Category: trees

The Dorothy Clive Garden in November

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 4, 2016

Our November visit to see the changing faces of this lovely Shropshire/Staffordshire border garden saw us arriving in sunshine but we were to be treated to a magnificent sky later in the day.

dcc-02

The grass below our feet was wet with the heavy dew from the night hours and it sparkled and glowed in the low autumnal rays of the sun. We just knew we were in for a good day! The two signs near to where we parked up hinted at the joys of autumn we would find and also at the fact that a painting course was being held in the gardens. There always seems to be something going on here as well as the beauty of the garden itself.

dcc-03

We always love the first few minutes of our visits here, when we get the first views out across the garden and get an idea of what the day may have in store for us. We immediately noticed that the Viburnum which we have never been able to identify had now lost the vibrancy of its red-purple hanging foliage and there was no sign of the richly glossy red and black berries. Instead a white feather hung to one of the last remaining leaves. Nearby in the border leading to the tea house yellow dominated, foliage of a tall Calamagrostis grass, an out of season golden yellow Phlomis whorl of flowers and the delicate seedheads of Agapanthus.

Looking out from the tea shop through its large panoramic window we noticed the light glistening on the dew still hanging on covering the grass and the outdoor seats and tables. As I took the pics of the dew Jude the Undergardener/ Mrs Greenbench looked out from the warmth enjoying tea and cake and the beautiful seasonal table centre bouquet.

dccc-02 dc11-13 dc11-14 dc11-15 dc11-16

As we re-entered the chill we noticed that the Nerine outside the cafe which we enjoyed in flower last month was parading its glossy black berries. Dew on the deeaply pleated Melianthus leaves increased their glaucous hue. The gardeners were busy cutting, taking under cover or protecting the tender plants around the cafe terrace. In the hot borders many tender perennials such as Dahlia, Salvias and Echiums were already safely put away leaving swathes of bare cold soil in their wake.

dccc-01 dccc-03 dcc-08

Seed heads have darkened and the scaffolding of stems have become more skeletal during the late autumn and produced a beauty all of their own for our delectation.

dcc-15 dcc-13 dcc-16 dcc-14

Leaves and fruit add richness and depth to the more limited November colour palette.

Side by side two completely different plants, one an Aesculus, one a Fuchsia present the same pinkish-cream colour, the first within its leaf and the second in its faded pink flowers. Beautiful to see them side by side!

Without a doubt my favourite family of shrubs is the deciduous Euonymus and they are always such exciting plants with unusual stems, bark, flowers and berries. Naturally I was delighted to come across this beautiful little shrub, Eouonymus alatus nana with beautiful subtle pink colouring to the autumn foliage and deep purple with orange flowers and berries.

So our eleventh visit to Dorothy Clive was such a worthwhile, even exciting day for us with such an unusual sky event lighting up the gardens for a little while. Our next visit in December will be the final one so we will see what the year end brings to this wonderful place.

dccc-12

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, changing colours, colour, deciduous euonymus, euonymus, garden in November, light, light quality, light vales, North Shropshire, November, Shropshire gardens, Staffordshire, Staffordshire Gardens

autumn autumn colours colours landscapes light light quality National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs photography Shropshire The National Trust trees Winter Gardening winter gardens woodland woodlands

Simply Beautiful 2 – woodland light

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 3, 2016

If the light is right in the autumn and you are wandering around woodland stripes of light and shade will appear painting the woodland floor before you. Simply beautiful!

Tags autumn, autumn colours, beauty, deciduous trees, garden in autumn, garden in November, garden trees, late autumn, light, light and shade, light quality, November, ornamental trees, shadow, simple beauty

autumn autumn colours colours garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens gardens open to the public landscapes light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs reflections Shropshire Staffordshire trees water in the garden

The Dorothy Clive Garden – Autumnal Super Sky!

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 27, 2016

Sometimes something happens that will remain with you for ever, a fleeting moment when Mother Nature shouts out, “Hey! Look at me! Check this out!”. She puts on a great show which disappears as quickly and silently as it appeared a short few moments previously.

While following one of our slow monthly ramblings around the Dorothy Clive Garden looking at what the garden had to offer especially for this month, we were, to say the least, waylaid by the weather.

As we walked slowly down the sloping path to the lower garden and the pool, we photographed the birches, trunks pale against the deep evergreen conifers behind them.

We looked over the hedge, the garden boundary, out and across to the countryside beyond. We saw that the light was changing rapidly and dramatically lighting up the countryside. A darkness crept over the approaching clouds which became the darkest blue-grey possible. Combined with the bright shafts of low November sunlight we were suddenly surrounded by the strangest weather we could ever remember.

ww-20 ww-19 ww-21

The birches against their dark backgrounds lit up further. In a matter of seconds it was all magic surrounding us. The first two pics are the first pair prior to the light change, and the following three illustrate the changes those few moments in time produced.

Just look at the subtle changes in these three photos below taken just seconds apart. Look at the light on each tree and the reflection!

We will now share the changing scenes of a fleeting moment in time with you via a gallery of photos shown in the order I took them. Enjoy.

Things began to calm down as a dark cloud took over the sky once again and we enjoyed a final view from this lovely garden bench. It is strange to think that this this beautiful short passage of time which changed our view of trees and the garden in general will never be seen again. An unforgettable experience and an unrepeatable performance!

What a special moment, a moment we will never forget. In the short time this special lighting was putting on its special personalised show for us we were so excited and couldn’t stop pointing out special moments to share.

In my next post I will share the rest of our November visit to the Dorothy Clive Garden.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, Dorothy Clive Garden, Dorothy Clive Gardens, light, light quality, North Shropshire, Shropshire gardens, Staffordshire, Staffordshire Gardens, trees and shrubs, weather

autumn autumn colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire shrubs Staffordshire trees

The Dorothy Clive Garden in October

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 12, 2016
1 Comment on The Dorothy Clive Garden in October

Our tenth visit to the wonderful Dorothy Clive Gardens saw us wandering around in cool temperatures and lightly overcast skies in late October. We expected to see autumn progressing well and a few plants flowering out of season. The sweeping driveway up to the car park was full of promises of what delights we had in store.

dcoc-33-1 dcoc-43-1 dcoc-09-1

There were few visitors around which is typical of gardens once summer comes to an end. So many visitors to gardens think nothing goes on after September so stay away until next spring. We were there almost on our own sharing the joys of autumn at this beautiful garden with just a handful of other visitors. It is sad because there is so much to see in most good gardens in autumn and through into winter. The first few yards walk from the car park to the ticket office afforded distant views over the garden and a chance to study a newly planted border.

dcoc-05-1 dcoc-02-1 dcoc-40-1

Views along paths among trees and shrubs were greatly enhanced by the low bright light creating bright patches and deep shadows.

dcoc-29-1 dcoc-31-1 dcoc-37-1 dcoc-44-1

The colourful Viburnum we enjoyed discovering earlier in the year caught our eyes again, its berries a more colourful mix of glossy red and black like jewels among its Persian carpet foliage.

dcoc-35-1 dcoc-34-1

Flowering plants keep providing interest well into the autumn and foliage plants really come into their own especially grasses and ferns.

dcoc-04-1 dcoc-42-1 dcoc-61 dcoc-19-1

Berries are a feature of autumn not to be missed. This year we are seeing more than usual remaining on trees and shrubs because there are fewer migrant thrushes visiting us to gorge themselves on our gardens’ bounty.

dcoc-45 dcoc-54-1 dcoc-66

Acers of course feature strongly as it is in this season that their foliage changes by the day, and we can begin to appreciate some of the interesting colours of the bark.

dcoc-15-1 dcoc-13-1 dcoc-11-1 dcoc-12-1

It felt good to discover something totally new at the garden after visiting all year. We noticed that the gardeners and volunteers had been hard at work crafting this rustic fence from old rhododendron trunks with all their curls and bends. It is also exciting to come across a plant that we do not recognise at all so have to seek out a label and if we get lucky we can then follow up with research. This Lindera obtusiloba first attracted us to it because of its startlingly bright yellow leaves but on closer study we were struck by the unusual shape of its leaves.

dcoc-14-1 dcoc-25-1 dcoc-24-1

Autumn is the season that belongs to trees as it becomes their turn to turn up the colours and get out their paint pallettes.

dcoc-23-1 dcoc-27-1 dcoc-28-1 dcoc-30-1 dcoc-32-1 dcoc-80

That is it for our October visit so just 2 more monthly reports of our regular wanderings around the Dorothy Clive Gardens. November will see autumn ending and giving way to winter.

dcoc-65

Tags acers., autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, coloured bark, Dorothy Clive Garden, Dorothy Clive Gardens, garden in autumn, gardens of Shropshire, North Shropshire, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, Shropshire gardens, Staffordshire, Staffordshire Gardens

arboreta autumn autumn colours colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public half-hardy perennials hardy perennials National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire shrubs trees Yellow Book Gardens

The Dorothy Clive Garden in September

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 8, 2016

Back again ready to enjoy another visit to the Dorothy Clive Gardens and see what has been happening since our August visit. We expected early signs of Autumn and hoped for some colourful displays of Dahlias and Salvias. We decided to take a walk around the young mini-arboretum area this month instead of following the winding paths of the Dingle which has less interest at this time of the year.

As we wandered over to the coffee shop we admired the views over the lower garden and the light which lit up the Pampus Grass behind the Viburnum caught my eye. This was a sign that we could be looking forward to interesting light for garden photography. fingers crossed!

The border alongside the entrance to the coffee shop was at its most colourful so far this year, with Dahlias, Salvias, Nerine and Hesperantha sharing their colours.

These brightly coloured plants set the scene for much of our September visit.

I thought that a gallery of brightly cheerful flowering plants would be a good way of sharing the warm feeling prevailing over the Dorothy Clive Garden this September visit.

Please click on first pic and then navigate using arrows and of course enjoy!

I promised to share our enjoyment of wandering around the soft grass paths that led us around the little arboretum and closely studying the young trees. One surprise was the total lack of autumnal tints to the foliage.

We were particularly taken by this unusual, in fact unknown to us, Hawthorn, Crataegus laciniata. We are now considering adding one to our garden.

The foliage presented a metallic appearance, almost pewter and the haws ranged from yellows through orange and to a dull brown – a most subtle but attractive combination.

dca-12 dca-13 dca-14

I feel that another gallery is the best way to share our amble through the arboretum.

Our next visit to these lovely gardens will be for our October report so we should be getting into signs if autumn by then.

awards climbing plants colours garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture Shropshire shrubs trees Uncategorized village gardens water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Windy Ridge – another Yellow Book Garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 15, 2016
3 Comments on Windy Ridge – another Yellow Book Garden

Windy Ridge is a fellow “Yellow Book Garden” in Shropshire and thus like us opens for charity under the auspices of the National Garden Scheme. The gardener owners have been opening their garden for many years more than we have and we have visited several times before. We decided the time was right for a return visit to discover how it has developed over the years. The owners/gardeners are real plantspersons with plenty of knowledge to share and impart related to both plants, garden management and design.

win-27 win-02

Windy Ridge is a garden of wandering paths, secret places, surprises around every corner but above all a garden full of plants to stop you in your tracks either because they are so well grown or very unusual.

win-05 win-75 win-12 win-06

There are quality sculptural pieces among the plants for visitors to enjoy beginning with a huge carved tree trunk at the garden entrance.

win-18 win-49 win-28 win-35 win-44 win-38

Secret pathways which lead the visitor onward and present choices are an important element of a quality garden.

win-09 win-13 win-22 win-48

In our own “Avocet” garden we enjoy raising the canopy of our trees and shrubs to expose interesting bark and trunk shapes and to let in light to allow planting beneath. At Windy Ridge this is performed to perfection and helps give the garden its character. The first photo below shows how this technique even helps Laurel, my most disliked plant! To make it work the gardener must look closely at and listen to the plant before attempting the first cut. If the gardener does this he is more likely to react to the character of each tree and shrub and give it the shaping it deserves and wants.

win-14 win-25 win-45 win-10 win-24

We enjoyed and admired the way that the formality of clipped box integrates so well into the softness of the planting.

win-23 win-21 win-20 win-19

Berries enhance the September garden and add even more colour to that provided by flowers. Windy Ridge had colour aplenty!

win-34 win-31 win-39 win-36

If I had to pick out one plant as my favourite at Windy Ridge it would have to be beautiful coloured and scented Clematis, C. odorata, a plant left to ramble unpruned to great effect. It is a Clematis we have been seeking for our own patch for many years so seeing and smelling it here has renewed our determination to add it to our huge clematis collection already climbing and clambering in our Avocet garden.

Hydrangeas were well in bloom when we visited and the sheer variety of colours was to be admired.

win-46

The highlight for many visitors is the large garden pond with wonderful marginal planting, a decked area with white ironwork seats and a narrow pathway behind it for the visitor to explore. We had a great afternoon returning to the garden at Windy Ridge and found it as inspiring as always. We were pleased to note that it had received an award in a national garden competition.

win-56

Tags berries, garden sculpture, outdoor sculpture, Shropshire, Shropshire gardens, trees and shrubs, water gardening, water in the garden

colours garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs roses Shropshire shrubs trees water in the garden

The Dorothy Clive Garden in August

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 7, 2016
2 Comments on The Dorothy Clive Garden in August

In late August we made one of our regular visits to the Dorothy Clive Gardens on the Shropshire and Staffordshire border to see how the garden was progressing. We chose a warm sunny day for our visit which gave strong contrasts and deep shadow for the trusty Nikon to deal with.

We expected to see lots of colour and much of it bright hot colours provided by flowering perennials as well as perhaps the first signs of late summer presenting a glimpse ahead to autumn, with seeds and berries beginning to show and some leaf colour on trees and shrubs.

There was most certainly no shortage of berries to discover shining brightly like jewels under a bright summer sun.

dcaug-040 dcaug-042 dcaug-043

A few very unusual berries in both colour and shape, were displayed by deciduous Euonymous and Magnolia.

dcaug-030 dcaug-033

Seedheads were beginning to form on herbaceous perennial plants just as we thought we might find.

dcaug-050 dcaug-048 dcaug-049 dcaug-054 dcaug-057 dcaug-059 dcaug-056 dcaug-060

We enjoyed the range of colours that flowers provided in the borders and these were highlighted by the August sun riding high in the afternoon sky.

dcaug-004 dcaug-007 dcaug-051 dcaug-058

We were pleased to see that this garden’s Tetrapanax Rex was thriving having lost our specimen early in the year. One here was particularly beautiful with clean unmarked foliage.

Ferns also provided brilliant green foliage throughout the Dingle Garden, looking fresh beneath the tall mature trees and evergreen shrubs.

In the new Winter Woodland Garden we were fascinated by the way the gardeners were training the coloured stemmed willows. We will have to wait and see what the end result will look like.

We enjoy watching the changes to be seen in the many unusual specimen trees at Dorothy Clive and have always liked the look of this yellow barked Prunus, P. maackii “Amber Beauty”. We are really wondering at the moment whether this would be the ideal tree for a space we have at home which awaits a tree for autumn planting. Apart from its unusual bark colouring it has a graceful growth habit and a wonderful winter silhouette. For a Prunus it also has large leaves.

dcaug-036 dcaug-038

The light during this visit was so interesting whenever the sun beamed through the tree canopy. We particularly loved the way it put this Hydrangea in the spotlight.

dcaug-046 dcaug-045 dcaug-047

It is always good to see promises of things that will be happening in the future and spotting them is an important part of any garden visit. Also it provides a most positive way of finishing my report on our august visit to this wonderful garden, a true favourite of ours. And as we have not featured the giant stag sculpture standing proudly at the top of the stream in the Dingle Garden here he is surrounded by lush greenery completely different to when we saw him in the starkness of the winter months.

dcaug-044 dcaug-016

The pool at the bottom edge of the garden at the lowest point in the garden reflected the blue sky and we enjoyed spotting the small shoals of young Rudd enjoying racing around below the white flowers of the Water Lily.

We really appreciated on this August day the scents and colours of the blooms in the Rose Garden.

Our next visit to our monthly garden for this year will be in September. We hope to see some hot colours in the herbaceous borders and perhaps a little colouring up of foliage on the many trees at Dorothy Clive.

Tags berried shrubs, berried trees, berries, Dorothy Clive Garden, Dorothy Clive Gardens, gardens open to the public, North Shropshire, roses, seed heads, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Staffordshire Gardens

canals garden design garden furniture garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden wildlife gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials Hardy Plant Society HPS nurseries ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture trees water garden water in the garden wildlife

John’s Garden – Ashwood Nurseries.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 25, 2016
2 Comments on John’s Garden – Ashwood Nurseries.

We have wanted to visit John’s Garden for a long time but have never been able to attend on any of his open days, so when we noticed that a private visit was planned for the Shropshire Group of the Hardy Plant Society we were determined to go along. It is always worth going on these garden visits which give the chance to share the experience with your friends and also share their joint expertise and interest.

John Massey is well known for breeding his own strains of Hellebores and more recently Hepaticas too. He is also an excellent speaker and he has spoken to our Shropshire HPS group several times.

As we wandered down the drive to his bungalow we stopped to admire this imaginatively clipped hedge like billowing clouds. Opposite this was a lawned area with a small collection of interesting trees and some crazy sheep sculptures grazing the grass.

john2-22 john2-20 john2-21

As we entered the main garden there was more smart pruning deserving a closer look, including this Pyrus salicifolia shaped into an umbrella.

Let us take a quick look at a few photos of garden vistas, views which tempted us onwards.

Sculpture featured strongly in John’s garden and here is a selection for you to enjoy.

john-10 john1-09 john2-07 john2-09 john2-15 john2-17 john2-16 john2-19 john2-18 john2-10

Some well-chosen and carefully placed sculptures adorned the area around a beautiful pool. The planting was intriguing too and called out for closer examination.

john1-15 john1-21 john1-19 john1-23 john1-25 john1-26

A second much smaller water feature was surrounded by a collection of beautiful plants. The little fountain raised the water just a few inches before it dropped back creating gentle ripples and a relaxing sound.

john1-05

The area of garden around the back of the house was partly covered with a large pergola over paved areas. Imaginatively planted containers and plenty of seats made this a restful area inviting the visitor to sit and relax to enjoy the succulents and alpines. From the paved area a lawned areas sloped gently down to the canal, a lovely feature acting as the boundary to a garden.

john1-11 john1-08 john1-06 john-18 john-17 john1-12

John and his garden team seem very good at putting plants together especially using foliage as the link pulling the design together.

john1-13 john1-14 john2-04 john1-02 john1-20 john1-04

As in any good garden however good plant combinations and plant communities are, there are always individual specimens that draw the visiting gardener in for a closer look.

john2-05 john2-02

We really enjoyed our leisurely walk around John’s Garden particularly as we were accompanied by John himself, who was such a generous, knowledgeable and humorous guide. We were lucky to share this garden with the owner and chief gardener.

But I shall leave you with two surprises we had during our journey, a totally unexpected border, a newly built stumpery and a lovely close-up view of a frog on top of a topiary sphere!

Tags Ashwood Nurseries, cloud pruning, garden sculpture, John's Garden, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, stumpery, succulents, trees and shrubs

colours garden design garden photography garden ponds gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs poppies Shropshire Staffordshire trees

The Dorothy Clive Garden in June

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 12, 2016
2 Comments on The Dorothy Clive Garden in June

It is half way through the year and also through our monthly visits to the Dorothy Clive Gardens. When we arrived at the gardens for our July visit we noticed signs for a vintage tea party and vintage fair. So we had a little extra to enjoy.

The Dingle Garden which was so colourful on earlier visits had waned but still had a few points of interest. We were surprised to see several plants in flower but extra amazed by the beauty of the selection of Lilium martigon and Hydrangeas.

dot-19 dot-14 dot-13

I think the best way to share our June visit to the Dorothy Clive Gardens will be to present a gallery so that you can share our wanderings. As usual just click on the first image and navigate using the arrows.

So there we have it, the Dorothy Clive Gardens in June.

Tags Dorothy Clive Garden, Dorothy Clive Gardens, gardens, gardens open to the public, Hydrangeas, lilies, Martagon Lily, Staffordshire, Staffordshire Gardens

flower show flowering bulbs garden photography garden ponds gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs roses Shropshire shrubs Staffordshire trees woodland

The Dorothy Clive Garden in May

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 8, 2016
3 Comments on The Dorothy Clive Garden in May

Today we returned to the Dorothy Clive Gardens to see what was going on in May and to see what had changed since our last visit in March. We had to miss out on our planned April visit due to commitments of giving talks to garden groups and opening our own garden. It was worth waiting a little longer because we really enjoyed our visit discovering so many changes and new things to see.

dorothyclive-13 dorothyclive-09-1 dorothyclive-03-1 dorothyclive-05-1

But an extra element for this visit was our arranged meeting with friends from college over 40 years ago. After meeting up again as a consequence of one of our college friends spotting me during my TV appearance in a gardening programme last year we now meet regularly at cafes and gardens.

dcmay-06 dcmay-04

The mystery patch being developed this year is now beginning to take shape and we think it may eventually become a scree bed or gravel garden. We shall see. Time will tell.

dcmay-01

The first views of the garden showed a much greener scene. Deciduous plants were beginning to show colour in their leaves and the last of the spring bulbs continued to flower.

dorothyclive-01 dorothyclive-18

The area around the pond was gradually coming to life and the Camellia Walk shone pink.

The first leaves were bursting from their buds in the Rose Garden and the productive areas showing promise.

However the real star of the Dorothy Clive Gardens at this time of the year has to be the area called The Dingle, a woodland garden full of azaleas, rhododendrons and ferns, an area of bright colours and rich fresh greens. Enjoy wandering through the narrow winding gravel paths of The dingle with me, the Undergardener, our friends and of course my camera!

dcmay-27