greenbenchramblings

While on our week’s holiday in Pembrokeshire we found this garden on a map and decided to do some research. It sounded well worth a visit. The weather forecast was far from promising – cool, wet and windy – but we were on holiday so decided to ignore it. So with waterproofs on and tough shoes protecting our feet we paid and went straight to the cafe for sustenance – latte for me and cappuccino for Jude, accompanied by a brownie for me and a slice of carrot cake for Jude. Excellent!

We soon discovered that there was so much of interest here that it would provide subject matter for a few posts. But for now this post will be about the garden in general to provide a taster and prepare for more specific posts to follow later.

Just while walking on the few yards from car to coffee, we were attracted by these interesting plants worth stopping at for a close up look.

As we left the cafe replete and ready for a good explore, we noticed that in the courtyard there were wooden trellis tables displaying plants for sale. Best of all were two tables full of succulents several of which were aeoniums, an absolute obsession of mine. After a quick look and vowing to return to indulge ourselves we set off for the jungle garden.

I will come back to the jungle area later and I will publish a post just about it.

Rain suddenly hit us when we were in the middle of studying the jungly plants, so we went along now wet slippery paths to shelter in the glasshouses situated inside the Walled Garden.

Within the walled garden the old walls remained in places and the area was now planted to attract wildlife. The glasshouses were in poor repair but now housed good collections of ferns, tropical plants and succulents.

As we exited the glasshouses we discovered the outdoor spaces there were quite formal with areas of exciting planting ,such as in the prairie garden, clambering into and over the pergolas and around the water features. In the near future I will post a feature on the glasshouses, prairie and other parts of the formal areas.

We left these areas and set off in search of the fern walk, winter gardens and myrtle avenue. Sadly we failed to find these features apart from the winter garden which had been left to become overgrown and sad looking.

We returned to the courtyard by the cafe as we just had time to look at the mower museum and purchase some succulents, especially aeoniums from the sales tables.

Finally we studied all the succulents for sale and selected a dozen or so mostly aeonium to add to my collection.

What an enjoyable wander we had in that lovely garden.

We decided to go to a seaside town for our first day out on our Pembrokeshire holiday because we haven’t visited the sea much this year and Jude needs her regular fix of seaside air, beach and a quick paddle.

We decided on Tenby as we had recently seen photographs of streets with colourful houses. as it was a windy day and late on in the year we didn’t expect it to be too busy. How wrong we were – we had such trouble parking and when we found carpark with spaces available we soon discovered that it had one of those new style parking machines that no-one understands.

It was worth spending so long seeking a parking space though as we wandered into the old town we soon found one of the old town gates.

We liked this laser cut piece of sculpture, so few lines needed!

One reason we wanted to take a town wander around Tenby was for its interesting architectural features especially its colourful buildings, large and small.

The tall many-storey hotels and blocks of flats are very imposing. a few modern buildings loked like attempts to reflet their style but seem to fail miserably. The building materials and finishes soon looked worn.

The place that attracts most visitors is probably the harbour area with its small boats from fishing boats to large catamarans used to take tourists out to nature hotspots around the island. The approach to this part of Tenby affords us the opportunity to look down over the harbour.

I shall finish this report of our visit to the seaside town of Tenby with a photo gallery of shots of interesting places and features.

When we visit the seaside we have to find an ice cream to enjoy. We usually indulge in a ‘No 99’, whipped ice cream with a chocolate flake in a cone. Here in Tenby however we were tempted by freshly made farm ice cream in a range of flavours. I chose to have a salted caramel cone and Jude decided on the same. Of course we also had them decorated with flakes. They were amazing!

With those ice creams our day was complete!

We are on our way to stay in a cottage in Pembrokeshire for a week’s holiday. We always try to find an interesting place to stop off at on the journey and today we did just that, dropping in to Dinefwr a National Trust property. The building was both beautiful and unusual.

After a coffee and cake in the cafe we set off to enjoy a walk in woodland, after gong through this wide gateway. We donned waterproofs as drizzle had set in. After only a sloping hundred yards or so we entered woodland and followed the blue trail. There were very few posts to guide us on the way so there was a lot of chances to use our imagination.

What quickly became apparent was that the woodland has been managed with wildlife in mind, fallen trees were left where they fell and we soon discovered wood and brash piles created throughout.

There were signs of autumn even though the trees were mostly still dressed in shades of green. As the drizzle had stopped so the atmosphere amongst the trees and herb layer plants was deeply peaceful and satisfying.

As in many woodlands accessible to the public the trees and herbaceous layer plants were joined by sculptural pieces made from wood, some a little twee such as the first two photos but the Kite piece was beautiful and evocative.

Just along the track from the wooden kite we came across a lake whose surface was broken by concentric circles ripples created by fish. Reed mace grew thickly along one edge alongside the raised boardwalk.

We walked following the blue track which took us next through a completely different environment called ‘Bog Wood’. It was a habitat that we now recognise as our own ‘temperate rain forest’ with water in the form of clear shallow streams and pools. So many trees had fallen and those still upright were stunted and covered in carpets of mosses, lichen and ferns. It felt and looked so beautiful!

The final few hundred yards took us slowly uphill to the carpark. Slopes feel steeper than they actually are at the end of a walk. We arrived with quarter of an hour to spare before gates closed!

We really enjoy visiting the gardens of friends throughout the year to see how they change and develop. Many of these friends are also fellow members of the Shropshire Branch of the Hardy Plant Society.

One such garden belongs to our friend Von and we have visited her special garden several times. In the summer we visited this garden which is a short drive from home. The garden gently slopes away from the house and the conservatory affords a good view down the garden and to the countryside beyond.

The first photo was taken from partway down the slope looking back up towards the house. The second is the view through Von’s old apple tree to the countryside.

The next sets of photos shows other broader views within the garden.

One powerful element of a garden that lifts it from the average is the way plants are grouped. Each plant group works together to create a plant community just as in the natural world.

Sculptural pieces and found objects integrated into a border add extra interest to Von’s creation.

It is amazing what you can find on shelves in greenhouses!

We always enjoy time spent in Von’s garden and this early May visit was no different. Meeting there with other members of our mini-group of the Shropshire HPS added so much more as we have got to know each other as friends as well as group members.

After a break of a few months, due to family health probems and computer troubles, my garden journal returns to share with you my pages in the journal for August.

On the first two pages I featured some of the roses we had in flower in August and wrote, “August starts as a confusing month both for us gardeners and our gardens.

Some days felt like spring with the addition of April showers, while others were more like dull November days. Some plants developed rapidly and collapsed when wind and rain battered the borders Nothing could stop our roses from flowering though. They are having their best year ever.”

Over onto the next double page I shared two of my sketches, a pencil drawing of a small grass called, Briza maxima and a pencil sketch of the seed heads of a plant that has just had its name changed back to Allium siculum after a decade or so being removed from the allium group and named then to Nectaroscordum siculum. So someone must have realised that its first name change must have been recognised as a mistake.

Over the page onto another double page spread featuring our crazy weather and the damage it caused and opposite I looked at some of our August wildlife.

“In the skies above us huge flocks of gulls congregate. We feel like we are at the seaside as we enjoy their calls.”

I wrote that, “After last year’s drought and the long wet periods that followed complete with deeply cold times, the garden is reflecting this in the trees and shrubs that are suffering. But now some are dying and we are experiencing many sad losses.

Our Cercis ‘Forest Pansy’ has had branches broken in the wind and we have had to prune back to healthy growth points.Several of our Acer palmatum are slowly dying as foliage dries and becomes crinkled.”

I wrote that, “Our Pittosporum tennuifolium ‘Silver Queen’ lost all its leaves and branches after turning brown and brittle.”

The first photo below shows Jude helping Ian to reduce the Pitosporum to just a 6ft trunk. Within weeks there were new shoots shooting which was so unexpected.

On the next page I looked at some of the fruit appearing on some of our shrubs and I noted that, “Fruit comes to the fore from now onwards and two 0f our cornus shrubs have produced so many berries. Cornus mas drips with deep red fruit almost grape-like.”

Below I wrote, “Cornus kousa ‘China Girl’ follows its white bracts looking just like impressive flowers with fruit on 3in stalks. They begin green and move on to red raspberry-like fruit. In dry weather they turn brown and drop.”

On the opposite page I looked at the time when we tried to improve one of the ‘Doughnut Circles’. I wrote, “We often redesign areas of our garden and this month it was the turn of one of our circular beds in the front garden. We call the two circles “Doughnuts”.

Firstly we stripped the bed of most of the existing planting. We put fresh gravel on the surface and began planting a new set of plants.”

I continued by adding, “The new plants are featured overleaf. We were so pleased with our ‘new look’ doughnut.”

The final page in my journal was concerned with new plants that we ordered for the doughnut. “The plants we chose were Agapanthus, Alliums, Sanguisorba and Thalictrum.”

We will return for another look into the entries for my garden journal for the month of September. Plenty to look forward to in the next few weeks!

As promised I am back to look at more of the Minsterley Show where we will be considering the livestock show classes.

There is so much tradition to keep to in the livestock judging enclosures, including black bowler hats and white coats. Even the youngsters showing their calves dressed smartly in white, which does not seem a sensible colour around these calves. The patterns on some breeds are really interesting to look at.

No patterns or markings on these breeds just beautiful colours. The greys certainly looked attractive on this breed unknown to us. The ginger bulls were much more familiar as they graze in several fields not far from us.

On to the goats, a small category, none of which wished to have their photographs taken. Instead they just turned away as the shutter was about to act.

The sheep show pens were many and very busy as stewards collected sheep for judging. Sone breeds are coloured for showing but no-one seemed to know why – they just do it!

And these are the rosettes that every exhibitor is hoping for, the more the better.

As we returned to the car parking in the neighbouring field we liked the design of the wigwam-like tent. Opposite was a display of modern tractors the sort that speed through our hamlet and make a ridiculous amount of noise. Not good when we are gardening in the front borders.

That is it for another year but we will be back same time next year.

It has been a few years since we visited the Minsterley Show which is held in fields about a mile or so from home. It was covid that prevented the show going ahead for a couple of years and then a date clash stopped us attending last year.

But nothing stopped us enjoying our local country show this year. For a few days prior to show time we had watched the marquees, tents and livestock pens going up and even heavy rain failed to stop everything being ready.

The day of the show dawned bright mostly sunny but with periods of cloudy skies. The threatened rain came to nothing.

The show celebrates the things that are locally important, so we saw vintage tractors, competitions for sheep and goats of all kinds, a huge variety of cattle and horses from Shetland ponies to decorated heavy horses.

Various sized marquees were home to artists and crafts people, bee keepers and producers of all types of food, savoury and sweet. Between the marquees were stalls and display areas featuring all sorts of companies selling vintage tools, solar panels, country clothing etc. Of course there were all sorts of food and drink sellers too and of course the purveyors of ice cream.

We began at the display areas exhibiting vintage transport, as well as tractors. We were then drawn to the sports cars of our childhood days.

Nearby was this beautiful piece of engineering!

A short walk away was the marquee housing exhibitions of home made crafts, cookery and a section all about plants. Here we found a display created by the WI and tables of plants from hostas to dahlias.

I couldn’t resist pointing my lens at this treasure chest of garden flowers and foliage.

So that is part one of my post all about Minsterley Show ………….

In part two we will look at by far the largest section of the show, livestock!

I have decided to start off with a look at the seats in our own garden as we have moved some and bought some new ones.

From our own garden we move on to the seats in a garden of one of our gardening friends patches.

See you sometime with a fresh collection of garden furniture photos.

Back visiting my garden journal for 2023 and we should be well and truly in spring, feeling the changes in both light and temperature.

To begin with I wrote, “April arrived but bring its expected ‘April Showers’ with it. Instead we had alternating sunshine and storms. Luckily we had jobs to do both out and inside the glasshouse. One job was to sort out my aeonium collection which overwinters inside the glasshouse. In spite of this protection we lost quite a large percentage of them. We potted on cuttings and bought on others purchased from specialist nurseries.”

From aeoniums we moved on to look at alpines. I noted that, “We grow alpines in various places around the garden, in a scree garden behind the glasshouse, in pots and stone containers and along the edge of the drive on the Chatto Garden. Our et and cold autumns and winters are not appreciated by alpine plants which often don’t last long.”

On the opposite page we look at more small scale plantings, a spring bulb called muscari. Here I wrote how “Every gardener loves spring bulbs, which manage to brighten our gardens with daffodils and tulips probably the favourite. But I have a soft spot for muscari. Over the last few years I have been searching for less well known varieties, so now have a small but interesting collection.”

Below are photos of just ten of the collection.

From muscari growing and flowering closely to the ground I moved on to look at clematis, a climber which flowers much higher up. Here I noted that, “We have been busy buying clematis since we moved so now we have so many. We must list them one day to see what we have. At this time of year we enjoy many ‘alpina’ types which tend to have white, blue or pink flowers whose long slender petals hand down gracefully. Below we show a few we have in our garden.”

On the opposite page I looked at a few of the gardening tasks we performed in April.

Next the journal displays a double page spread featuring tulips, that most colourful bulb flower of all. To introduce them I wrote,“Most of the strong April colours are gifted to us by tulips. Te tiny ones below tend to be species tulips, with the larger more developed flowers are cultivarsbred for size, shape and colour.”

On the final page of entries for April I returned to show some more gardening jobs tackled during the month. I noted that,“April is no different to any other month as there is a list of jobs to tackle.”

The next visit to my Garden Journal might show that we are getting much closer to summer.

Back with the fifth post in this post Covid-19 occasional series of posts celebrating garden seats. Here are three spotted while enjoying a wander around Wildgoose Walled Garden and Nursery the colours of which caught my eye. The third shot is of seats created by the volunteer gardeners to use when weeding the borders. The gardener we spoke to reckoned they were really comfy.

The next photo is of a very comfy and inviting seating area from another NGS Yellow Book garden.

Finally seats we found while wandering around the wonderful Bodnant Gardens in North Wales. These wooden benches were situated in the highly scented rose garden.

See you next time with number 6 in this occasional series.