what is to come. We remembered passing an open woodland area with native narcissi beneath the immature trees before being confronted by the two massed plantings of of Betula utilis “Doorenbos” one of the best white trunked birches. On one side of us the birches were in rows on the other they were planted randomly. What a sight it was like walking into mist. Snowdrops beneath white birches bring cheer to any cold day.

As in any winter garden scent plays an important role. Shrubs and bulbs team up to gently seduce the visitors with their various perfumes. Winter Honeysuckle, Viburnums, Cornus, Witch Hazels and Skimmias all have a part to play.

We were caught by surprise when we found this startlingly white sculpture amongst the shrubs and bulbs.

Other trees had bark to delight and catkins to enthrall.

Bulbs have to star in any winter garden and here they are planted en masse under trees and amongst shrubs.

At this time of year shadows are long and very noticeable features of any mature garden.

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Seed heads which have overwintered and survived to add interest now seem to attract the winter light. The best must be those found on various hydrangeas, with their dried flowers like parchment.

I shall finish this visit with a few general views of borders to help give a sense of the atmosphere created by the National Trust’s gardeners at Dunham Massey.

For our next winter garden we will be off to Cambridge where we will be taking a look at the University Botanic Garden.

Tags Cheshire, Dunham Massey, flowering shrubs, winter, winter garden, winter shrubs

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The Trees in Two Gardens

When we visit gardens I tend to concentrate on taking photographs of borders and flowering plants, and often ignore the wonderful silhouette of the trees.

So when we went to Dunham Massey and Trentham in February I concentrated on their trees so just sit back and enjoy my photos. A tribute to trees.

Firstly enjoy the trees of Dunham Massey.

And now to Trentham and its trees. The first photos show trees planted during the recent renovation of the garden and the latter photos the mature trees from the original parkland.

Tags betulas, birches, gardening, gardens open to the public, open gardens, parkland, Staffordshire, trees, Trentham Gardens

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The Survivor – Take One Tree

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 1, 2014
3 Comments on The Survivor – Take One Tree

Whilst on a garden visit recently to the National Trust’s Dunham Massey, we came across an ancient tree just about hanging on to life. There was very little left of the main trunk and what was left was hollow and had lost its bark.

One branch had found enough life there to grow out from one side and produced healthy looking growth. It gave the impression of a young tree growing on top of the remains of a dead one.

I tried a few of the pics in black and white to emphasise the textures.

Tags ancient trees, Cheshire, Dunham Massey, garden photography, National Trust, photographing plants, photography

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A Garden in February – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 26, 2014
5 Comments on A Garden in February – Trentham

As promised we made our promised return to the gardens at Trentham, near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, right on the edge of The Potteries.

The day promised good weather which would make a welcome change. On our last few visits to this garden we had been subjected to rain and often cold winds. For our February exploration the sky was blue and the car’s dashboard read out told us the temperature was 9 degrees. The aim of this return visit and indeed all the following monthly ones was to see how the garden had progressed, how things had changed, which plants were looking good and which ones were the stars.

As we passed over the gentle arch of the suspension bridge we could see the “River of Grasses” with the golden stubble of the grasses which had been trimmed down low. In contrast the close mown grass areas along the riverside were bright green decorated with strips of sparkling white snowdrops. I realise the life buoy is a safety requirement and realise it has to be red so that it is easily spotted in an emergency but it is really distracting!

As always the gently curving line of River Birches looked wonderful, with the bark peeling more than when we saw them in January. I liked the meandering line where the dried grass area joins the deep green foliage of the evergreen Euphorbia robbiae with pale green highlights created by their flowering bracts.

Once beyond the birches the perennial borders designed by Piet Oudolf looked very flat having been trimmed tight to the ground. This was in strong contrast to all the interesting seedheads and stems that decorated it in January. But with the clear view over the area we did spot this lovely wooden seat which we had totally missed in January. The bright green new growth of the Hemerocallis has progressed well since our January visit.

We enjoyed seeing that the rings of cyclamen were still flowering away happily beneath the Yews. They looked good in the sunshine, their colours seeming richer.

There was little change to be seen at the Hornbeam arbor but we did notice a few white sparkling Snowdrops around the base of their trunks. The trimmed box alongside is most noticeable at this time of year when such green sculptures become one of the stars of the garden. Some other stars of the Trentham gardens on this visit waited for us close by -Hellobores and Cyclamen in full colourful bloom. The Hellebores impressed with more than the colour range however, for they had really proud upright habit. They lit up the shade beneath an allee of Hornbeam.

Leaving the Hornbeam allee we entered the old Italian Garden, with its rigidly symmetrical patterns of short cut grass, white chipping and smartly trimmed box edging. The low winter light emphasised this structure. It is not our favourite part of the garden but we always admire the skill taken to keep it looking so neat.

From here we could look out across the huge Italian Garden, re-designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. Since our last visit the perennials and grasses have been neatly and closely cut ready for the new growth that is sitting just below the soil surface ready to burst out.

Then after walking through these borders in waiting, we went off into the parkland where mature trees tower above the grassed slopes. Under the trees sits the coffee shop where we stopped for our statutory break. Some slopes appeared a bluer green than others and we discovered that the leaves here were of daffodils already with flower buds fit to burst.

Near the coffee house are areas for children and it was noticeable how busy they were. When here in January this area was deserted but on this visit there were lots of families with young children. It was the school half term holiday.

On the lake the swan sculptures presented sharp silhouettes taking off over the water.

Over in the display gardens the low bright light made the colours in foliage, flowers, stem and bark look extra bright.

We returned through the Tom Stuart-Smith gardens and walked along the rose pergola. The gardeners were busy pruning the roses, weeding and freshening up the soil surface.

The shrub borders at the end of the rose pergola were showing signs of interesting things happening, the Witch Hazels were shining yellow and the scented but subtle winter flowering honeysuckle sitting along side it looked rather drab. So that finished our February visit to Trentham. The next blog in this monthly series will be in March. Things should be really livening up then.

Tags garden arches, garden photography, gardening, grasses, hellebores, Italian garden style, ornamental grasses, Tom Stuart-Smith, trees, Trentham Gardens, winter, winter cyclamen, winter gardening, winter gardens

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A Week of Culture – Part 2 – Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 8, 2014
4 Comments on A Week of Culture – Part 2 – Yorkshire Sculpture Park

At least once a year we go to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park so it was bound to be one of the venues on our cultural holiday. It is always a cold place and often wet and windy. We were bound to have rough weather as we were visiting in January during a particularly wet, windy winter. Thank goodness for the coffee shop which provided us several opportunities to warm back up. We arrived before it opened and became so absorbed in the special nature of this place that we left as the grounds were closing.

The four featured artists in early 2014 are Angie Lewin, Tom Price, Dennis Oppenheim and Awar Kanwatr, but as always there are resident pieces all around. Most of the pieces are sympathetically displayed around the grounds in the open grassland, under trees, alongside the lake and on grassed slopes. There is also a gallery where work can be displayed. It is a stunning building with galleries that provide beautiful display spaces. The first of the photos below show the building from the front whereas the second shows how it fits into the slope of the garden hidden by its green roof. All the lawn here is in fact the roof of the galleries.

The original red-bricked wall of the walled garden and its bothy are still here providing unusual display spaces. Alongside the wall we found these “sound benches” part of an exhibition of work by Amar Kanwar, a combination of film and installation.

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The Bothy Gallery itself featured some of the work of sculpture Tom Price. Small bronzes are here to enjoy close up and a huge 9 feet tall figure entitled “Network” was to be searched for in the grounds. I found his work fascinating so it was a wonderful experience being so close to his pieces and his subjects are contemporary people worked in the traditional medium of bronze.

We have enjoyed the work of some great artists here in the past, David Nash, Andy Goldsworthy etc and the artist we were primarily focusing on during this visit was Angie Lewin. We usually come here to look at the work of sculptors or land artists but Angie Lewin is an artist and designer who works in watercolours as well as prints using the techniques of a woodcut, lino cut, screen prints and lithography with much of her work being used as book or magazine illustrations. The natural world is her main stimulus especially skeletal seed heads against the sky. I love her work finding it fresh and lively as well as original. Enjoy this little montage of her work.

To be given the opportunity to view her sketchbooks was a delight and I was tempted to purchase a book of her work after seeing so many beautiful pieces.

But of course there was lots more to see, including a few pieces we seek out in the grounds on every visit. Works by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, James Turrell and Antony Gormley.

As we returned to the centre after enjoying our wander around the grounds we discovered another interesting and unexpected piece of work. Every space available is used to provide original and effective display galleries, in this case even a stairway. These little ceramic creatures in a piece called “Infestation” are the work of Anna Collette Hunt and provide great entertainment as you climb the stairs.

This day’s cultural visit was to be the first of two days at Wakefield. The following day we went in search of the Hepworth Wakefield Gallery within the city itself. These two venues are two out of the three that make up the “Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle”. After this cultural holiday we will just have the one of the three corners of the triangles left to see, the city of Leeds. This comprises the Leeds Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute. We will soon be planning a few more days away to discover what that venue has to offer. To find out more about the triangle of galleries visit ysculpture.co.uk.

To re-visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park when I share my favourite sculptors with you see my next blog in the “Week of Culture” series of posts.

Tags Angie Lewin, Barbara Hepworth, David Nash, Henry Moore, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Sculpture Park

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A Week of Culture – Part One – Hardwick Hall

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 6, 2014
4 Comments on A Week of Culture – Part One – Hardwick Hall

We spent a few cold January days up in Derbyshire and Yorkshire for a culture fix. It was extremely cold and occasional rain and hail storms lashed us but we did not give in. We bravely went onward defying whatever the weather threw at us and enjoyed every moment. Day one of our winter adventure found us stopping off in Derbyshire at Hardwick Hall for a spot of architecture appreciation.

Although the day was a memorable one, not all the memories were happy ones as my trusty friend my Nikon DSLR packed up and it did not allow me to focus or use flash so it is now being looked at in the camera hospital at Nikon UK. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. Isn’t it devastating when your camera goes awry? So all the pics following are taken on my Samsung Galaxy Phone, which does have a quality camera, thank goodness.

The grounds of Hardwick Hall , now under the auspices of the National Trust, is unusual in having two “big houses”. The newer hall was built in the late 1500’s by Bess of Hardwick, a powerful woman at a time when powerful women were few and far between. She wanted everyone to now how important she was hence the size of Hardwick. She features her initials all over the building including huge letters along the top of the building The letter E refers to her name Elizabeth and the S refers to Shrewsbury. She married George Talbot who was the Earl of Shrewsbury at the time making Bess Countess of Shrewsbury. No-one could have visited this place when she was there without knowing how powerful she was.

From the rear gardens we were able to appreciate close views of the heritage cattle, the Shorthorns.

The gardens are small but the parklands are impressive and extensive. A range of buildings once stable blocks, workers’ cottages and workshops have been lovingly restored and put to good use as holiday cottages, shop, restaurant etc.

Signs of a recent den building activity day for children were in evidence in the grassed area enclosed by the stable block buildings, as were wood sculptures celebrating the skills of the craftsmen who would have helped to maintain the grounds at Hardwick. The carvings were created from trees that had been felled due to disease. Even the tables and chairs in one of the buildings celebrated the work of the estate millers.

We were highly impressed by the “green credentials” of the building revamp and felt it needed celebrating. Well done to the National Trust! As well as excellent insulation there are several innovative ideas in action. Water collected from the roofs is used to flush toilets, solar panels on the roofs pre-heats water to be used in the kitchen, heat generated by the condensers of the fridges and freezers is collected and the boiler is of a bio-mass type.

The more formal gardens are enclosed areas snuggly fitted close to the house surrounded by tall hedges so that each area is a surprise to the visitor. Some beautiful coppicing work in “The Nuttery” was evidence of the skilled gardeners here now. The trees here are Hazels, their prunings providing brash stacks for wildlife shelters.

We discovered some beautifully and skillfully trained and pruned plants, a rose and some Yew which brought a smile to our faces. It was cold day so a smile was most welcome! Just after taking these photos the sky turned black with heavy storm clouds, the temperature dropped, the wind speed increased and we were attacked by a ferocious hail storm. We took shelter in the entrance to the hall where I took these photos some showing the wet glossy paths to illustrate how wet it was.

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After sheltering out the time of the storm we looked for architectural details of the building and discovered these gems.

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So let us have a look at a few shots of the “new” hall before we explore the old hall.

As we approached the old hall, which was the family home of Bess, our first view was in silhouette. As we moved around the building the detail revealed itself.

As we passed through the gateway we came across this piece of stonework. We had no idea what it was but were interested to find another set of Bess’ initials. You can just about see them if you look really carefully.

A close up look around the tall walls of the old hall showed how beautiful it must have been. It had a certain beauty even in decay.

We were drawn to the signs of old plaster work hanging on the inside walls.

Many old windows and doors had been filled in at various times and this resulted in what appeared as framed textured paintings. Beautiful!

As we walked away from the old hall I looked back and took this shot of it as the sky cleared and the sun returned.

As we returned to the car park the sun was setting behind the tall trees alongside the path showing just how long we had been discovering the delights of the old halls at Hardwick. We also came across this stone sculpture based on seeds found in the grounds.

We travelled further North and made our way out of Derbyshire into Yorkshire where we stayed a few days in Wakefield. Here we would experience more of our culture fixes.