Category: National Trust

A Walk in the Park – Attingham Park May

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 29, 2017
1 Comment on A Walk in the Park – Attingham Park May

Spring is slowly turning into summer as we enjoy our monthly visit to our local National Trust property, Attingham Park. The walks are getting busier, the volunteers in the walled garden even busier.

Continuing our through the woodland we were attracted to a bright patch of colour beneath the tall mature trees, which turned out to be a clutch of Rhododendrons.

This bright yellow variety, Rhododendron luteum was beautiful with the hints of salmon orange, had the added interest of a rich sweet scent, which could be appreciated from metres away.

Throughout the woodland we discovered signs of wildlife living there.

Wildflowers decorated the grassy patches beneath the trees and alongside the tracks.

I shall finish my report of our May visit to Attingham Park with a gallery for you to enjoy. Click on the first photo and navigate with the arrows.

Tags fruit and veg growing, fruit and vegetable growing, kitchen gardens, National Trust, The National Trust, trained fruit, walled garden, walled gardens, woodland garden

flowering bulbs garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public National Trust Shrewsbury Shropshire spring bulbs

Camassias – subtle springtime beauties.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 5, 2017
1 Comment on Camassias – subtle springtime beauties.

When we visit the walled garden at Attingham Park in early summer, we enjoy looking at their collection of the beautiful bulbs, Camassias. The ones usually seen are mid-blue and few varieties are made available via the garden centre trade. When we discovered the collection being built up at Attingham in part of the walled garden we were so pleased to see so much variety.

The Camassias were as popular with the bees, both wild and domesticated, as they were with us. We enjoyed spending time watching them moving from flower to flower in search of pollen and nectar.

Below is a gallery of the photos I took of this wonderful collection of these valuable early flowering garden bulbs at Attingham. Please enjoy by clicking on the first photograph and then navigating by clicking the right arrow.

Tags bulbs, cammasia, spring, spring bulbs

colours flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens gardens open to the public grow your own hardy perennials irises kitchen gardens National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs Shrewsbury Shropshire shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Trust trees walled gardens walled kitchen gardens woodland woodlands

A Walk in the Park – Attingham Park April – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 28, 2017

In this, the second part of April’s report of our wanderings around Attingham Park, I want to feature the flowers of the park , the wildflowers living in the woodland and the cultivated flowers in the borders and walled garden. I will also share pics of the fresh growth of the bursting buds on the trees and shrubs.

Most new leaves that had burst from buds on trees were the brightest of green imaginable.

Some buds had opened to reveal more colours than simply green, they glowed with hints of bronze, browns and purples.

Fresh growth on evergreen trees and shrubs were also bright green, on both conifers and broadleaves.

Beneath the trees and shrubs ferns revealed their leaves in such a beautiful way, unfurling from a tight spiral like slowly unwinding springs. As their shapes change so do the textures.

We found so many plants flowering on our April wanders that the best way to share them with you and illustrate the huge variety so early in the year is by presenting my photographs as a gallery. Please enjoy by clicking on the first photo then navigate by clicking the right arrow.

We will return in May when summer will be in full swing!

Tags Attingham Park, flowering shrubs, gardens in May, gardens of the National Trust, kitchen gardens, May, National Trust, rhododendron, rhododendrons, spring blossom, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, the garden in May, The National Trust, tulips, walled garden, wild flowers

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

A Walk in the Park – Attingham Park April – Part 1

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 24, 2017
2 Comments on A Walk in the Park – Attingham Park April – Part 1

We managed to find a day close to the end of April to make our monthly visit to Attingham Park. It was a bright warm day so we knew we would have much to look forward to. As we made our way beneath tall mature trees full of noisy nesting Jackdaws and Rooks we were joined by grandparents carrying out their grandchildren caring duties so the sounds at our level were of laughing youngsters enjoying being outdoors.

There was so much to enjoy, wildflowers in full vibrant colour, fresh green leaf burst in the trees and busy productive growing in the walled garden.

The old Head Gardener’s cottage garden provided a colourful welcome to the park’s visitors.

Enjoy a wander through the walled garden by exploring the gallery below. (Click on the first pic and navigate through clicking on the right arrow.)

We left the walled garden to follow the One Mile Walk, which would take us close to the river and afford us views of the woodland and pastureland beyond. It is a quiet but popular walk. Most visitors here enjoy the peace and the chance to be part of nature.

Bluebells gave clouds of deep blue, a haze of calm and beauty.

The pale colours of fresh willow foliage gave a ghostly feeling to this section of the walk.

Rhododendrons provided surprise splashes of colour in the shadows of the tallest of trees.

Towards the end of our wanderings for our April visit to Attingham Park, the deciduous trees with their bright fresh new foliage and bursting buds gave way to dark needled coniferous evergreens. Their large cones looked like a family of young Little Owls.

In part two of our report on our April visit to Attingham Park I will share with the the pleasure of finding flowers, wild and cultivated, on our wanderings and some pics of fresh foliage growth.

Tags Attingham Park, bluebells, fruit and veg growing, gardens of Shropshire, gardens of the National Trust, kitchen gardens, National Trust, productive gardening, Shropshire, Shropshire gardens, spring blossom, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, The National Trust, walled garden, walled gardens

flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden buildings garden photography garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public half-hardy perennials hardy perennials Herefordshire kitchen gardens National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Trust trees walled gardens walled kitchen gardens woodland

The Weir – a riverside spring garden.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 15, 2017
1 Comment on The Weir – a riverside spring garden.

We took friends and fellow garden lovers, Pete and Sherlie, to visit a garden just a few miles south of Hereford which we have previously visited in spring, the time when it peaks. We knew our friends would love it too! It is a National Trust garden and is a long and narrow garden because of its riverside position.

As we got out of the car the spring bulbs greeted us and set the scene for the discoveries to come.

We followed a path half way up the valley side overlooking the river, and here early flowering bulbs covered the slopes.

All visitors including us were amazed by the delicate pale blue flowers of Scilla italica.

A variety of trees and shrubs cast gentle shade over the valley side.

Please enjoy the rest of our wanderings along the pathways of this valleyside garden, by looking at my gallery. Just click on the first photo and navigate by using the arrows.

It is always a bonus when visiting a garden to find rare and unusual plants. Here at the Weir we enjoyed discovering Lathraea squamaria, Tooth Wort, (photo on left), a parasite living on the roots of woody plants and spending most of its time underground and Trachystemon orientalis with the unusual common name “Abraham-Isaac-Jacob” (on the right)

The finale to our visit was to explore the walled garden which was in the process of being renovated. We looked forward to seeing what progress had been made. As it turned out we soon noticed the restored glasshouse, long herbaceous borders planted up and productive borders were being prepared for sowing by volunteers. The walled garden has a great future ahead of it and visitors to the valleyside will enjoy discovering the walled garden as much as the main valleyside gardens.

Tags daffodils, flowering bulbs, flowering shrubs, gardens of the National Trust, Herefordshire gardens, Natiional Trust Gardens, National Trust, spring, spring bulbs, spring garden, walled garden, walled gardens

autumn autumn colours colours garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs photography The National Trust Wales

Bodnant Garden – The Valley Sides

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 9, 2017
1 Comment on Bodnant Garden – The Valley Sides

Back here at the wonderful Welsh gardens at Bodnant, we will finish our little series of 3 posts as we take you down the path that contains the colourful collection of Acers and then drops down into the steep sided valley to follow the clear, fast stream.

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We were disappointed to find that the grass paths that we have in the past followed to seek out and enjoy the bright fiery colours of Acers at Bodnant, was blocked off to protect the worn out grass. We did find a way to see the Acer Glade from an alternative track so we couldn’t get up as close and personal. They were still great though!

We shall share our adventures exploring “The Dell”, the deep valley cut by the powerful stream, the Afon Hiraethlyn by creating a gallery of photos shared in the order taken.

That is it for our visit to the National trust property in North Wales, Bodnant Gardens. Perhaps we can do it all over again in a different season and see what we can find then.

Tags acers., autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, autumn leaves, dingle, garden in autumn, gardens of the National Trust, gardens of Wales, Natiional Trust Gardens, National Trust, North Wales, stream garden, The National Trust, valley garden, valleys, Wales

colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public half-hardy perennials hardy perennials National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs The National Trust trees Wales

Bodnant Garden – an autumnal walk around a great garden.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 8, 2017
1 Comment on Bodnant Garden – an autumnal walk around a great garden.

In the first post about our day visit to the Bodnant Gardens not far inland from the coast of North Wales we looked at the special magical nature of the low November sunlight. But there was a lot more for us to enjoy as we explored in a different direction than we usually take as autumn repair work on the grass paths and lawns prevented us following where our footsteps normally tread. This of course paved the way for new discoveries and fresh views.

The plant that we got really excited about was this beautiful deciduous Euonymus dripping with a full crop of berries which in turn were dripping with fine droplets of rain. Euonymus alata “Compactus” bravely combines the darkest possible ruby red almost purple fruits from which burst bright tangerine orange seeds and it looked wonderful. The younger berrying branches sported bright green coats in strong contrast to the older wood, coloured brown and strongly winged with corky ridges giving the whole bush an extravagant look. It also boasts fiery red foliage in the autumn and strangely its weakest point are the flowers which are small and a rather insignificant green in colour.

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This exciting shrub had a lot of competition where catching the eyes of the visitors was concerned.

We love making new discoveries and on this visit to Bodnant we came across some fruit on a shrub which we could not remember having ever seen before and had no idea what it could be, with its tiny acorn-like fruits in two shades of orange. It looked if it would appear a rather dull evergreen shrub for most of the year but it must have flowers at some time which I would guess would be white.

Back to our explorations! So, moving away from the Winter Garden, Jude and I followed gravel tracks which crunched beneath our feet, the sounds of which softened only where we had carpets of fallen leaves to paddle through. We moved into more open areas where we could appreciate views of large specimen trees in the distance as well as beautifully textured and coloured perennials right under our noses.

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Trees in November show off their strong networks of boughs, and judicious pruning of the lower leaves by skilled garden staff add extra power.

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It wasn’t all foliage and tree trunk texture though, there were still late flowering perennials shining through contrasting strongly with the colours of autumn.

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Tags Bodnant, Bodnant Garden, gardens of the National Trust, gardens of Wales, Natiional Trust Gardens, North Wales, The National Trust, Wales

flowering bulbs garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens gardens open to the public National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs photography Shrewsbury Shropshire shrubs spring bulbs The National Trust trees water in the garden winter gardens woodland woodlands

A Walk in the Park – Attingham Park – The Woodland Walk

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 5, 2017
3 Comments on A Walk in the Park – Attingham Park – The Woodland Walk

Back to our March visit to Attingham Park when we decided to take the Woodland Walk Trail.

As we left the walled garden clumps of the clearest yellow daffodils lit up shadows beneath shrubbery.

We were anticipating expanding buds on some shrubs and trees and maybe a few in early leaf. We both love the sticky, brittle toffee coloured buds which are early to burst. Other buds shone bright green!

We soon encountered signs of the work of Storm Doris, a huge mature tree had been ripped from the ground. We imagined how frightening the sounds of the tree being torn and wrenched from the ground must have been. The gardeners had been hard at work tidying up the mess of her destruction.

Places that usually look boggy looked much wetter on this visit with tiny ditches and streams full of water and flowing into larger areas of clear standing water with wetland plants looking full of life and thriving.

We passed beneath mature deciduous trees as we followed the woodland trail. On the ground beneath them the bright green freshness of this year’s herbaceous growth shone out. But an even brighter red patch caught our attention, a small group of fungi.

We came out into the open, which appeared much brighter as as we left the trees behind, and made our way back across the deer park back towards the house.

A bridge took us over the river which was flowing quickly in a light flood. Weeping willow branches were being swept along and the water was lapping at the feet of a row of elderly pollarded willows. The pollards looked so sculptural.

Next month’s visit to Attingham Park should feature more signs of spring becoming established.

Tags gardens of the National Trust, National Trust, The National Trust, wetland, wetland habitat, woodland, woodland gardening, woodland gardens

autumn autumn colours buildings colours garden buildings garden design garden photography garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public National Trust The National Trust Wales

Are you sitting comfortably? Part 11 of a very occasional series.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 29, 2017
2 Comments on Are you sitting comfortably? Part 11 of a very occasional series.

Here we are back with a new selection of interesting and unusual garden seats, our 11th collection.

To start with I will share with you a selection of garden seats we discovered in the wonderful huge gardens at Bodnant, a National Trust Property in North Wales and then move on to another of their properties but this time much nearer home in the West Midlands, Hanbury Hall. All these seats were discovered within a week in November. We hope you enjoy the selection we have chosen for you.

Bodnant Garden

These three simple slate benches are beautifully placed matching their background of strata slate layers and the grey stone paving. They look very different whether they are wet or dry. They are pale greys when dry but much darker and glossier when wet. Their chunky design fits their place so well.

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Inside the garden we wandered through the new Winter Garden and down towards the dingle, a wooded steep valley with a stream running through it. All the seats were quite ordinary designs manufactured from wood, including one that is reminiscent of an Edwin Lutzen’s design, but they were made special by their placements either raised up, surrounded by harmonious plantings and all giving beautiful views across the garden. These view points allowed us to look at close up garden plantings, larger borders or even long views along the valley or over tree tops.

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These last two pics show seating deeper in wooded areas and illustrate how well seats sit in their environment when manufactured in the natural material of the place itself. Special secretive seating where birdsong shares the space with you.

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Hanbury Hall

Again the seats at Hanbury were often very simple and ordinaary in design but they are situated in very special places, special buildings, within special planting.

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So we have shared with you our selection of garden seats that we enjoyed in November. We hope you enjoyed sharing them with us. We enjoyed trying most of them out!

Tags Bodnant, Bodnant Garden, garden seating, garden seats, Hanbury Hall, Natiional Trust Gardens, National Trust, North Wales, Welsh gardens

log piles logs National Trust outdoor sculpture The National Trust trees woodland woodlands

Tree Trunks at Attingham

On our monthly wanders through the parkland at Attingham Park, the closest National Trust property to us here in Plealey, we spot many dead trees left standing to benefit wildlife, insects and birds in particular. But we simply enj0y their shapes as they decay and the textures created as fungi and small creatures eat them and erode them away.

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We came across a pair of old diseased beech trees both of which had been worked on by tree surgeons. One looked as if it had been made safe to be left for the wildlife of the woods but the other treated in a manner that would save it for years to come.

When we went closer to look at this stump of an old rotting tree we noticed that someone who has passed before us had added a few pieces of wood creating a piece of outdoor sculpture. A surprise for us and other visitors lucky enough to spot it. And a little humour!

Trees that have to be felled when they are in a dangerous place are felled, cut into logs which are stacked to create log piles for wildilfe.

The slow decay and death of trees keeps the woodland changing for ever. They support many forms of wildlife before rotting away beneath the power of fungi to return to the woodland floor adding nutrients and humus to the soil.