Category: hardy perennials

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

climbing plants colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens hardy perennials irises light National Garden Scheme ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire trees Yellow Book Gardens

My Garden Journal – May

May has now finished so it is time to present my entries for that month in my Garden Journal. Gardening was totally at the behest of the weather, which was to say disappointing.

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As usual my first page for the month of May included my chosen quotation from Jenny Joseph’s little book “Led by the Nose – A Garden of Smells”. Concerning May she wrote, “I breathe in the warm pleasant air and think “Ah, heavenly summer” and the next day I have retreated to my living-room, lit my boiler again, shut the windows and returned to winter. May can indeed be a complicating month.”

I wrote, “Indeed here in Plealey, May has been a complicated month. The weather forecasters have been wrong every day. When they predict a cool 14 C we get a lovely warm 19 C. However for our May garden open day they predicted rain and we got it! But a few hardy souls turned up!

Many visitors to our garden are amazed by our Judas Tree, Cercis siliquastrum. Early in the month its buds are beautiful in colour and shape.”

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I moved on to write “May is the month that our Irises come out to play, to show off their colourful, wonderfully shaped flowers and glow whenever the sun makes an appearance. The palest colours always come first.

Turn over the page and we find my first watercolour painting and the return to the Judas Tree.

My painting is of one of our favourite grass-like plants, a rush called Luzula nivea. A real challenge to express its subtlety in paints. I wrote “In amongst the bright colours of May little subtle plants can amaze us.”

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Concerning the Judas Tree, Cercis siliquastrum, I wrote “By the middle of the month, our Judas Tree is in full bloom.” A selection of photos followed.

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Over the page I wrote “May has been a cold, wet month so most disappointing for us gardeners and lovers of wildlife. Birds, Hoverflies and Butterflies have hardly put in an appearance. One patch of surprise colour came as one of the many May showers came to an end. A multi-coloured arch in the sky.”

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Alongside the page about the rainbow was a second page about our Irises, where I wrote “By the end of the month our more extravagently coloured Bearded Irises are giving vibrant explosions of colour in the Beth Chatto border.” Below these words was my second painting for May depicting one of our more brightly coloured Irises.

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My final entry for my Garden Journal in May was a little gallery of photos.

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To see larger images click the first thumbnail photo and use the arrows to negotiate through the gallery. Enjoy!

Tags bearded iris, garden photography, gardening, gardens in May, iris, irises, May, NGS, ornamental trees, Shropshire, Yellow Book, Yellow Book Gardens

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

flowering bulbs garden photography gardening hardy perennials National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs Shrewsbury Shropshire shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Gardening Scheme" Yellow Book Gardens

What our visitors saw! Our first NGS open Day of 2015

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 21, 2015
2 Comments on What our visitors saw! Our first NGS open Day of 2015

This year we are opening our garden five times, once each month from April to August so that visitors can see it develop as the year progresses. Our first opening was on 15th April, a sunny warm day so we were pretty busy. This blog is a wander around our Avocet garden with my camera just before our visitors arrived. Enjoy a wander with me.

Our next opening will be in May when the garden will look very different.

Tags National Garden Scheme, NGS, spring, spring garden, 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

flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardens hardy perennials light National Garden Scheme ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire South Shropshire spring bulbs spring gardening succulents The National Gardening Scheme" trees water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Yellow Book Gardens 2 – Radnor Cottage

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 23, 2015
5 Comments on Yellow Book Gardens 2 – Radnor Cottage

Our second visit to an NGS Yellow Book garden for 2015 was just a few days after the first of the year to Bury Court Farmhouse, and was to a garden in South Shropshire near to the village of Clun.

Radnor Cottage sits on a steep hillside with broad views over the countryside. We visited on a bright sunny day with temperatures in the upper teens and this surprising Spring weather brought out lots of garden visitors.

We hadn’t been to Radnor Cottage for many years so really couldn’t remember what to expect. The garden owners described it as a semi-wild woodland garden so the plants of this season looked good in their setting. As we walked slowly up the steep gravel driveway we spotted wetland areas to our right and a mini-arboretum to our left, but we passed these by in search of the sign indicating “TEAS”.

While fetching the teas I spotted this bright yellow leaved Berberis which we were pleased to see looked so fresh and lively as we have just planted one in our front garden in the Hot Garden. We enjoyed our tea and cake sat among a vast array of containers planted up with Sempervivums and other cushion alpines.

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I have a soft spot for Celandines so I just had to stop for a close look at this double form.

We began our tour of the garden meandering up a steep slope with typical Spring planting among the close cut grass. We liked the juxtaposition of the formal box balls and the gentle naturalistic planting on the grassed bank. William Robinson would have enjoyed this garden! Species Tulips, Anemones, Muscari and other spring bulbs were to be discovered from the narrow gravel paths.

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We found a little veggie patch hidden behind a beech hedge.

We then moved back down the drive to explore the wet area with a series of pools beneath old trees. Banks of daffodils flanked the grass paths. These grass paths appeared as we rounded corners presenting a choice of ways to go each time.

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Leaving the wetland we crossed the gravel drive and entered the mini-arboretum. Buds were bursting and bark glowing in the sunshine.

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Apart from the fact that it was on a steeply sloping hillside, we could not remember the garden at Radnor Cottage at all, so it was just as if we were visiting it for the first time.

Tags Clun, fruit and vegetable growing, ornamental trees, Shropshire, South Shropshire, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, succulents, water gardening, water in the garden

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardens grow your own hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Gardening Scheme" trees Yellow Book Gardens

Yellow Book Gardens 1 – Bury Court Farmhouse

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 20, 2015
2 Comments on Yellow Book Gardens 1 – Bury Court Farmhouse

Our first National Garden Scheme’s Yellow Book garden of 2015 was to Bury Court Farmhouse in the Herefordshire village of Wigmore. We always look forward to our visits to other gardens which open to the public under the auspices of the NGS because of course we open for the Yellow Book too. We were particularly keen to see what other gardens looked like in April as our first opening this year is on 16th April.

To celebrate our first NGS garden of the year the sun came out and the temperature shot up to 17 degrees way above anything we have so far experienced in 2015. We drove down through the beautiful Shropshire Hills and into Herefordshire a county with such beautiful villages among beautiful countryside. We were directed into a rough grassed car park riddled with muddy puddles. We had to seek out a space for our car among dead farm machinery slowly decaying and being taken over by Mother Nature. A cheerful welcome awaited us at the garden gate. Spot the horse shoe hanging from the NGS sign.

We passed through a five barred gate into a courtyard with narrow borders around its perimeter and a rectangular bed in the centre all planted with cheerful spring bulbs and early flowering perennials and shrubs. Hyacinths, Vincas, Celandines, Doffodils and Tulips.

We were amused by the owl family and the bird bath.

The garden boasted a small productive patch with leeks and broad beans already growing well and cloches warming up soil for future crops. A lawned area alongside was bordered by a tall hedge which allowed woodland plants to grow in its shade.

At the front of the house was a large sunny lawn with island beds full of brightly coloured spring flowering plants. Primroses, Primulas and bulbs especially Hyacinths and Narcissi.

This beautiful bronze statue of a hare was basking in the sunshine among blue Anemones.

The borders around this sunny lawn were truly mixed borders with herbaceous planting, shrubs and trees giving interest at every level.

Right in the centre of this lawned area was a clue to the original use of the imposing stone built building in the centre of the garden. It had originally been a farm growing apples to make cider. The photos below show the mill stone that would have been used to crush the cider apples. Ponies were used to pull the stones around a groove.

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So our first Yellow Book garden of 2015 was certainly worth a visit with its cheerful planting and it served very nice tea and cakes!

Tags daffodils, Hereford, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, National Garden Scheme, NGS, ornamental trees, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, succulents, water gardens, water in the garden

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

birds colours flowering bulbs garden wildlife gardening gardens hardy perennials light light quality Shropshire spring gardening

My Garden Journal – March

As we entered the month of March we looked forward to increased temperatures both during the daytime and at night .We thought with luck the danger of frosts would be diminishing, although this year we have had few to talk of and none deep enough to cause many problems.

So let’s have a look at my Garden Journal for the month of March.

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“Early in March we treated ourselves to two new Hellebore hybrids to add to our dozens already adding colour to our borders”

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One displays simple single deepest red flowers and the other pale green petals edged with a picotee fringe in deep plum and in the centre a similarly coloured collar of petals. Let’s look at the simpler one first.

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In complete contrast the “colarette” Hellebore shows so much more colour and variation.

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Pleased as we were with our new purchases we were even more pleased to find a chance seedling Hellebore which has sneaked its way into our Rill Garden. The problem is that it has settled in tight into the base of the stone wall of our raised pool. “We were also surprised to discover a beautiful new self-crossed hybrid in the Rill Garden. Each petal is a subtle combination of blush pinks and pale greens, its centre the deepest yellow.” It really needs moving out to replant it where it can be appreciated properly. This photo shows it in its chosen home. We love it for its subtle combination of pink and green with delicate spots, and of course for choosing our garden to grow in. What do you think of it?

My journal moves on to look at the first tulip of the year, this beautiful species one with such unusual colour combinations within its petals. “Our first tulip is out, a beautiful deep red-blue colour. Each bloom is so delicate it seems the gentlest breeze will disperse its petals.”

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I reveled in the challenge of representing its flower, shaped like the flame of a candle, in watercolours with pen and ink detailing. I had great fun mixing so many tints of blues and reds together and even brought in a touches of green.

The bird life at Avocet starred next in my journal. “Wrens and Robins are becoming dominant in the garden. Robins are developing territorial traits resulting in chasing and flouncing. The nimble Wren hunts in every nook, crack and cranny for insects, spiders and their eggs. They still roost together in the pouches we have, scattered throughout our garden. Soon they will be considering them as potential nesting places.” It will be interesting to observe the changes in behaviour and attitudes towards each other when this change of emphasis occurs.

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I quoted a further passage from Jenny Joseph, “March is certainly coming in like a lion – a roaring beast. After the gale had torn wider and wider the covering to the sky to let the blue in, it was a bright sunny enticing outside world.” In my journal I wrote “But for us here in Shropshire we have had no strong winds at all, just sunny days alternating with cloudy damp days and cold nights.” But March was to prove these words to be dreadfully premature, for as the month was preparing the way for April to follow in its footsteps we did indeed get gales lasting several days and taking us into April. This strange atypical weather isn’t helping the garden, and definitely not helping us as we prepare for our first opening for the year on 16th April. I noted this in the journal, “This is confusing the garden. It doesn’t know which way to turn. Plants are behind where they should be. Few Tulips or Daffs have displayed their blooms. Leaves on the Acers are showing little inclination to burst from their buds.”

As my journal closes for March we are preparing for our April opening and we could do with some help from the weather and from Mother Nature herself! We can only wait as spectators and see what April brings with it.