Category: woodland

A Walk in the Park – Attingham in January – Part Two – Woodland Walk

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 6, 2017
2 Comments on A Walk in the Park – Attingham in January – Part Two – Woodland Walk

Back with the second part of our report of our January visit to Attingham Park we find ourselves taking the path into the woodland at this Shropshire National Trust property.

aj2-08 aj2-09

When leaving the walled garden the visitor has the choice of two walks and we decided to follow the 3 mile “Woodland Walk” as the weather seemed set dry for the day. Next month when we make our February visit we will follow the “Mile Walk”.

Just a short way into our walk we came across the “Burning Site” marked by a wooden deer complete with impressive antlers. We like gardens with a touch of humour so we were delighted to discover this family of owls created from wood offcuts left after trees surgery work. They were created by the gardeners as a competition. We loved them all!

aj2-07

Walking in woodlands in the winter helps highlight textures and patterns not easily spotted when the trees and shrubs are in full leaf. The gentle colours of lichens and mosses are more easily appreciated too as they carpet tree trunks. Please follow the gallery below featuring bark textures and the colours of lichen and mosses. The texture of fallen trees is changed over the years by the huge array of hard-working fungi present in the woodlands. Without these fungi the fallen wood would pile up so the fungi’s function of breaking down the dead trees is essential to the well-being of the woodland ecosystem. Click on the first photo and navigate using the right hand arrow.

Woodland walks are made more interesting by the manner in which rays of light penetrate the canopy, creating patterns and patches of strong contrasting light.

After enjoying exploring the woodland following the Woodland Walk way-marked path we cut back across the parkland to the house itself. First glimpse of the house is through a framework of Cupressus trees. To find this view we crossed over two stone bridges which took the path over water and the stonework attracted as much lichen as the tree trunks did.

Our return to Attingham Park will be in February when we will look at the Walled Garden again and then follow the much shorter walk, the Mile Walk.

Tags Attingham Park, gardens of Shropshire, gardens of the National Trust, lichen, mosses, National Trust, parkland, Shropshire, Shropshire gardens, texture, textured bark, textures, The National Trust, woodland, woodland garden, woodland gardening, woodland gardens, woodlands

autumn autumn colours colours gardens open to the public Land Art light light quality logs National Trust outdoor sculpture photography Shrewsbury Shropshire The National Trust trees woodland woodlands

The Line – a simple tribute to Richard Long

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 21, 2017
1 Comment on The Line – a simple tribute to Richard Long

Jude and I are great fans of land artists and are proud of our British contingency of these sculptors with big ideas. We have sought out pieces around the UK and loved the work of Andy Goldsworthy, David Nash and Richard Long in particular.

Leaving a wooded shaded area and entering a open grassland mown short by the munching mouths of deer and sheep, the sunlight caught the purity of the white fibres of the sheep wool. A simple white line, a reminder of the work of Richard Long.

Richard Long and his landscape art would soon come back to our thoughts and eyes, as we continued our wandering in the woodlands at our local National Trust property with its wonderful parkland, woodland and walled garden, we had to take a detour veering away from our usual routeway. We took a poorly marked diversion beneath open woodland of long stretched trees with narrow trunks and branches way up creating a high canopy.

Some of these trees, although relatively young tend to weaken due to competition from their neighbours simply growing too closely, and then either die off or get blown over by strong winds. On this day in late November the bright sunshine shone so low down that it lit up the felled trunks. Below I share my photograph of a thin silver line lying beneath the narrow black verticals, a broken birch bough beneath living conifers stretching to reach the light.

It put in my mind the work of Richard Long, the part played in his creativity of lines and paths. I took a few shots to put together as a short appreciation of his work.

sb1-17

sb1-16

sb1-18 The end of the line ………………..

……………………… for now. Soon more broken bright green moss covered fallen boughs cut across our pathway. the richest green cutting through the deeply carpeted dried browns of fallen autumn leaves.

More lines appear before your eyes when you have Richard Long’s work in your mind, the wash left as a white line across the dark surface of the river, the bright line of light vertically drawn down the trunk of an ancient proud tree.

lp2-1 lp2-2

So our visit to Attingham Park was made even more special and the experience raised even higher by linking it to Richard Long’s creativity. What a surprise!

Tags deciduous trees, land art, lines, National Trust, outdoor sculpture, Richard Long, The National Trust

autumn autumn colours colours garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public light light quality National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs Shrewsbury Shropshire The National Trust woodland woodlands

A Walk in the Park – Part Two – The One Mile Walk

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 3, 2017
1 Comment on A Walk in the Park – Part Two – The One Mile Walk

Returning to a second post about Attingham Park, we would like to introduce you to another part of this Shropshire National Trust property. The One Mile Walk was our chosen walk on a November afternoon visit to Attingham Park. We only had a short amount of time available as the light disappears far too early for us outdoor types at this time of year. Attingham will be our featured monthly visit during 2017 when we will chose one walk from the several available, clearly marked throughout the parkland and woodlands.

ap1-33

We decided that our chosen walk would give us the chance to relish in the beauty of autumn, trees and autumnal sunlight all working together especially for us. Come with us and see!

The Mile Long Walk begins close to the stableyards and is a circular walk which has distinctive characteristics for the clockwise or anti-clockwise directions. So far on our many ambles around this path we have always followed it in a clockwise direction, really simply because given a choice we always go clockwise. So for this visit we broke our habit and took off in the anti-clockwise direction, and we were amazed how different it not only looked but also felt.

For a while we ambled riverside, getting glimpses of the shining blueness of the surface of the little river.

Some trees look special in so many ways. Sweet Chestnuts grow as tall as giants reaching for the passing clouds so have a magnificent presence. They have deeply textured striated bark of delicate grey. On the floor below them they carpet the floor in golden long-fingers of leaves and the spiky cases of the nuts, mixed up like a tasty granola.

ap1-22 ap1-21

Lime trees decorate the tips of their branches with delicate seeds partnered with seedleaf wings which have the translucence of clear local heather honey.

ap1-14

The surprise trees for us though were the Tulip Trees which dropped their leaves at all stages from the palest green to the darkest brown. Combined with the unique leaf shape it all added up to a great carpet.

We had to look all about us as there was so much going on to catch our attention, lovely tree silhouettes against the blue sky right down to dried multi-coloured fallen leaves which became kaleidoscopic like pictures as the beams of the sun kissed them.

We would love you to come with us and explore the wonderful “One Mile Walk” at our favourite parkland, Attingham Park. As usual start the gallery by clicking on the first photo then navigate by clicking on the arrows.

Tags Attingham Park, autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, autumn leaves, National Trust, ornamental trees, The National Trust, woodland, woodland gardening, woodland gardens, woodland walks, woodlands

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

colours garden design garden furniture garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden wildlife gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials lakes light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture shrubs town gardens water garden water in the garden wildlife woodland

Winterbourne House Gardens – a city garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 22, 2016
5 Comments on Winterbourne House Gardens – a city garden

You don’t very often find yourself travelling into the centre of a major city to find a beautiful garden but that is exactly what we had to do to find a garden that had been on our bucket list for years, Winterbourne House Gardens. We travelled along three motorways, the M54, the M6 and finally the A38M into Birmingham until we found the street we were looking for and just 600 yards down there we found the entrance to the garden. Putting up with the motorway journey and the city traffic was soon lost from our minds as the entrance was so welcoming and we knew we were in for a wonderful day.

wint-03 wint-08 wint-05 wint-06 wint-04

Obviously we started our visit by obeying the sign above! The only downside of a visit to this garden is the tearoom being much too small for a wet and cold day. But the garden itself was a beauty with views, pathways and archways to invite us to explore further.

wint1-04 wint1-20 wint3-08 wint1-21 wint2-09 wint3-06

A botanical garden though is all about special plants and the way they are grown together. There were plenty for us to study at Winterbourne and to help take our minds off the dull skies and increasing threat of heavy showers.

wint2-08 wint2-10 wint2-07 wint1-19 wint1-08 wint1-13 wint1-14 wint3-03 wint3-07 wint3-11 wint3-12

Little features that draw the eye added extra points of interest to our wanderings.

An unexpected treat was found as we took a path through woodland, a shaded walk alongside a large lake. The light was very special there. Looking out over the lake we could see the skyscrapers of the city. This was the only time we were aware of our city centre location during our wanderings.

wint2-02 wint2-01 wint2-03 wint2-06 wint2-04

After enjoying our lakeside promenade we followed the winding path through the water gardens where the giant leaves of Gunneras and Dalmeras dominated and the wide ranging colours of Primulas added interest to the greens.

wint2-17 wint2-16 wint2-23

We love to see sculpture in gardens so were delighted to spot these beautiful slate pieces inviting us to read their words. We were amazed to discover that one piece was based on a clock – beautiful!

wint2-24 wint2-27 wint2-29 wint2-25 wint2-28

So we discovered another garden that we enjoyed so much that we have added it to our favourite list. A great garden in a great city.

Tags Birmingham, city gardens, cornus, cornus kousa, garden sculpture, hard, outdoor sculpture, primulas, sculpture, water gardening, water in the garden, Winterbourne House 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

We will return in June for our next excursion to the Dorothy Clive Gardens.

Tags azaleas, camellias, Dorothy Clive Garden, Dorothy Clive Gardens, rhododendrons, Staffordshire, Staffordshire Gardens, woodland garden, woodland gardening

flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture shrubs spring bulbs Staffordshire trees Winter Gardening winter gardens woodland

The Dorothy Clive Garden in February

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 7, 2016
3 Comments on The Dorothy Clive Garden in February

We returned to the Dorothy Clive Garden for our second visit of the year. In January we walked around the gardens with snow on the ground and we had to wrap up warm against the cold winds. For our February visit we left home with dark grey skies overhead and a slight drizzle in the air but the closer we got to the garden the better the weather became. Patches of blue sky appeared and the clouds turned ever paler. The temperature had reached 15 degrees Centigrade as we parked the car and made our way to the cafe for the obligatory coffee and cake essential for a successsful garden visit. Our visit was going to have an added dimension as there was an activity day for children all to do with wildlife and the natural world. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Wildlife Trust were there as well as a bird of prey group. Children were given the chance to make bird boxes, bird food cakes and to handle skulls of native mammals. There was also a quiz sheet and a trail for them to enjoy.

As we walked from the car park to the cafe the first photo I took was of a view that in January was simply snow with a few evergreen shrubs rising up. Around the next curve of the path we noticed that a new project was in hand (see right hand picture below). The area had been cleared of old untidy evergreens which were well past their best. The area has already been leveled and large blocks of local sandstone await close by. We look forward to watching this develop over the coming months. The plant sales table looked much better without its covering of snow.

On the lawn outside the restaurant we were enthralled by getting up close to some beautiful owls and falcons. After enjoying our coffee and cakes we took off to walk towards the Quarry Garden, passing a border dotted with tiny pale blue flowering bulbs. As we entered the Quarry we noticed a family making nest boxes.

2016 02 21_8939_edited-1 2016 02 21_8935_edited-1 2016 02 21_8940_edited-1

The Quarry garden was much greener without its snow blanket and early flowering bulbs were adding colour allied with Hellebores in full flower and a few blooms on Rhododendrons and Azaleas.

2016 02 21_8948 2016 02 21_8962 2016 02 21_8971 2016 02 21_8952_edited-1

The textures and architectural shapes of trees come to the fore in winter before the leaves return in the spring. Unusual foliage such as the Rhodendron with orange-ginger undersides to its leaves provide brightness under the shade of taller trees. The upper side of the leaves are glossy but the underside have a matt, powdery feel to them. Close up it gives them the look of a windswept desert landscape.

2016 02 21_8964 2016 02 21_8965

Leaf shapes and their patterns and textures provided added interest under the tree canopy.

We wandered around a bit trying to find the stag sculpture we found in January and kept getting the wrong path. When we did find him he looked much more majestic without his white coat of snow. We then moved off towards the new Winter Woodland Garden, which is a juvenile garden having been created in early 2015. It already looks and feels a really good seasonal garden, with many shrubs and trees with coloured stems and bark, evergreen groundcover such as Bergenia, several different Carex and Luzula many with striped or golden leaves. Flowering bulbs were putting on an excellent show for us.Ggiven a few years and this will be a beautiful woodland winter garden and will be one of the best close to us so will become a place we visit often.

2016 02 21_8984_edited-1 2016 02 21_8973_edited-1

We left the Winter Garden by walking under the Laburnum arch still devoid of any growth and enjoyed a wander through the Upper Garden where trees and shrubs reigned supreme. A shy sculpture maiden welcomed us.

2016 02 21_9005_edited-1 2016 02 21_9033_edited-1

Having indulged in the powerful scent of this delicately coloured pink Daphne we followed a path that led us around the front of the coffee shop and then down the sloping gardens to the pool.

Species tulips demanded a close look to appreciate their beauty and delicacy.

2016 02 21_9051_edited-1

Can you spot the bee at work collecting pollen from the blue crocus? Great to see this.

So that was our February visit to the wonderful Dorothy Clive Garden. We can’t wait to be back with camera in hand to see what March will bring, perhaps a few touches of spring!

Tags blossom, coloured bark, Dorothy Clive Gardens, early blossom, flowering bulbs, flowering shrubs, flowering trees, hellebore, hellebores, owls, shrubs in winter, Staffordshire, Staffordshire Gardens, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter gardens

flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs trees Winter Gardening winter gardens woodland woodlands

A Garden in Winter – RHS Rosemoor – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 28, 2016
1 Comment on A Garden in Winter – RHS Rosemoor – Part 2

We continued our tour of the RHS Rosemoor Garden as we passed under the underpass which led us to the original gardens now called Lady Anne’s Garden. As we left the tunnel and regained daylight, albeit rather dull, we heard the sound of water falling. A narrow ribbon of white water was falling down a huge rock face created from large stones. A white stemmed birch close to it matched it perfectly. Bamboos enjoyed the damp atmosphere here and appeared very much at home.

2016 02 04_8586

The damp atmosphere also meant that any trees growing here were home to algae and mosses giving their trunks and stems unusual textures and colours.

As we followed gravel paths towards Lady Anne’s house we were interested to see many areas of new planting, with young plants growing in much improved soil.

Within these new areas of planting we were attracted to a small shrub with tiny delicate flowers. We didn’t recognise it but we were lucky as it had a label to help us. It was a Correa “Ivory Bells”. We grow a Correa at our garden in Shropshire but we never get them to flower. After seeing these little beauties we certainly wished we could!

The path we were following took us slowly uphill where we followed a path half way up the slope on the edge of a the garden within the woodland. The damp atmosphere here with its dappled shade gave a home to some special plants. This rich blue flowered Primula was so delicate that its stems looked too fragile to hold up the flowers. We didn’t recognise it but once again there was a label to come to our rescue – it informed us that its name was Primula “John Fielding”.

The habitat here encouraged mosses and ferns to grow profusely. Some plants even manage to get a foothold on a flight of stone steps.

2016 02 04_8557 2016 02 04_8554

Perewinkles or Vincas are very common plants and often too invasive for smaller gardens, but this one attracted us and encouraged us to take a closer look at its delicate white flowers.

Small flowering bulbs brughtened up the dull semi-shade along the woodland edge.

2016 02 04_8589 2016 02 04_8588

We found another plant that presented another mystery. We recognised the beautiful mahogany coloured buds of this Salix so looked close up and studied its label when we discovered it to be Salix fargessii. A few steps further another young shrub looked very similar but close up we noticed subtle differences. This we discovered, once again by reading the label, was Salix moupinensis, a willow we had never heard of. We must now do some research to see which is most worthwhile to add to our garden. A good gardener never stops learning!

I shall finish with a lovely winter shrub, Sarcoccoca which displays its black berries and its white flowers at the same time and in addition it has a rich deep scent.

So RHS Rosemoor Garden in winter proved itself to be as good as at any other season, the sign of a very good garden. We discovered new plants and enjoyed the scents and sights of so many good plantings. The Winter Garden and the Foliage Garden were the stars of the show just as we expected. As I often say after visiting a garden, we will be back!

Tags bamboo, Devon, Gardens of Devon, RHS, RHS gardens, RHS Rosemoor, Rosemoor, salix, willow, willows

flowering bulbs garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs RHS spring bulbs trees water garden water in the garden Winter Gardening winter gardens woodland

A Garden in Winter – RHS Rosemoor – Part 1

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 23, 2016

We love to break up the winter months with mid-week breaks away around the UK. In February this year we took off down to Devon for a short holiday where we planned to visit a garden which holds two National Collections, Betulas (Birches) and Alnus (Alders) and the Royal Horticultural Society’s Rosemoor Garden.

My previous couple of posts shared with you our wanderings around Stone Lane Garden and Nursery with its wonderful national collection of Betulas and Alnus. In this post we will share with you the two days we spent exploring the Royal Horticultural Society’ Rosemoor Garden.

We had visited many times before but never in winter before, so we were keen to see if the RHS’s claim that Rosemoor provides “Great days out for every season” and “Rosemoor continues to enchant visitors when the Winter and Foliage Gardens are filled with a surprisingly intoxicating combination of colour, fragrance and texture.”

After a quick coffee in the restaurant we braved the rain and began our walk around.

2016 02 04_8397 2016 02 04_8507 2016 02 04_8430

We made our way towards the Winter Garden which we knew had been redeveloped since we last visited so we longed to see what it looked and felt like now.

2016 02 04_8404 2016 02 04_8401

As expected foliage took a leading role.

2016 02 04_8406 2016 02 04_8408 2016 02 04_8418 2016 02 04_8428 2016 02 04_8429

Coloured stems and bark of shrubs and trees add strong structure to a good winter garden.

2016 02 04_8412 2016 02 04_8413 2016 02 04_8422 2016 02 04_8414 2016 02 04_8424 2016 02 04_8425 2016 02 04_8426 2016 02 04_8453 2016 02 04_8474

After enjoying and being highly impressed with the renovated Winter Garden, we took a gravel path which led us to the Foliage Garden. We were looking forward to seeing the role that foliage could play in the February garden. We were not to be disappointed with what we saw. Perennials and grasses played key roles with the richness of texture and the delicacy of colour. Richly coloured foliage on many shrubs joined the party.

2016 02 04_8454 2016 02 04_8455 2016 02 04_8456 2016 02 04_8457 2016 02 04_8466 2016 02 04_8459 2016 02 04_8460 2016 02 04_8461 2016 02 04_8478

Wherever we went we noticed evidence of the RHS gardeners and the volunteers who worked alongside them. In the Rose Garden these roses had been pruned so precisely just like illustrations in a gardening book . The soil between them had been neatly forked over to give a very professional look to the gardeners’ work.

2016 02 04_8438

When we returned to the restaurant for a warming coffee we noticed in the terrace outside a little wooden framed alpine greenhouse. Here we found an impressive array of flowering bulbs.

2016 02 04_8394

Leaving the alpine house we took meandering paths through the gardens where we noticed many early blooms that added cheer to a day of dull damp weather.

2016 02 04_8419 2016 02 04_8420 2016 02 04_8417 2016 02 04_8434 2016 02 04_8464 2016 02 04_8410 2016 02 04_8488

These paths took us down a gentle slope towards the lake and along the way we passed through open grassed areas where Daffodils and Narcissi had been naturalised. In neighbouring borders swathes of Snowdrops looked like frozen rivers running through shrubs and trees.

2016 02 04_8490 2016 02 04_8492 2016 02 04_8497 2016 02 04_8498

We reached the lake which looked very cold and uninviting but on its banks Cornus and Salix varieties known for their coloured stems added ribbons of very welcome brightness.

A stream fed the lake and we left the lakeside by following a path rising gently through the stream’s valley.

2016 02 04_8496 2016 02 04_8493

This valley with its clear stream ran rapidly through areas of planting. We followed the stream along a gravel path which took us to an underpass through which we wandered to find the original garden at Rosemoor, Lady Anne’s Garden. The little valley dropped down towards the underpass and we saw King Cups flowering profusely providing splashes of golden yellow and clumps of Arum italicum marmoratum gave us splashes of silver in their variegated foliage.

2016 02 04_8528 2016 02 04_8505

Seed heads and fruit from the autumn were still very much in evidence extending the season of interest.

As the valley sides rose higher the atmosphere became damper and we felt the temperature drop slightly as we got closer to the underpass. Lichen grew on trees and on fences. The white bark of Birches and the snow white blooms of Snowdrops shone through in the duller light.

2016 02 04_8524 2016 02 04_8526 2016 02 04_8527 2016 02 04_8523

We were drawn to a Betula with unusually coloured bark and were very pleased to find that it was called Betula albosinsensis “K Ashburner”, named after the owner of Stone Lane Gardens and Nursery.

Scent was held in the valley so we were constantly experiencing the rich aromas of Lonicera, Sarcoccoca and Ribes. Sweetness in the air!

We entered the underpass which would take us under the road we drove along hours before and gained access to the original garden here at Rosemoor, Lady Anne’s Garden. We will be in that part of the garden in Part 2.

arboreta colours garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture trees woodland woodlands

A Devon Garden with Betulas – Part 3

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 19, 2016
1 Comment on A Devon Garden with Betulas – Part 3

Welcome back to Stone Lane Garden in Devon for part three of the report of our visit.

2016 02 03_8352 2016 02 03_8373-1

We continued our meanderings along the grass, wood chip and gravel paths through the woodlands that are home to the incredible National Collections of both Betulas and Alnus.

Ken Ashburner owner and gardener at Stone Lane collects seeds and plants on his plant hunting travels, so when he plants a grove of a variety there are lots of interesting variations to enjoy.

Betula albosinsensis varies widely with its shades of white or silver with added tints of oranges and pinks.

The selection of Betula albosinensis given the name “China Rose” is a particular beauty. The white sign in the photos tells visitors that this particular Betula is available in the nursery which is part of the garden. A great idea!

2016 02 03_8365 2016 02 03_8364 2016 02 03_8363 2016 02 03_8366

A sudden and very short-lived patch of blue sky passed over the towering old native Birches emphasising their beautiful skeletal winter forms.

Gardens are great places to site sculpture and it was good to see plenty as we followed the narrow path through the woodlands that led us back to the garden’s gate.

These tall thin pale stems of a herbaceous plant appeared as a delicate piece of sculpture and where they fell they created a drawing on the woodland floor.

We crossed the narrow stream by a narrow wooden bridge made slippery by mosses and algae. From the bridge we looked down into the little stream’s bank side and noticed King Cups already in full flower, looking like golden coins shining against their deep glossy green foliage.

The dampness and shade of the woodland makes it a place favoured by lichen, fungi and mosses.

We came across an Alder that had been felled and were drawn to the brightly coloured surfaces exposed by the saw.

As we spotted the gate which would end our exciting visit we were drawn to bright orange blooms on a shrub in the distance. Once we got closer we knew it had to be a Berberis and we were right. It looked luminous in the dull afternoon light. A delicate pale pink Geranium close by was much harder to find.

We had spent a really interesting day at Stone Lane Garden that was full of the delights of our favourite trees the Betulas. We left determined to find space for a few more at home. The following two days we planned to spend at the amazing RHS Rosemoor Garden. See you there!