greenbenchramblings

The Architectural Heritage of Shrewsbury – Part 1 From Station to Castle.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 15, 2013
7 Comments on The Architectural Heritage of Shrewsbury – Part 1 From Station to Castle.

Back to some Shropshire architecture for this posting as promised. At the back-end of 2012 I posted a couple of articles based around the market town of Ludlow after being challenged by some followers to feature architecture photos. So here is another batch of posts on the architecture of Shropshire.

Just ten minutes up the road we find the county town of Shropshire. It is not a large town but its ambition is to become a city. Shrewsbury is famous for its historical buildings, for being the birthplace of Charles Darwin and for being the friendliest, most well-mannered town in England.

We don’t go into our shire capital often for the usual reason ie shopping. We avoid shopping whenever we can and try even harder to avoid shopping in town centres. Too much noise, too many people, too much traffic!

But we love Shrewsbury for its buildings and the entertainment it provides for us. Theatre, cinema, jazz club and coffee houses.

This series of posts feature the buildings of our town. They will not follow a chronological order but we shall explore streets, alleys and lanes in bite-sized chunks of town, chunks just the right size to explore in a half day. It would be all too easy and obvious to present the architecture in historical order but I really want to give you the atmosphere of patches of the town. Sometimes the selected areas will seem random but that is how my mind works.

The starting point for today’s random collection of buildings is the coffee shop in Marks and Spencers. After a latte (Malc) and cappuccino (Jude), we are suitably refreshed and warmed up.

First stop is the school attended by Charles Darwin, where we find a big, bronze statue of the great man himself sat outside, while inside on one of the windowsills is the scratched signature of his brother. The building now houses the town’s public library and this famous graffiti is in between the book cases. Darwin is often described as the town’s most famous son, but he is more than that. The most intelligent person ever to have lived for example?

The building displays interesting detail in its stonework and a wonderful big sundial with two faces sits astride the one corner.

The cobbled lane leading to the library is overlooked by an interesting row of town houses and a beautiful gateway.

We walked on down Castle Street towards one of Shrewsbury’s most photographed buildings. It appears in many books about railways and about the Victorian era. The railway station. How can a railway station look so good?

To the left of the station forecourt we spotted a real “Mary Poppins” balustraded roof garden constructed in wonderful shades of red.

From the railway station we see hints of the castle, so we made our way towards it.

As we walked around this small corner of Shrewsbury town little details attracted my eye and my camera lens.

Tags architecture, buildings, castles, Charles Darwin, photography, railway stations, Shrewsbury, townscapes

autumn autumn colours bird watching birds landscapes nature reserves photography wildlife

Walking on the Beacons – The Brecons

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 13, 2013
4 Comments on Walking on the Beacons – The Brecons

We always seem to walk over hill and moor country on cold days. Even back in the Autumn we found ourselves choosing a cold day to journey down to the Brecon Beacons in Carmthenshire for a moorland amble. The Brecons are an upland area of Wales that we tend to drive through but rarely visit so this was our chance to discover its landscape and wildlife.

As we set out on our walk the sky looked threatening.

With each step we took up the gently slopes the temperature dropped and the wind got stronger. Around us the bracken had been cut, perhaps to reduce its dominance on the landscape and let other species come through. It seems that wherever there are too many sheep grazing such areas as this the bracken takes over as sheep do not eat it. An excess of bracken reduces biodiversity. Half way across this trimmed area of bracken we came across a flock of waders nervously feeding on the soft soil in the green grassed areas between the rust-coloured stripes. We moved slowly forward, binoculars in hands, desperately trying to work out what they were. Our first thought was Curlews but as we got closer we realised they were too small. Next idea that sprang to mind was Grey Plover which proved correct. they were obviously on the move to somewhere on the coast and had dropped in for shelter from the wind as it got stronger, for a rest and for nutrition. The soft soil would give easy access to creatures below the surface, for which they were probing with their long, strong bills.

The slow walk up the slope took us through wet areas and gave us varied views.

When we reached the highest point we stopped for a coffee break and froze! The biting wind stung our eyes and made them run, making tears run down our cheeks, and blew my hat away.

We were hoping the dry-stone wall would afford some shelter, but most of it had long fallen exposing a rough old fence of pig-wire and gnarled posts. After replenishing our spirits we followed the fence-line along the ridge. It is amazing how photogenic a tumbledown, weather-beaten fence can prove to be.

While having our break we watched Red Kite gracefully soaring overhead in search of carrion.

As we dropped back down the slope at the end of the old wall we were sheltered slightly and the wind was on our backs – much better!

On the lower slopes just above the car park we came across two interesting fungi, very different in habit but both deep yellow in colour.

So an exhilarating walk in exhilarating weather! We must return in more clement weather!

Tags birds, Brecon Beacons, fungi, Red Kite, The Brecons, wildlife

garden photography gardening photography winter gardens

Melting Frost

We awake each morning this week to frost which gives way to mist. As the day light increases, the drops of melted frost hang from plants like miniatures lanterns.

Please click on the first image in the gallery below and click the right arrow. The technical details are with each photograph.

Tags frost, garden photography, gardening, melting frost, winter, winter gardens

gardening

Oops!!

What a loud noise a tine makes when it snaps off your fork! Yesterday I dug up the root of an old Rubus – it was tougher than I thought and certainly tougher than my fork wanted it to be.

Tags broken fork, garden fork, gardening

garden design garden photography gardening outdoor sculpture winter gardens

The Frosted Garden – Part Two

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 7, 2013
12 Comments on The Frosted Garden – Part Two

Artefacts, ornaments, sculpture and collected objects all come to life with a coating of frost. When the garden takes on its bare look of winter these items gain extra significance . Some are completely hidden during the growing months and we can appreciate them anew as leaves fall and greenery dies down.

In “The Stumpery” in our front garden, which could well be the world’s smallest stumpery featuring only one stump, a rusted iron sculpture based on ferns is given new life when rimmed with frost.

In “The Beth Chatto Border” our sundial and terracotta oil jars are given extra texture detail with a cold white coating.

Lanterns hang throughout the garden some from arches and some on their own stands like shepherds’ crooks.

Chicken sculptures abound as you might expect!

And finally a look at a piece made in hammered sheet copper by our daughter, Jo. The frost hides its shine, intensifies its texture and calms its colours.

Tags garden photography, garden sculpture, gardening, winter, winter gardens

garden design garden photography gardening grasses ornamental grasses photography Wildlife Trusts

The Frosted Garden – Part One

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 5, 2013
8 Comments on The Frosted Garden – Part One

As a gardener I dislike the frost because it prevents me getting any tasks done but I love the way frost adds completely new character to the plants. The simplest bare stem or branch can come to life when the low sun catches a rim of frost.

As a photographer I dislike the frost as it makes my fingers hurt with cold deep down into the joints but I love the way light and frost adds a magical element not present at any other time. I find my fingerless thermal gloves a great help.

Grasses, when frosted create line drawings. My eye and camera lens are drawn to them on every frosty day.

Looking out into the garden on bright frosted days, the low morning light creates special moments as it catches the seed heads of perennials.

In our frosted garden artefacts, ornaments and objects take on a new life. The copper obelisk looks black against the whiteness and it sports a delicate white coating. My next post will be about others.

Tags foliage, foliage plants, frost, garden photography, gardening, grasses, winter, winter gardens

allotments fruit and veg gardening grow your own

Big Parsnips etc.

We are never very good at growing parsnips, but we have been getting better in recent years. With our allotment getting flooded six times this year we were not hopeful of success with our root crops. When the seedling carrots, beetroots and parsnips were just a centimetre or so tall and very delicate they found themselves underwater. When the water drained away the little seedlings just shrugged the experience off and carried on growing. The season carried on with the crops periodically under water. Imagine our surprise when we began harvesting healthy young roots of carrot and beetroot. Once frost had sweetened the parsnips and celeriac we began harvesting them too. By Christmas they were most impressive! I included my secateurs in the pictures to give an idea of scale.

We haven’t used excessive amounts of fertiliser to get them to this size just simple organic gardening techniques. Lots of manure dug into the ground, deep mulches of garden compost and feeding with comfrey feed made from our own comfrey plants. Not root crops these but they did delight and surprise us with their size and flavour. Elephant Garlic is not garlic at all but more closely related to leeks. We eat them roasted when they taste of sweet, delicate garlic.

Now we definitely have something to live up to next year. Perhaps the weather will be nearer normal next year and we might even avoid the floods. Mind you of course, the crops above might have excelled because of the floods rather than in spite of them.

Tags allotments, carrots, celeriac, elephant garlic, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, gardening, garlic, grown your own, harvest, organic gardening, parsnips, root crops

garden photography garden wildlife gardening grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography

Looking back at 12 months of garden wanderings.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 31, 2012
6 Comments on Looking back at 12 months of garden wanderings.

As 2012 ends and 2013 begins it seems appropriate to look back at the twelve posts I made based on monthly wanders around our garden. So please enjoy my selection of 12 shots. Just click on a photo to see a larger image and slide show.

Hope 2012 has been kind to you. Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year.

Tags garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grasses

allotments fruit and veg gardening grow your own

Old Garden Tools

I just love old garden tools. I like using them and I like collecting them. They feel good in the hand, smooth and worn and I know I am holding a piece of gardening history. Every tool has a story to tell, a story I shall never know. But you can always imagine!

When you find old tools in antique centres, on market stalls or at garden or smallholder shows they seem dry and dull and lifeless. It is when I do them up that I feel in touch with the old gardeners who have used them for decades.

I have been amazed to find that for almost every old tool there is a modern equivalent and that today’s versions are often virtually identical. I enjoy trying out tools from my collection and find them just as easy to use. So it seems there are no new ideas in garden implements just new versions of the oldies.

The garden line below was used by Jude, The Undergardener’s Grandfather back in the early years of the twentieth century when he worked a market garden. We use it all the time on our allotment as it is far superior to any available today. It is a design that just could not be improved upon.

On a recent lottie visit we had hoeing and raking to do so I decided to take up my old triangular headed hoe and my “crome”. They worked really well, the sharp tines of the crome breaking down the soil to a fine tilth and with the hoe we could manouvre between winter onions and leeks a treat.

I enjoy trying out these oldies from my collection and I find them easy to use and often more comfortable than their new cousins. Perhaps it is the materials they are crafted from, the hardwood handles honed from local trees and the iron blades and tines. Today’s plastics and stainless steel give less and feel harder and colder. Of course the main difference is that old tools were individually made by craftsmen.

The art of repairing them and bringing them back to life is moat satisfying. I clean up the metal to prevent them getting any rustier and treat the wooden bits to a few coats of linseed oil well rubbed in. The smell brought back memories of my cricketing youth when I used to treat my bat handle in the same way.

Below is one of my pieces in need of some tender loving care, its handle dry and its blade rusted.

And here he is all spick and span!

This batch has been rust-treated, linseeded and given the first of two coats of satin finish varnish.

And here they all are in all their glory, decorating the back wall of our garage.

These two little hand tools are weeders better known as “daisy grubbers”. They seem so well designed with sharp forked tongues, a fulcrum point and beautifully shaped wooden handles, hand turned by a craftsman.

Tags allotments, fruit and vegetable growing, garden tools, gardening

architecture buildings conservation Shropshire South Shropshire

Rural Shropshire – Architecture Old and New

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 28, 2012
2 Comments on Rural Shropshire – Architecture Old and New

Visitors come to Shropshire for its wonderful countryside, beautiful old market towns and for the peaceful atmosphere. Rural areas of Shropshire are dotted with old farms with ramshackle buildings, barns, cattle biers, cottages and farm houses, but there are isolated examples of good modern architecture. The Ludlow Food Centre provides a good example of this based around old farm buildings and a row of cottages but given a new use and so a new lease of life.

I have always liked their sign seen in the photo above, with the simple representation of fields in natural colours. Sadly recently it has changed to just lettering which is nowhere near as interesting.

There is now just the row of cottages left which have been renovated recently and are lived in once again. The walls show an attractive combination of brick and wood and the chimneys are most impressive.

Behind the cottages is the new Food Centre and Garden Centre and these sit alongside a coffee shop and post office in old farm buildings. They have certainly been given a new lease of life. Needless to say we visit the coffee shop whenever we are close by.

The Food Centre itself is housed in a building that reflects the property’s farming past, with a huge entrance reminiscent of the old barn doorways that allowed loaded carts through and it is clad in darkly painted wood a popular finish for old farm buildings especially barns. Inside local food producers, a baker, a butcher, cheese maker etc, sell their wares and glass walls allow visitors to see food being made and packed before they decide to purchase.

At the side of the food centre a naturally planted wildlife pool with colourful shrubs enhances the peaceful atmosphere here.

The new plant centre is housed in a new building built just as you would imagine a new upmarket barn would be built. Modern materials are used in a traditional building style. Beautiful local products such as metal sculpture are displayed inside alongside organic gardening fertilisers, bird feeding equipment, books and a rich mixture of gardening sundries. All very tempting! Out back can be found a plant nursery.