Category: ornamental trees and shrubs

The Dingle Gardens Welshpool – January

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 21, 2018

Here we are back visiting our chosen garden each month, with our garden for 2018 being the attached garden at The Dingle Nurseries near Welshpool. This garden is of a totally different scale, atmosphere and style to Attingham Park, our garden for 2017. The garden is open every day of the year bar Christmas Day and on odd days the fees go to the National Garden Scheme.

The nursery is stocked with perennials, shrubs and trees but specialises mostly in the last two, and it is from here that we tend to buy our trees and shrubs. This is a nursery we are delighted to have on our dooorstep. As we move through the entrance we always enjoy the displays of plants with current interest and similarly plants for winter interest and displayed in the first few rows of plants.

So, here we are on the 14th January with our first visit to our new garden, arriving on a dull lightly overcast day. Having never visited before this deep into winter, we entered through the wooden gate green with algae and followed the gravel paths into the garden, not quite knowing what to expect. We enjoy surprises in the gardens we visit!

Evergreens both coniferous and broadleaves lined the paths and are planted in thoughtful groupings. In the first photo a dark, glossy leaved Pittosporum “Tom Thumb” sits comfortably with a Euphorbia, a Brachyglottis and a Hebe. In the second picture two conifers illustrate how different they can be in texture, colour and form.

Early in our wanderings we found this lovely rustic seat which is slowly being eroded away by the weather. Close by the seat glowed the pale green flowers of a Helleborus foetidus.

Hydrangeas appear throughout the garden in the autumn showing their colourful inflorescences in pinks, white and blues, while throughout the winter these colours fade to biscuits, gingers and ivory. In some flowers hints of blues and pinks remain.

Out of season flowers appear here and there on odd shrubs, on others leaf buds promise fresh growth in the spring while berries hang as remnants of their winter harvest.

When tree surgery work is carried out in the Dingle Garden logs are left as habitats for the many forms of wildlife that maintain a healthy ecosystem in the garden.

At the lowest point of the gardens a calm lake affords us a place to stop awhile to look around its banks. A bog garden at one end looks dull and dark at this time of year, with just the deep brown of dead leaves of Gunnera and Lysichiton americanus rising above the mud.

Recent heavy snowfall has caused damage to trees and shrubs, breaking branches of all sizes and crushing foliage. Strong winter winds have added to the damage.

To share more of my photos taken during our wandering and enjoyment of the gardens at the Dingle I have created the following gallery. Enjoy the pictures. The next visit to this garden will be in February.

Tags conifers, evergreens, gardens of Powys, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, Powis, Powys, shrubs and trees, The Dingle Welshpool, Welsh gardens, Welshpool

autumn autumn colours lakes lakes and reservoirs Land Art landscapes light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs sculpture Shropshire trees woodland woodlands

Lakeside Sculpture

Shropshire’s “lake district” is situated to the south of the North Shropshire town of Ellesmere, where several meres cluster together. We have known about the sculpture trail around the largest of the meres for a time but have only recently visited and explored the trail. We took advantage of the visit of my brother Graham and his wife Vicky, who love the same sorts of days out as we do, to go to find the trail.

It was worth the wait. We wandered slowly around the lakeside finding a wide variety of sculptural pieces. Once we had parked the car and had our usual coffee and cakes, we found a few pieces in a sloping field opposite. As we entered the park alongside the lake we were treated to views of the church through the trees.

The theme of the sculpture collection was the history and life of the market town of Ellesmere. The first large piece, large enough to explore inside in fact, was based on the barges that would have plied their trade on the nearby canal. The sculpture was created from steel with cut out features in places which gave light a chance to penetrate and play with shadows.

The lakeside parkland held collections of mature trees which cast long shadows across any open patches of grass. We periodically enjoyed glances of the wide expanses of the mere. As we followed the gravel pathway further around the lake we discovered varied sculptural pieces.

We failed to fully work out the meaning and context of the first piece we discovered on the lakeside, which resembled a relief decorated shield wrapped around a pole. We studied it for a while and discussed several possible ideas but eventually walked off still baffled!

This huge metal bee towered over us and beneath him was a stack of logs acting as its plinth. Each piece of wood was drilled with holes making each one a home for solitary bees.

Large morrainic boulders were positioned close to the lakeside and on closer inspection we discovered they were homes to a small groups of bronze pieces, mostly connected to the nunnery close to the mere and other town features.

Moving further into natural woodland and away from the parkland, we discovered a tree-house carved from a dead tree trunk and a beautiful tall, graceful shiny metal piece. pierced with a wide hole giving views over the sparkling water.

Our favourite piece of all was the furthest along the walk but well worth the wait. It was called SShhh and was simply this word carved out of a single piece of wood which stood a good 6 ft tall. It was beautifully positioned in a clearing where the ground was covered in fallen autumn leaves. It looked most impressive sat beneath tall Beech trees and their long sharp shadows! It was beautiful to touch and the light fell on its cracked surfaces creating sharp shadow-lines and increased the intensity of its textures. Enjoy following the photo sequence below taken as we walked closer and closer to SShhh.

Alongside SShhh we found long trunks of old fallen trees to sit and rest upon. A seat had been carved out of one leaving a perfect resting place. We enjoyed studying the fallen leaves, with varied colours and textures. After a short rest we made our way back to the town where further pieces of sculpture awaited discovery. Unfortunately when we got back the light was going so we decided to continue our exploration of the sculpture trail at a later date.

Tags Ellesmere, Lakes, meres, outdoor art, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, Shropshire Meres

garden arches garden design garden furniture garden garden arches garden paths garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden seat garden seating gardening gardens National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture pathways sculpture trees village gardens water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Ruthall Manor – well worth the wait.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 13, 2018
2 Comments on Ruthall Manor – well worth the wait.

We go for years intending to visit a garden but sometimes circumstances dictate otherwise. This is what happened with Ruthall Manor, a Shropshire Yellow Book Garden. After years we finally visited earlier this year in June. The wait was so worth while!

First impressions count for a lot when you visit a garden, and a good garden can quickly reveal its qualities and general level of care. Atmosphere, special places and surprises will reveal themselves later and more slowly. A good garden will keep on giving.

Ruthall Manor soon made us feel warmly welcomed and involved in the plantings and design. It had the added bonus of some original interesting sculptural pieces beautifully positioned within plantings or out on their own as centres of attention.

Pathways, arches and gateways encouraged us to explore further, around the next corner, through a hedge or border or into the next garden area.

I thought that the best way to share as many pieces of sculpture and artifacts as possible I would create this gallery for you to enjoy. The variety of pieces was so large that we just did not now what to expect around the next corner.

In the end of course good plants well chosen, cared for and partnered thoughtfully are what gives a garden its true quality.

So Ruthall Manor was certainly worth waiting so long to go and visit. What an enjoyable afternoon!

Tags garden arches, garden furniture, garden paths, garden sculpture, garden seating, gardens seats, National Garden Scheme, NGS, outdoor sculpture, Yellow Book, Yellow Book Gardens

autumn autumn colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public lakes National Garden Scheme NGS nurseries ornamental trees and shrubs Powis Powys shrubs trees Wales water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

The Dingle Gardens Month by Month 2018

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 5, 2018
2 Comments on The Dingle Gardens Month by Month 2018

My chosen garden f0r my monthly visits in 2018 is so much smaller than Attingham Park which we enjoyed throughout 2017. The Dingle is a Nursery just over the border into Wales situated on the edge of the market town of Welshpool. The garden is accessed through a little wooden gate in the bottom left corner of the nursery where a large selection of Acer shrubs are displayed for sale. It is a garden centred around a huge collection of shrubs and trees, many unusual, growing on a gentle slope down to a lake.

The garden like ours opens at times under the auspices of the National Garden Scheme, but opens every other day of the year bar Christmas Day. I have already featured the gardens four times in my past posts. Here are a few photos to give you a taste of what we might discover during the year.

I hope these few photos will give you an appetite for the 12 posts to come about The Dingle in 2018.

Tags gardens of Powys, gardens of Wales, Powis, Powys, shrubs, The Dingle Nurseries, The Dingle Welshpool, trees, trees and shrubs

climbing plants colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public half-hardy perennials hardy perennials meadows National Trust ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs poppies roses The National Trust

Packwood – one of the stars of the National Trust.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 31, 2017

We have held memberships of the National Trust for over 40 years and one of the first we took our two children to was Packwood Hall. Packwood is now a firm favourite and we made a visit again this year. The welcome sign describes Packwood as “a house to dream of, a garden to dream in”. We were only intending to look at the house from the outside and mainly intended to explore the garden in greater detail. Packwood is well known for its unusual collection of sundials.

The approach to Packwood is one of the most welcoming we have ever come across, passing through wildflower meadows and impressive gateways.

Once we had passed through a few of these gateways and archways we discovered colourful well-designed borders full of herbaceous perennials and roses. Much of the planting had been chosen to attract wildlife, predators and pollinators.

The gardens were well structured, divided into garden rooms with different characters and atmospheres in each. In one formal lawn area we came across a rectangular sunk garden built from limestone and its borders were planted with plants that enjoyed the dry well drained soil. These plants provided a strong contrast to the lush look of the rest of the gardens.

Lush planting was prevalent elsewhere throughout the garden making for an atmosphere of excitement. There were wonderful individual plants to be found as well as well designed borders.

A well-known aspect of the gardens at Packwood is its topiary, especially a group called the twelve apostles. Personally I found this part of Packwood rather dull but here are the photos I took to illustrate it. However I do have a soft spot for cloud pruning of hedges.

Tags cloud pruning, garden open to the public, garden wildlife, gardening for wildlife, gardens of the National Trust, half-hardy perennials, hardy perennials, herbaceous borders, herbaceous plants, meadows, Natiional Trust Gardens, Packwood Hall, roses, sunken garden, topiary., wildflower meadows, wildlife gardening

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

After the Storm – snow in December

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 16, 2017
3 Comments on After the Storm – snow in December

Mid-December saw the sudden arrival of snow a rare occurrence in recent years. The last time we can remember having any appreciable snow fall in December was back in 2010 and 2011. Sadly I am still recovering from my surgery so really haven’t been able to get out there and enjoy the white stuff. However it did give me the chance to send Jude the Undergardener out with my trusty Nikon, so this post will feature all her photographs.

They are pretty good for someone who says she can’t use a camera! Methinks the lady objects too much! Jude the Undergardener has such a good eye for a picture!

Seedheads of perennials gain caps of snow and ice, and light finds places to make sparkle.

Twiggy skeletons of shrubs that had lost their leaves managed to catch balls of snow in their branches.

Evergreen trees and shrubs gather much more snow and ice around them like thick duvets.

Sculptures scattered around the garden change as they absorb the snow.

Surprise flowers add tiny patches of colour among the whiteness, roses throwing up surprises through to the end of the year. Similarly the colours of fruits and berries pop up from the snow like “jack-in-the-box”, but this will only last until our winter thrushes consume them.

Structures that blend into the background for the rest of the year come to the fore when winter arrives but even more so when snow covers the garden in white. These structures include trained fruit trees, trellises, evergreen climbers and pollarded trees.

Looking out of the garden into our borrowed landscape showed that the countryside too had put on a new coat. Looking into the garden there are very special moments in time to catch. This leaf may at any time fall to the ground in a gentle breeze.

Tags berried shrubs, berries, December, light, light and shade, light quality, ornamental grasses, shrubs in winter, snow, the garden in December, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter gardens

autumn colours climbing plants colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens half-hardy perennials hardy perennials irises light light quality log piles logs natural pest control ornamental trees and shrubs roses Shrewsbury Shropshire shrubs South Shropshire spring bulbs succulents trees

My Garden Journal 2017 – November

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 7, 2017
2 Comments on My Garden Journal 2017 – November

The penultimate visit to my garden journal for 2017 is here – hope you enjoy it. I began by referring back to a development we started in the garden back in September which we finished off in November. We are very pleased with how it has turned out and look forward to seeing the new plants flourish.

“October continued with damaging winds and days with brown skies and orange sun as we received the effects f Hurricane Ophelia, downgraded to Storm Ophelia as it hit our shores. The last few weeks of October and the early days of November, saw us busy continuing develop our “Oil Tank Garden”.

“We screened the ugly tank with panels of beautiful diamond latticed panels and soon got on with the planting. Always the exciting bit!”

Over the page I continue to describe our development of this border and wrote “Behind the tank we have planted two trees, the Heptacodium mentioned in September and a stunning Sorbus called Joseph Rock with yellow berries in stark contrast to its deepest red autumn foliage.

“Hundreds of miniature daffodils were planted with crocus, Anemone blanda and other small bulbs.”

“A new solitary bee home was sited in the new garden. We gave it a miniature green roof!”

“We soon had a selection of climbers planted to clothe the trellis panels, Roses, Clematis, Honeysuckle and a Coronilla”.

“Behind the tank we planted for wildlife and hedgehogs in particular. We placed a nestbox for hedgehogs among dense planting of ferns and Euphorbias. We added stone piles, leaf piles and log piles.”

Turning over another page I featured some words by Dan Pearson and looked at some autumn flowering plants.

“Taking a look at Dan Pearson’s writings about Autumn in his “Natural Selections” book he wrote,

I want to invite the seasons into the garden, vividly and in layers. I use asters, autumn crocus and gentians at ground level, and shrubs that perform for this season to take the eye up and away, to straighten the back. I weave berrying trees and shrubs into the garden as much for their jewel-like fruit as for the birds which flock down to gorge when the fruit is ready for feasting upon.”

We aim to do exactly the same in our Avocet patch. Below are a few of our Asters which feature in our “Shrub Border”, a border that brings Autumn in.”

“Another herbaceous perennial that features strongly in our November garden are the Salvias. We leave a few to over-winter in the garden but most will be brought into the cool greenhouse.”

Turning over again I take a look at succulents, plants rarely mentioned in the context of the autumn garden.

“When considering Autumn colour, succulents are rarely mentioned, but just check out the photos below of some of our succulents taken in November“

Below are my paintings/drawings of two multi-coloured succulent stems which I created with water soluble pencil crayons.

“Taking succulent cuttings.”

“Final pots of succulents waiting to go into their winter home.”

The final page of my November entries in the Garden Journal celebrates my “Plant of the Month”, which is one of only two Irises native to the UK, Iris foetidissima.

The next visit to look at my Garden Journal in 2017 will be the last one for the year, December.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, clematis, climbing plants, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, NGS, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees, roses, salvias, shrubs, spring bulbs, succulents, trees, wildlife

architecture garden design garden designers garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials meadows National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture reflections sculpture Tom Stuart-Smith trees Uncategorized walled gardens water garden water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Cogshall Grange – a Cheshire garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 26, 2017
4 Comments on Cogshall Grange – a Cheshire garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith

Sometimes when you find a garden in the National Garden Scheme’s Yellow Book, you just know it is going to be a special place. Such was the case with the gardens at Cogshall Grange in Cheshire. The description in the book was so inviting and the reality matched it perfectly. It had been designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, one of our favourite garden designers and featured both formal and informal elements, woodland borders, a walled garden, modern herbaceous planting, wildflower meadows and an orchard, all set in the grounds of a Georgian country house.

Jude and I traveled up to Cheshire with friends Pete and Sherlie who also love the work of Tom S-S, so we all arrived full of anticipation.

As we moved from room to room in the garden discovering each feature the atmosphere and mood changed and we were constantly presented with fresh perspectives. This garden was a true garden experience.

We were really looking forward to seeing inside the walled garden which was where the influence of Tom Stuart-Smith was clearly to be seen, but of course we started with coffee and cake to get us in the mood. We discovered and enjoyed interesting small areas of planting as we made our way towards the walled garden, a delicately planted container, some beautifully pruned box and some varied, well chosen plant combinations.

Just as the garden was a careful amalgam of traditional parkland and modern perennial planting so the country house was a combination of old and modern architecture.

The walled garden was where the influence of Tom S-S could be seen and felt most strongly, with his very personal planting style and choice of plants mostly hardy perennials. The atmosphere was so gentle and calming. There was so much to photograph within its walls that the only way to do it any justice at all is through a gallery for you to peruse at your own pace. Please as usual click on the first shot and navigate using the arrows. I hope you can identify the very special feeling of this space.

We left the walled garden via a gateway which led us into gentle meadows of wildflower planting.

Walking back to the car to begin our homeward journey, we continued to make discoveries, some grassland had been cut to contrast with the longer uncut areas which were dotted with sculpture such as this beautiful stone seat.

This beautiful garden excelled!

Tags Cheshire, Cheshire gardens, clipped box, hardy perennials, herbaceous plants, meadows, new perennial gardening, perennials, plant combinations, Tom Stuart-Smith, topiary., walled garden, walled gardens, water feature, water gardening, water gardens, water in the garden, wildflower meadows

architecture Cheshire garden design garden paths garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden seat garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs trees

The Most Romantic Garden in England – Cholmondeley Castle

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 18, 2017

Many visitors believe that the gardens at Cholmondeley Castle are the most romantic in England, and after each visit we have made it is hard to disagree. Jude, the Undergardener and I visited in mid-September with a group of college friends, every one of whom loved it for its atmosphere. The “Cheshire’s Gardens 2017″ leaflet describe the gardens as “Romantic, beautiful and wild”.

The Cholmondeley family have lived on the site since 1200 but the castle we saw was built in the early 19th Century. Today the gardens feature the Folly Garden, a Lily Pond, a woodland area, as well as smaller borders such as the grass borders. The wide sweeping lawns encourage visitors to wander freely between the borders and enjoy long views.

As we walked these inviting paths, enjoying wide vistas and clumps of mature trees we stopped frequently when our eyes rested upon some fine planting, beautiful individual plants and imaginative groupings.

We had a great day at Cholmondeley Castle discovering what the romantic garden had to offer. It certainly did have a romantic atmosphere!

Tags acers., Cheshire, Cheshire gardens, Cholmondeley Castle, gardening, gardens open to the public, grasses, ornamental grasses, trees and shrubs

autumn autumn colours colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs roses Shrewsbury Shropshire shrubs village gardens

My Garden Journal 2017 – October

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 1, 2017
4 Comments on My Garden Journal 2017 – October

We can now look at what I wrote about, photographed and painted during October in my Garden Journal.

On the first page of my October Garden Journal I proposed a “fifth season” for us gardeners, a special one just for us gardeners, but unfortunately I have so far been unable to think up a suitable name. I have spoken to a few other gardeners about this and they understood exactly what I was talking about. See what you think!

“October, the tenth month of the year, but what season is it in? But before I even look at the appropriate season there is some already some confusion over the name October, which derives from the Latin “octo” meaning eight. October was indeed the eighth month in the Roman calendar.

So let me look at the seasons again and consider where October sits. Is it the end of summer, so we can say October is in “Late Summer” or is it the first month of Autumn so then we can identify October being in “Early Autumn”.

I believe that with the changes to our climate and the developments in garden design and the increases in plant availability at this cross-over period we need a fifth garden season, comprising just September and October. Whatever name we could label it by, it would definitely be my favourite season! As for a suitable name? Perhaps we could call it the “Indian Summer” …… unless someone comes up with a fresh name, a more expressive one!”

On the opposite page I chose a few pics to show the special feel of this new season and I wrote, Our Avocet patch looking special and full of atmosphere in its “5th Season”.

Over the page I continued to look at this time in the garden with its special colours in foliage and seed heads.

“Flowers colours are changing as plants begin to form seeds. The new colours are more subtle and perhaps even subdued, but the low light of this month gives them special qualities. Insects still search plants for the final diminishing supplies of nectar and perhaps a few drops of pollen.”

“The big show-stoppers of October though are the colours of fire and sunsets that appear as leaves lose their chlorophyl and allow new colours to take over.”

Turning over I move away from the garden in autumn and have a look at the changing fortunes of shrubs in our gardens.

“Shrubs are making a comeback in gardening and definitely in our garden. Over the last few years we have been adding many shrubs into our borders to add a layer of interest between trees and herbaceous planting. Garden centres stock only a limited range of common generally dull shrubs most of which have been around for decades. We are lucky to have two nurseries close to us just over the border into Wales close to the town of Welshpool. The Dingle and The Derwen just ten minutes drive apart are owned by the same family and specialise in trees and shrubs. They are our source of inspiring plants.”

“Some shrubs are grown for their dense foliage and growth habit which let us grow them as a hedge. We use our Buxus (Box) shrubs as a hedge we can shape in whatever form we want.”

“Other shrubs we grow for flowers and berries.”

“Clerodendron trichitoma fargesii, grown for its eccentric flowers and berries. Luma apiculata grown for variegated foliage, coloured stems and white scented flowers.”

“Hypericum are grown for stunning flowers and berries. Hypericum inodorum give us yellow flowers and all sorts of colours of berries.”

“Roses provide flowers, scent and hips. Mahonia Winter Sun shines with yellow scented flowers in autumn followed by purple-black berries in the winter.”

My next double page spread features the wonderful miniature shrub Ceratostigma plumbaginoides which I painted with my new set of Japanese brush pens.

I hope you enjoy looking at my paintings as much as I loved creating them.

I also chose Ceratostigma plumbaginoides as my plant of the month for October.

“Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is a colourful stalwart of the early autumn mixed border, albeit a little diminutive, growing to just 12 inches tall and 24 inches wide. This beauty is a sub-shrub which bears its rich blue blossom from July to November, and as autumn arrives its foliage turns from apple green to rich red.”

For the final page this month I take a look at white in the garden and wrote, “I have never been a fan of white in the garden be it furniture or flowers, but in October I see quite a few plants featuring white have crept in.”