Category: outdoor sculpture

A Week in the Lake District – Part One – Sizergh

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 10, 2015
1 Comment on A Week in the Lake District – Part One – Sizergh

We decided that it was about time we re-visited one of our favourite family holiday destinations from when our children were youngsters, the Lake District. So a week in early June saw us journeying northwards to re-find some old haunts.

The first place we visited was the National Trust property, Sizergh Castle, right at the southern end of the lakes, in an area described as the “gateway to the Lakes”. The National Trust is very much in evidence in this area owning many properties as well as lakes, hillsides, fells and farms. The Lake district was central to the Trust’s early development.

Sizergh Castle is a Medieval house with gardens, orchards, limestone pasture and semi-natural woodland. The garden features fern collections, a kitchen garden, a pond, lake and its main feature a massive rock garden.

We soon realised that this was going to be a place full of interesting plants which also looked after its wildlife.

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The little wooden sign clearly showed us the way!

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We followed the little wooden sign on a stone wall directing us to the garden and made our way towards the kitchen garden. On the way we stumbled across the “stumpery” where the garden’s fern collections are being re-homed. The variety of ferns was vast and we spotted many we had never seen before.

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The walls in the fernery and walled garden were home to so many different tiny plants as well as just ferns. We were soon to discover that this was a feature of the walls throughout the gardens.

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The kitchen garden was on a gentle slope and based on a strange shape somewhat like a long bent rectangle! The old wooden cold frames were still fully in use. We were fascinated by the raised hot beds where plants grew in soil covering heaped manure. This gave heat and later as it broke down fertility and structure to the soil.

Within the kitchen garden we found a small patch of multi-coloured Forget-me-Nots. We found lots more throughout the gardens.

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From the kitchen garden we wandered into the orchard with its bee hives, buzzing with activity. Beyond the orchard we came across a small lake. In the borders on the lake side were beautifully sculptural pollarded willows. They looked like a group of people meeting up for a chat.

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Wide open expanses of lawn opened up in front of us as we walked away from the lake. These afforded us views of the castle buildings themselves.

Where there was a change of level the grass banks were sown as narrow wild flower meadows. They were full of life.

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Behind the main buildings we found the “Great Barn”, an agricultural building of a type we had never seen before. The barn was raised up on a bank to create two levels. In the lower level the animals were housed while carts loaded with cereals drove up the grass covered gradients to the upper level.

One of the most famous sections of the gardens was the vast rock garden. Acers gave this area colour and texture and provided great views back to the castle itself. Tiny streams wound their way through the rocky outcrops ans areas of planting.

We found these appealing little carvings while we wandered around. The first was a yard high snail carved in wood while the second was a sculpture created by Mother Nature and again we thought it resembled a snail. The final piece was a wise old owl carved from wood.

Our first day in the Lake District was most enjoyable and we hoped our other days would be equally as inspiring.

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Tags acers., Cumbria, ferns, garden sculpture, kitchen gardens, meadows, NT, orchards, outdoor sculpture, rock gardens, rockeries, sculpture, Sizergh Castle, The Lake District, The Lakes, The National Trust, water gardens, water in the garden, wildflower meadows

colours fruit and veg garden ponds garden pools garden seating gardens gardens open to the public grow your own kitchen gardens National Garden Scheme ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture poppies recycling sculpture shrubs trees walled gardens water garden water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Yellow Book Gardens – 4 – Upper Shelderton Hall

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 28, 2015
2 Comments on Yellow Book Gardens – 4 – Upper Shelderton Hall

We set out to visit our fourth Yellow Book garden on a cloudy day that promised showers and with a chill in the air. However as we drove down through the Shropshire countryside the skies cleared and the temperature rose. We left the main road and traveled down lanes that got more narrow as we got closer to our destination, the village of Shelderton.

The garden at Upper Shelderton Hall spread to over 6 acres and was mostly a wooded garden with areas of Rhodendrons and borders of herbaceous plantings. As usual we began with tea and cake which we enjoyed sat in the strangest walled garden we had ever experienced. The walls were a truly original creation. Each section was a sculpture in its own right made from a conglomeration of found or collected bricks and stones and ephemera.

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From our seat where we enjoyed our refreshment we could enjoy these amazing walls and also take in glimpses of the kitchen garden nearby. An old water trolley now unused sat alongside.

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After a wander around the fruit and veg beds we made our way towards a border that glowed with bright yellows, oranges and reds. We discovered that the bright blooms were those of a collection of deciduous Rhodendrons. Our noses were also delighted by these shrubs as the yellow ones had the richest sweetest of fragrances.

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We wandered on through the shade of wooded areas with the sound of a stream wandering through it and the scent of Bluebells following our every step.

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Leaving the shade of the tall trees we stumbled across a beautifully planted pond with crystal clear water. On one bank we discovered a lovely little stone carving, the first of several interesting pieces of sculpture we were to find in the gardens.

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On the edge of the main garden was an area of more mature woodland of mixed deciduous and coniferous specimen trees. Beneath them larger evergreen Rhodendrons provided splashes of colour.

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This comfortable set of table and chairs was simply too enticing for us. We just had to have more teas and cakes in order to try them out!

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As we enjoyed our refreshment we also enjoyed the colourful planting around us.

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We also looked up to spy this imposing cockerel windvane. Once we had enjoyed our refreshment we left the gardens of Upper Shelderton Hall having enjoyed yet another brilliant Yellow Book garden. We can’t wait for the next!

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Tags fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, gardening, National Garden Scheme, NGS, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, shrubs, trees, Yellow Book, Yellow Book Gardens

buildings Church architecture countryside hedgerows landscapes memorials outdoor sculpture remembrance sculpture Shrewsbury Shropshire trees

Walking the Shrewsbury Battlefield – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 15, 2015

Back at the site of the Battle of Shrewsbury we return to look more closely at the church and the sculptural tree. First though it might be a good idea to say a little about the battle itself. The Battle of Shrewsbury took place in 1403 just north of the town. Here two armies met in what was to be a ferocious and bloody battle. The rebel army of Sir Henry Percy, locally known as Harry Hotspur, met the Royal army of Henry IV on the land of the medieval Manor of Albright Hussey. There is now no sign of the village but there is a building known as the Albright Hussey which was built over a century after the battle in 1524. So many lives were lost during the battle that a memorial chapel was built in 1406 in their memory.

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This church is now known as St Mary Magdalene’s Church. Below is my photographic record of our visit to the church. We loved the detailing around the door knocker with its design based on a crown, and all the different gargoyles around the top of the building from which would originally have spouted rainwater.

Inside the church we soon found its famous stained glass windows, but we were also drawn to the reed lamp holders and the oak carved figures on the ends of the pews.

The ancient lych gate is looking worse for wear but its intricate carved detailing is still here to be enjoyed and appreciated, but I wonder for how much longer.

Over 5000 men died in this battle and their remains lie in an unmarked mass grave below the churchyard. Some of the headstones found in the churchyard here are very simple and others show very stylised carving.

When we finished looking around the church and its surroundings we made our way back along the footpaths around the site of the Battle Field. Half way back we spotted a pool in the middle of a field which still showed signs of medieval ridge and furrow farming patterns. Close to the hedge we saw a wonderfully sculptural old tree. The tree must have fallen years ago and has now lost its bark so was smooth in texture. This is Mother Nature at her most creative. Please enjoy looking at my photos of this natural piece of sculpture.

Tags Battle of Shrewsbury, church architecture, churches, natural sculpture, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, Shrewsbury

architecture buildings Church architecture colours light light quality outdoor sculpture photography the sea the seaside the shore townscapes

A Seaside Town at Night

We often visit North Wales and the island of Anglesey. It is an area with beautiful countryside, long quiet beaches, tiny villages and seaside towns. When we stay for a mid-week break we sometimes use a hotel in the seaside town of Caernarvon, enjoying the walks along the sea front, the quay and the marina.

This post is a gallery of shots taken on a wander through the town and along the sea front as light fell. The temperature was slowly falling as the evening crept in. The atmosphere of the place reflected the changing temperature and light levels. Come and share our wander with us! Fresh evening air and the sounds of the sea lapping at the sea walls trying to drown out the harsh cries of the sea gulls.

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Great memories that make us yearn for a few more days by the sea!

Tags architecture, atmosphere, Caernarvon, evening, light, light quality, North Wales, sea, sea side, seascapes, townscape, townscapes

allotments architecture buildings Church architecture community gardening fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public grow your own hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture town gardens trees

A Bishop’s Garden

The grounds of a cathedral doesn’t sound the most promising place to find an interesting garden but we had heard good things about the gardens at Wells Cathedral , so when visiting the cathedral itself we just had to have a look.

It turned out to be an excellent idea as we found the bishop’s garden to be full of interest and atmosphere. Come for a wander and see if you agree! The garden sits well with the architecture which encloses it or sits within it. At times the plants climb the walls or scramble over ruins. At times the architecture is a backdrop and the colours of the stone and brick act as a great foil for the colour of foliage and flower.

It is a garden of plants and walls.

We found sculpture in several styles and from different eras within the garden.

The planting was well thought out with interesting combinations.

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White stemmed Birches bleached in the brightness of the day looked so at home against the white of the stone.

Overall the garden design was informal but in an area enclosed by buildings we found a more formally structured garden. In the borders within the formal structure the planting was ebullient and lively.

Part of the garden had been given over to the local community to use as a communal garden including allotments.

So the discovery of the Bishops Garden proved to be an unexpected treat, a place full of delights, tumbling ruins, rich plantings and sculpture.

buildings garden buildings garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public outdoor sculpture sculpture succulents Wales

The Botanic Garden of Wales in the Rain – part one

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 12, 2015
1 Comment on The Botanic Garden of Wales in the Rain – part one

We have come to love visiting gardens in the rain. We put up the brollies and huddle together for protection and just defy the downpours. But on a November day at The Botanic Gardens of Wales the rain was so heavy it beat even us! It was horrendous! This beautiful piece of sculpture managed to glow out in the gloom. It looked like the bark of a tree or the structure of ivy climbing a wall or …….. whatever you wish.

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We did though enjoy a little time in the rain but soon escaped by making for the magnificent glasshouse. The glasshouse emerges from the gently sloping landscape like an armadillo. On this visit it was barely visible against the low deep grey clouds.

Once inside, the curving lines spanning overhead immediately drew our eyes upward. When architects get greenhouses right they can be dramatic and powerful but still gentle and full of beautiful curves. This is one of the best we have ever visited if not the best of all. It looks so good from both inside and out. From the outside it emerges from the countryside as if it is meant to be there, enhancing the undulation it sits on. From inside it cocoons the visitor in an atmosphere of warmth and greenery.

The plant life housed there sits happily in micro-climates made for them. Greenhouse often seem to contain big blousie blooms with too much colour and all full of drama but here things had a subtle beauty. Very stylish. Often the colours were very delicate.

Bright colours weren’t altogether absent though with plenty of fiery oranges and gaudy pinks. We were taken aback by the size of this Leonotis as it soared to over head height alongside the path. At home in our garden we get it to grow to about two feet tall.

Some plants simply appeared bizzare, such as the dying flowers of the Strelitzia which turns from orange to deep brown and the odd trunk of this tree which was well past its best!

Blue flowers are often not a pure blue but these definitely were as blue as could possibly be.

We enjoyed studying the foliage here as much as the flowers, with so much variation in size, colour, texture and shape.

This Robin was enjoying reading the info on this sign but we were more impressed by those signs which relied on simple symbols demarcating each zone.

We were amused when we came across this warning triangle, not the usual red unfriendly type found on roadsides but a green edged warning that gardeners were at work. The gardeners were very friendly ones too!

After wandering around the giant glasshouse absorbed in the beauty of plants from around the temperate world we deserved our lunch break. We shared our break with our red-breasted friend who seemed to have followed us from the glasshouse.

Some original and colourful craftwork graced the foyer. This piece was created using broken pottery shards. Join us in part two when we braved the heavy rain for as long as we could.

Tags Botanic Garden of Wales, glasshouses, green house gardening, green houses, greenhouse gardening, modern architecture.

architecture climbing plants colours garden buildings garden design garden furniture garden photography garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials irises kitchen gardens light quality National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture roses The National Trust trees walled gardens Winter Gardening winter gardens

Croft Castle month by month – January – part two

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 20, 2015
2 Comments on Croft Castle month by month – January – part two

Welcome back to Croft Castle where we were about to find out what lies beyond the blue gate. We entered the space beyond the gate and found immediately to our right one of the gardeners’ buildings from the days when the walled gardens were a productive fruit and veg garden. Today it is a children’s discovery room complete with nature table. A board showed the gardening tasks for the month. Close by hung an old pruning saw.

After a good peruse among the dusty artifacts and sharing our memories of nature tables at primary school we moved on to the old, wooden framed greenhouse which until now we had viewed from the gate. On this visit we went inside. We were delighted to find the old iron mechanisms that controlled the windows and vents still intact. We both find these fascinating and are amazed by the ingenuity shown by the greenhouse designers of that era.

We were pleased to find a colourful line up of watering cans and a very healthy looking Cobaea climbing up wires and flowering profusely. It was easy to see why it is graced with the common name “Cup and Saucer Vine”.

Outside the greenhouse we found a stack of apple trees heeled into a pile of compost awaiting the time when the frozen ground allowed them to be planted. Further old buildings hugged the walls – they were ina tumbled down state. The old window attracted me and my camera but I remain undecided if it is best as a colour or monochrome picture. Any thoughts?

We continued our tour of the main walled garden following the herbaceous borders to discover ancient apple trees beautifully pruned ready for fruiting next season. Their trunks and branches were encrusted with lichens and mosses creating miniature landscapes. Clumps of Mistletoe decorated several of the trees. This is a common parasitic plant in the orchards of Herefordshire. A Mistletoe Fair and market are held in December every year in the nearby market town of Tenbury Wells. They are famous for their mistletoe auctions.

Along the third and fourth walls mixed borders included many shrubs which were well pruned in readiness for new growth when spring arrives. In the central area among the grass willows had been pruned too, cut into low pollarding and coppicing to encourage fresh, long new wands to cut and use around the garden as plant supports or sculpture.

I enjoyed a play with this pic on Photoshop!

We were attracted to the opened seed pods of a Paeony with its four sections of woody shell. I certainly enjoyed playing with the image on Photoshop! Here you can select your favourite of three versions.

The sweet scent of the pink flowers of Viburnum bodnantense reached our noses long before we spotted the shrub itself. Next to it in the border was the giant stalk of the biggest Lilly we can grow in the UK, the statuesque Cardiocrinum giganteum.

In the growing seasons there are some lovely features within the walled garden like little garden rooms, including a pool garden and a rose garden. In the winter they are so cold and bare! But an odd Rose bloom was trying hard when we visited. It sadly offered no scent though, unlike the neighbouring Rosemary with its gentle aroma coming from the tiny china blue flowers and the Lonicera frangrantisima, the Winter Flowering Honeysuckle.

The gardeners have been busy making a huge “bug hotel” which is now almost complete. They have been having fun!

Reluctantly leaving the walled garden through a stone archway, we found small courtyard gardens linked by interesting textural paths. We gained views of the rear of the castle building and its huge water butt!

A further archway in a stone wall took us to a quartered courtyard garden with white benches and heavily pruned rose bushes. A strong wind blew through this area, making life difficult when I wanted to take a photograph of a Primrose flowering well out of season, resulting in a blurred close up of my scarf. Oh dear! But I did manage in the end. Definitely better without the scarf.

Rounding the next corner we could look out over the low stone wall across the meadows towards the lake and woodlands. The weather was not right for exploring these areas, so we decided to save it for warmer times. Above the corner tower an unusual wooden bell tower peered. Against the house wall we found a second scented Viburnum bodnantense heavy with blossom.

The tiny garden surrounding the estate church is often colourful but in winter colour was total lacking. The tower of the church was covered in scaffolding and it looked as if restoration work was well under way. I will share some pictures of this lovely building when the scaffolding is down later in the year.

We finally reached the front entrance to the castle, the massive door protected by stone-carved dragon sentinels. As we retraced our steps along the herbaceous border and stone wall we looked back to get views of the whole castle frontage.

Our next visit will be in February when we will see if anything in the garden changes as the days lengthen slightly and the light values improve. It may be a bit warmer too! Fingers crossed.

Tags greenhouse, greenhouses, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, National Trust, The National Trust, Victorian greenhouses, walled garden, walled gardens

autumn autumn colours colours garden design garden photography garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture RHS sculpture Yorkshire

Autumn at RHS Harlow Carr – Part Three

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 15, 2015
1 Comment on Autumn at RHS Harlow Carr – Part Three

I am back with my third and final part of my posts featuring the wonderful RHS garden Harlow Carr. In the first post I mentioned a willow trail so here are a few of the pieces we came across on our wanderings.

Living fences made from willow and hazel featured strongly in the productive gardens and some included seats built in also made of willow. It was seeing these when they were being created at Harlow Carr during the renovation of the kitchen gardens, that gave us the idea of creating our fedge at our allotment community gardens.

I promised a return to the prairie style borders and my favourite part of late autumn borders, the dried flower heads and seed heads of perennials and grasses. The subtlety of colour and delicate contrasts make for a most pleasing picture.

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We left the perennial borders to follow paths through the stream garden which would give us the chance for a second look at the winter garden. Willow is used along the water’s edge to secure the bankside using a technique known as spiling. Beautiful stone bridges take the path back and forth over the stream.

So that is Harlow Carr the northern jewel in the RHS’s crown, beautiful whenever you visit with surprises galore alongside old favourites. It won’t be long until be come back again!

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, ornamental grasses, prairie gardening, prairie planting, RHS, RHS gardens, RHS Harlow Carr, willow, winter gardens, Yorkshire

garden design garden designers garden furniture garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials Italian style gardens ornamental grasses outdoor sculpture Piet Oudolf sculpture Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith Winter Gardening winter gardens

A Garden in December – Trentham – Part One

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 2, 2015
1 Comment on A Garden in December – Trentham – Part One

The final installment in my monthly series looking at how the gardens at Trentham change throughout the year.

The garden has gone full circle passing through the seasons. We began last January when the gardens were in the throes of winter and finish off in December in another winter.

As we crossed the River Trent on the suspension bridge we got a good view of the golden “River of Grasses” through the two trunks of a multi-stemmed Birch, our native Betula pendula. In all or our previous monthly wanders we turned right at the bottom of the bridge into this huge area of grasses. For our December wanderings we turned left partly because we fancied a change but mostly because we spotted a willow word.

The gravel path took us beneath tall, ancient trees both deciduous and evergreen. Up in one we were surprised again to find a fairy looking down at us watching our every move.

When we reached the willow NOEL we spotted a row of willow stars further along the path .

On one old trunk where a large bough had been cut off nature had been at work with her army of fungi to eat away at the rotting wood, and thereby creating a piece of relief sculpture. Can you spot a figure emerging?

After this little diversion from our usual route we retraced our footsteps to explore Piet Oudolf’s River of Grasses. Here a few seed heads stood against all odds having withstood the ravages of early winter.

I have enjoyed seeing how the Betula nigra are looking on each of our monthly visits. The texture and colour of their peeling bark catches the light whatever the time of day or time of year.

By passing through the avenue of Birches we found ourselves in Piet Oudolf’s prairie style borders, where so many different seed heads stood strong and proud.

We enjoyed seeing how the gardeners had tied up some of the tallest of the old stems. We decided there and then to give it a go in our own patch.

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Where some of the herbaceous plants had been cut back by the gardening team, new growth of the freshest green has burst through and waits patiently for the Spring to come along. The cut down grasses however remain dormant, but without doubt within their sheaths new spears of green are making moves.

Tiny vestiges of colour remained to surprise us, please us and amaze us.

Before we left the prairie borders we looked back for the final time in 2014.

We discovered new things at Trentham even this late in the year – a set of beautifully crafted wooden garden benches complete with meaningful phrases composed by local writers from Stoke-on-Trent’s past alongside a couple from the two great garden designers involved in Trentham Garden’s rebirth, Piet Oudolf and Tom Stuart-Smith.

Read and enjoy P O’s words of wisdom – words which express the power of these amazing gardens.

And reflections on the gardens from Tom Stuart-Smith ……….

“What was once a scene of decay is now a breathtaking panorama of beauty.”

There are two phrases from Arnold Bennet, a local 19th Century writer,

“You can turn over a new leaf every hour if you choose.”

“It is easier to go down hill than up but the view is from the top.”

The final two phrases were written much earlier by Capability Brown, 18th Century landscape designer and his contemporary John Bing, Viscount Torrington who owned Trentham at that time. John Bing wrote

“My old friend L Brown is to be traced at every turn……………. and a judicious former of water; the lake, here, is very fine”

Brown himself wrote,

“………. from its edges “quite round, making them everywhere correspond naturally with the ground on each side.”

A new phase of work is just starting to restore some of the early Capability grounds.

The old formal Italianate gardens that link the two main gardens had been replanted with seasonal bedding plants.

In part two of our posts sharing our December visits to the wonderful gardens at Trentham, we move on to the gardens designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and see how they look as the year ends.

Tags grasses, hardy perennials, Italian garden style, new perennial gardening, ornamental trees, Piet Oudolf, prairie gardening, prairie planting, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens

colours garden design garden photography garden seating gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture photography Yellow Book Gardens

Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in December.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 18, 2014
6 Comments on Aiming for an all year round garden – our garden in December.

The final chapter! December. We have followed the journey through the months of 2014 looking at our garden trying to decide whether we have succeeded in our aim of creating a garden with interest in every month of the year.

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So here we are on our final wander of 2014 to see how the garden is looking in December. Next year we open our garden for charity throughout the spring and summer so we hope we have succeeded in our aim for creating an all year garden. The day I decided to go for my wander with camera in hand coincided with the day of the first proper frost. But it didn’t last long and had little affect on the plants. The grapes are now well past their sell by date, but the chickens and the local Blackbird population seem to enjoy them anyway. Frost brings out the texture in leaves and seed heads.

The Blackbirds and Mistle Thrushes are enjoying the variety of berries we grow for them, but once the winter migrant thrushes arrive they have more competition.

As the frost melts away it has a translucent look where it sits on the leaves of this Hypericum.

Garden ornaments and furniture both play a more important role as the plant life dies down over the winter months.

Our Hellebores are coming into flower far too early this winter. We usually enjoy them in February and March. But the Prunus subhirtella autumnalis can blossom anytime from November to March, so to see it this good in December is no surprise.

Our trees show off their wonderful silhouettes now they are bereft of leaves. The bark texture shows up sharply in winter light.

Some of our Japanese Acers are hanging onto their leaves still so give us plenty of colour to admire.

As trees are now largely leafless and much of the perennial growth has died down other features of the garden gain prominence. Just look at the curled up Birch bark in one of our insect hotels and the hanging glass globe.

The poppy seed heads have shed their seeds long ago and are now very delicate but extremely beautiful.

We have a few flowers alone and out of season, the last Sweet Peaand a single Calendula struggling to stand upright in the cold, but other flowers coming out now seemingly enjoy the cold and poor light. Violas with cheerful faces welcome visitors. It seems that the perennial Wallflower and the Welsh Poppy can send out an odd flower in any month of the year but in the depths of winter they seem to glow more than a any other time.

Hebe “Great Orme” is still flowering well after many months and shows no sign of giving up. The last seedhead of our many Crocosmias still glows a russet-ginger in the low light. The viburnum is just beginning its long display of honey scented blossom.

The last few leaves of the Ricinus in sheltered spots retain their glossy texture like well-polished shoe leather. Some curl at the edges and glow orange. Veins deepen to the darkest blood red.

So that is it. Another year in the life of our quarter acre plot here at Avocet. We have had a great gardening year with plants performing outstandingly, our first open day and the first magazine article featuring our garden. Next year looks set to be just as busy!

I am going to begin a new series in January – my garden journal – featuring words, paintings, drawings, photos and I hope some i-pad art too.

Below is a further small selection of shots taken in mid-December on a day the sun shone. They celebrate the year in our garden and give promises for the year to come.