greenbenchramblings

Hampshire Seaside – Lymington

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 30, 2016
1 Comment on Hampshire Seaside – Lymington

Here is another post to remind us of warmer sunnier days. It is the story of the second seaside town we visited while in Hampshire earlier this year.

Holidaying in the New Forest gave us access to beautiful countryside, trees aplenty to give us autumn colours and just to please Jude, the Undergardener, proximity to the sea. We spent two afternoons at the seaside, the first at Lymington and the second at Milford on Sea. In this post we will share our day at Lymington.

We got lost getting to the car park in the town centre but after skirting the coast we went all around Lymington and by luck ended up parking right next to the quay.It was a better place to enjoy the town from than where we had intended to park and to make it even more convenient as we got out of the car our noses caught the aroma of fresh coffee! Brilliant car park! The coffee house was a converted boat house with views across the quay.

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Once suitably refreshed and loaded with caffeine we wandered the old narrow streets close to the quay. We were taken by the amusing and original shop names and their signage.

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We left the old town and wandered along Quay Road which ran parallel to the estuary. The many old boathouses have been converted into homes, business premises and holiday accommodation.

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We passed several boat repair yards, marinas and boat builders. We were attracted to the sign of this boat builder, with its two letter B’s depicting yachts with wind-filled sails.

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Jude the Undergardener could not resist playing in this old fashioned seaside entertainment.

Our walk took us away from the waterfront and back to the town’s main street, where we found buildings of different ages, old shops, churches and cinemas.

After a stop for coffee and cakes we walked back through the old village with its cobbled streets and tiny shops.

We had enjoyed our day by the sea even though we found no sandy beach to walk on or even shingle to crunch through.

Tags architecture, Hampshire, harbours, Lymington, quays, sea, seascapes, seaside

buildings colours photography the sea the seaside the shore

Hampshire Seaside – part two – Milford

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 27, 2016
2 Comments on Hampshire Seaside – part two – Milford

To bring some sunshine to a very dull January let us turn the clock back and enjoy a visit to the Hampshire coast.

While in Hampshire we drove down through the New forest avoiding cattle, donkeys, pigs and ponies on the road and down to Milford on Sea.

Just like Lymington this small seaside town overlooked the famous stretch of water, the Solent and beyond the Solent we had views of the Isle of Wight. Frequent ferries trundled passengers and vehicles over to the island and back. The Solent as expected was busy with yachts and launches.

The cliffs here defied any sense of scale. In the photos below the cliffs look as tall as any along the south coast, but in reality were merely 12 ft or so in height.

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Whenever we visit the sea we look out for beach huts as they are so colourful, so full of character and a close look reveals interesting details of colour and texture. So we were delighted to come cross a small street of them at the end of our beach promenade.

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As usual when we find them my camera worked hard to capture their spirit. I hope you enjoy my little gallery dedicated to them. As usual click on the first pic and then navigate with the arrows.

Tags beach huts, colour, Hampshire, sea, seascapes, seashore, seaside, the seaside

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

The Dorothy Clive Garden in January – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 24, 2016

So here we are back at our feature garden for 2016, the Dorothy Clive Gardens on the border of Shropshire and Staffordshire. I will start with some views from around the garden. It will be interesting to see how these views change through the year.

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Let us now look at the bright red colours of berries and the more subtle browns and biscuit colours of seedheads of Hydrangeas and Phlomis.

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The delicate beauty of these seed heads deserved a very close look to fully appreciate them.

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We walked down the gentle slope towards the pond and the scree garden around it. Throughout the other seasons the borders here will be glowing with colour and full of exuberant growth.

Different textures together add interest to the winter garden where the bare stems of deciduous shrubs and perennials sit alongside bright new growth which are the promises of spring and summer.

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The Rose Garden looks very bleak in the winter when its bones are revealed, the obelisks and arches of black metal and the bare unpruned stems of the roses.

Near the bottom of the slope we came across a stand of three old Birches and a single tall specimen nearby. In the border here obelisks have been created from the trunks of felled Birches. It is good to see them given a second life.

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We spotted this architectural looking plant as we walked back up the slope and we were both unsure what it was but came to the conclusion it was a Tetrapanax.

We are not really fans of conifers but admit that in the winter they can give strong structure to the garden.

I will finish off with a selection of photos, a rustic seat, a terracotta bird box on an old brick shed, a larger then life statue of a stag above a stream and pool and finally a snow topped sundial on a sunless day.

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That is it for our January exploration of our featured garden for 2016, The Dorothy Clive Garden. We are already looking forward to our February visit when we may see more signs of spring bulbs in flower and some more early flowering shrubs.

Tags betulas, birches, Dorothy Clive Garden, Shropshire, Staffordshire, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter gardens

colours flowering bulbs garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire Staffordshire trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

The Dorothy Clive Garden Month by Month – January

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 21, 2016
3 Comments on The Dorothy Clive Garden Month by Month – January

This is the report of our first visit to this year’s featured garden, the Dorothy Clive Garden. We have been making occasional visits to this beautiful garden for about forty years now and have enjoyed many new developments for this is not a garden to rest on its laurels. It is affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society and is run by the Friends of Willoughbridge Garden Trust.

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The garden was born way back in 1940 when Harry and Dorothy Clive lived in the large white house, Elds Gorse. The first area to be tackled was the old quarry which is now a richly planted Dingle Garden. Harry Clive created this first part of the garden so that his wife, who was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease could take daily exercise in a beautoful garden. Sadly she died in 1942 and Harry continued to develop the garden as a tribute to his wife. In 1958 the Willoughbridge Trust was founded to ensure that the garden continued for ever as a place of “rest and recreation” for the public.

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We made the one hour journey to the Dorothy Clive Garden on a very cold morning in mid-January. We were surprised to drive through areas of snow and arrived at the garden to find snow covering the garden in a shallow layer. We left our tracks in the snow as did a Grey Heron before us.

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Snow decorated the foliage of trees and shrubs where later in the year we will discover the colours and scents of their flowers. The weight of wet melting snow bent grasses down towards the ground and gave the plants a graceful shape.

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The first view of the garden opened up before us as we climbed a gently sloping path towards the tea shop which in winter doubles up as the ticket office. Naturally we were tempted by the aroma of warm coffee and the sight of home made cakes. The little flower arrangements in the centre of each table added to the warm welcome we received from the staff.

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Just outside the tearoom the little nursery area held plants hidden under snow and sculptures of rabbits and hares wearing hats of snow. The gardeners had been painting acorn fence-post tops a gentle shade of green.

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We left the tea shop and mini-nursery to walk towards the Dingle Garden an area of woodland garden created in an old quarry. Snow topped off the buds and leaves of Azaleas and Rhododendrons and the seed heads of the occasional herbaceous perennials.

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But we were particularly delighted to find flowers out, the simplest of Snowdrops with droplets of melted snow hanging from their stems, the occasional Rhododendrons and Camellias and Witch Hazels in sunshine colours.

The overnight snow and ice had turned this pink Rhododendron translucent and delicate, while the flowers in the Camellia Walk were just managing to hang on. The pink scented flowers of this Daphne however shrugged off the cold and looked fresh and cheerful.

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Hydrangeas looked as good covered in seed heads as they do in flower with gentle biscuit and ginger hues.

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During the winter when undergrowth has died away and low growing deciduous shrubs have dropped their leaves the trunks of Rhododendrons and Azaleas are exposed. We can then appreciate their amazing scrolls and curlicues.

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The new winter garden at the Dorothy Clive Garden was a surprise to us as it is totally new so we didn’t know it existed. A great surprise! The Laburnum Arch through which we left the Winter Garden has been a popular feature of the garden for many years.

The colours and textures of trees can add so much to any garden and the gardeners at Dorothy Clive certainly know how to choose them and place them to best advantage.

You only need the tiniest touch of light on berries to make them sparkle. The last drops of melting snow hung on many.

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Mahonias are always a good plant in any garden with their glossy evergreen leaves which show rich autumn colours and in the winter yellow scented flowers appear to be followed by black berries with a white floury dusting.

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We shall return for part two of this January visit to our feature garden of 2016 to see what other treats the Dorothy Clive Garden has in store for us.

Tags azaleas, betulas, coloured bark, coloured stems, Dorothy Clive Garden, rhododendrons, Shropshire, snowdrops, spring bulbs, Staffordshire, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter gardens, winter shrubs

arboreta autumn autumn colours colours garden buildings garden photography gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs sculpture trees

Arboreta in Autumn – Batsford Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 19, 2016

As we return to Batsford we are still wandering along the pathway that promised us views of plen1ty of unusual and beautiful trees and shrubs. Being autumn of course gives us the added benefits that it brings – yellows, oranges and reds in every shade possible. Many are on the ground at our feet so rather than just their colours we enjoyed their sounds as we scrunched through them with our boots and kicked them into the air bringing back childhood memories. Jude the Undergardener and I have frequent childhood memories which we have to relive.

Think of autumn colour and for many the first plant to spring into the mind is the massive family of Acers. Batsford has dozens of varieties both trees and shrubs.

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We were drawn in by the sight of raspberry coloured seed pods shaped like arthritic old fingers. They were hanging on a Magnolia x veichii “Peter Veitch”, with its large pleated leaves.

The scent from these lovely acid yellow Mahonia reminded us of pineapples which made our mouths water!

We have a Liquidamber styraciflua “Worplesdon” in our front garden which is fastigiate so takes up little room, but this beauty would dwarf an awful lot of our other plants. The Liquidamber styraciflua here is a beautiful tree as are all Liquidamber.

There is more to this arboretum than trees and shrubs as we discovered when we came across this Japanese style building and oriental sculptures, all adding a little eastern spice.

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This sculture was equally beautiful but was simply created by Mother Nature as the top of this tree had died away.

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Wherever I go in the autumn and winter I keep an eye out for dried seed heads and flower heads as I enjoy their colours, shapes and textures. I managed to manoeuvre my self and my camera to photograph these against dark leafy backgrounds.

Just a few shots now to illustrate how much colour can be found around trees in this autumnal period.

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The pale raspberry coloured fruit of Cornus x cousa “Norman Hadden” once ripe will be enjoyed by the local Blackbird population but they look good before they disappear.

So that is it for our visit to Batsford Arboretum for now but I feel sure we will be back.

Tags acers., arboreta, arboretum, autumn colours, autumn gardens, Batsford Arboretum, berried trees, cornus, deciduous trees, garden buildings, garden in autumn, garden sculpture, garden trees, liquidamber, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, seed heads, trees and shrubs

arboreta garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs trees

Arboreta in Autumn – part 2 – Batsford

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 17, 2016

We made a special effort to get to see several different arboreta this autumn. We visited our friend Richard’s arboretum twice, then drove northward to the Bluebell Arboretum and Nurseries and finally south to Batsford Arboretum in Gloucestershire.

Batsford is one of the biggest and oldest arboreta in the UK and a very well-known one so provided a good contrast to Richard’s place and Bluebell as these are relatively small and both just over 20 years old. Their own publicity leaflet describes Batsford as “The Cotswold’s Secret Garden” but judging by the number of visitors even on a dull day it seemed far from a secret.

New borders lined the gently sloping pathway leading down from the car park to the reception area. The beauty of the planting here which included this yellow berried Sorbus and two very different Indigofera, prepared us for the treats we had in store.

After walking just a few yards from the entrance we came across a special tree – one of those specimens that stops you in your tracks and starts the brain and memory off trying to work it out. It was like a Cotoneaster in leaf and growth habit but it had black berries rather than the more usual red. Luckily it had a label and it was indeed a black berried Cotoneaster. Here was a plant we had never seen before or even knew existed. It is called Cotoneaster moupinensis. This was going to be a good day!

Contrasting leaves in shape and size make for good plant combinations, such as this large leaved Dalmera paltata in front of the delicately leaved Acer palmatum. We liked the contrast between the slim fragile white Fuschia flower and the gritty surface of a capping stone as we crossed over a bridge.

Autumn visits to any arboretum means colourful foliage but we always find flowers of interest flowering in this season too, Hydrangeas, Viburnum and an unusual flowered Heptacodium.

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Berries too caught our attention among the colours of fire, the yellows, oranges and reds especially this particular Berberis dripping with long racemes of red berries. Nearby rose hips dripped from the plant which had lost all its leaves.

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Sorbus pseudohupahensis “Pink Pagoda” bears berries of pin and white which from a distance gives the affect of pink mist. Another Sorbus attracted us by the sheer size of its pure white berries, Sorbus cashmeriana.

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Sorbus scalaris like most Sorbus displays red berries but what is most noticeable with this tree is the uniformity of its foliage which was hanging on into the autumn.

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Remember the Dalmera peltatum which I showed teamed up with an Acer, well we found several large clumps of this bog-loving plant around Batsford. I enjoyed getting up close and looking through the Nikon lens at the details of their giant leaves.

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No arboretum visit in the autumn can be reported without celebrating the family of Acers. Enjoy!

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As well as the bright changing colours of the leaves and the appearance of berries there is one tree that we appreciate in autumn for its pale yellow coloured autumn foliage but this foliage as it falls has an amazing sweet smell like brittle toffee, burnt sugar or toffee apples. Cercidyphylum japinicum

As we moved on along the trail we were literally stopped in our tracks at the sight of the Berberis with its incredibly long and unusually coloured racemes of flowers.

Around the next bend in the path this beautifully coloured cherry tree glowed a salmon pink colour and we rushed to read its label. We discovered it was a close relative of a tiny flowering cherry we grow in our Japanese Garden at home, Prunus incisa “Kojo-no-mai”. This much larger tree was Prunus incisa fuginaea, the Fuji Cherry. We could only guess at how spectacular it must look in flower.

We wandered on stopping frequently to look for labels, sometimes to confirm what we thought trees and shrubs and sometimes to find out.

I always manage to find Betulas (Birches) in every arboretum we visit and here we came across the beautifully coloured bark variety, Betula albosinensis Septentrionalis.

I shall finish this first post about Batsford with another favourite, this time a shrub, a deciduous Euonymus, Euonymous oxyphyllus, which flowers and berries in remarkable style.

Tags arboreta, arboretum, Batsford Arboretum, berberis, betula, betulas, deciduous euonymus, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, trees and shrubs

arboreta autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours garden design garden photography gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

Bluebell Arboretum – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 13, 2016
1 Comment on Bluebell Arboretum – Part 2

Back to Derbyshire and we shall continue our beautiful autumnal wanderings within the grounds of Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery. I shall concentrate on a selection of the true favourites we enjoyed most of all. The beauty of this arboretum is that there is so much to discover and enjoy that our favourites would be different each time we visit.

We start again just as we discovered a couple of different Hawthorns which is always interesting as most nurseries sell only the common native as a hedge plant and the double pink ornamental tree form. We enjoyed discovering the unusual Crataegus tanacetifolia, the Tansy Leaved Thorn and the rare Crataegus ellwangeriana “Fireball”. It is amazing how the leaf shapes differ as do the berry colours.

Now I will share two very different trees worth growing for their bark colours, patterns and textures, on the left Betula utilis “Grayswood Ghost” and in the centre and on the right Acer davidii “Cascade”. This selection of snakebark maple has a beautiful delicately weeping habit.

This next specimen had me foxed and I had to go in search of a label. Although it is a Lime the leaves were the size of a Catalpa but the label informed us it was Tilia carolina subs. heterophylla.

We were attracted to the autumn foliage colour of this Tulip Tree, so crisp and bright on a dull day. It is Lirodendron tulipifera “Arnold” a tree we had never seen before with its fastigiate form.

I love the berries and leaf shapes of all the Sorbus and to see a variety new to me was a delightful surprise, Sorbus eburnia “Harry Smith”. It was growing close to a Liquidamber which was turning from deep green to deep reds, and formed a beautiful open specimen.

Before I tell you what tree impressed me most at this wonderful arboretum I would like to share a few pics of Euonymus europaeus “Thornhayes” one of the selections of our native deciduous Euonymus simply because they are my favourite deciduous shrub and a Hydrangea petiolaris just getting established at the base of a tree. This will look great in 5 years time! We can’t grow them and so have given up! I have just discovered that the botanists have now decided that this climbing shrub must be called Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris. I wonder what it did to deserve that!

And the star of the show? Well it just has to be a Birch doesn’t it – Betula utilis “Doorenbos”. White stems with the texture of suede and in places the gentlest hints of salmon pink. This multi-stemmed specimen stopped us in our tracks.

Of course before we left with just minutes until Bluebell shut up shop for the day we had to have a peruse around the nursery. We bought this little beautiful shrub with its delicate little scented yellow flowers and bronzed foliage turning red in places as autumn was approaching. It is called Bush Honeysuckle or Diervilla lonicera for our garden at home and a tree for the Winter Garden at our allotment community gardens, an orange stemmed Lime, Tilia cordata “Winter Orange” a tree we have been searching for since we planted this border up over 6 years ago now. So we had a great day and came home with two wonderful new plants. We were so interested in everything the Bluebell Arboretum has to offer that we almost overstayed our welcome. The owners politely asked if they could close the gate now please so they could take their dogs for a walk and they probably deserved their tea! Below is our newly purchased Diervilla.

Tags arboreta, arboretum, berried trees, betula, betulas, birch, birches, Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery, deciduous euonymus, deciduous trees, euonymus, garden trees, ornamental trees, sorbus, trees and shrubs, trees for a small garden

allotments arboreta autumn autumn colours colours ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs trees woodland

Arboreta in Autumn – part 1- Bluebell Arboretum

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 7, 2016
1 Comment on Arboreta in Autumn – part 1- Bluebell Arboretum

The highlight of every autumn season has to be visiting various arboreta of which there are many within a day’s drive. Our first visit this year was to Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery situated in Derbyshire near the town with the wonderful rather eccentric name of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The nursery specialises in rare and unusual shrubs and trees and every plant they sell is of excellent quality.

Within the first 5 minutes of our wander around the arboretum we had discovered a lovely variety of trees, shrubs and perennials. Betulas, Acers, Clethras, Euonymus and Hydrangeas.

But of course you can find little clumps of the brightest of colours, orange as in these Kniphofias.

We enjoyed close up views of fruits and flowers in between having to step backwards to appreciate the full beauty of specimen trees.

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In close proximity to trees we always take a close look at textures on their bark.

Of course being autumn time we were here largely to view the colours of the season. The leaves of this Cotinus were turning red slowly beginning with splashes of colour between the veins, giving a great contrast of reds and greens. Liquidamber turn deep shades of red through the autumn and hold onto their coloured foliage until the early spring. The first leaves to turn can provide almost black shades amongst the greens.

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This oak displayed foliage in the deepest orange and had the interesting name “Quercus x Warii “Chimney Sweep”.

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Where autumnal colours are concerned none could be brighter than this deciduous Euonymus.

Luckily for us the nurseryman were well into a trial of new strains of Physocarpus opulifolius, those shrubs that afford us the glossy almost black foliage. At home we grow the well established “Diablo” but we were pleased to be able to study newer varieties with differeing tints of colour working amongst the black, such as “Diablo D’or” . In the next few years we will be seeing some interesting improved variations on “Diablo”.

I shall finish the first part of our visit to the Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery with a look at a few specimens of my favourite trees the Birches, grown as usual for their incredible coloured and textured trunks. These three photos show how the trunks can vary from white to black with colours in between.

We shall continue our tour of this great little and relatively young arboretum in part 2.

Tags arboreta, arboretum, autumn colours, berried trees, betula, birches, Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery, changing colours, coloured bark, foliage, oak, ornamental trees, textured bark

garden photography gardens gardens open to the public National Garden Scheme ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs Staffordshire water in the garden

A new garden for monthly visits – The Dorothy Clive Garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 5, 2016
2 Comments on A new garden for monthly visits – The Dorothy Clive Garden

After visiting Trentham Gardens monthly throughout 2014 followed by Croft Castle Gardens in 2015 we searched for another local garden which changes with the seasons and has interest every month of the year.

We have chosen The Dorothy Clive Garden, a forty minute drive from home and a real favourite of ours for years. It is one of the gardens we share with family and friends who come to stay. The garden has a postal address which places it in Shropshire but the garden’s guide book says it is situated in neighbouring Staffordshire. Perhaps on one of our visits we may discover its real location.

The garden guide describes it as “An informal hillside garden.” On its website is an invitation to “Explore this charming English country garden. Enjoy great plants throughout the seasons, delightful views and tasty homemade food.” This sounds just up our street – great plants and tasty food!

The website continues describing the Dorothy Clive Garden as “A place to relax and unwind in an intimate, informal and inspiring setting. Experience a really welcoming and friendly environment.”

So it sounds as if we have chosen our feature garden for 2016 rather wisely.

For now here is a gallery of pics from a previous visit just as a taster.

Later this month we will make our first visit to the Dorothy Clive Garden and then create the first monthly post.

Tags azaleas, dingle, Dorothy Clive Garden, gardens open to the public, insect hotels, National Garden Scheme, NGS, NGS gardens, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, rhododendrons, Staffordshire

autumn autumn colours colours flowering bulbs garden design gardening grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs spring bulbs Winter Gardening winter gardens

New Look for our Gateway Planters

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 3, 2016
2 Comments on New Look for our Gateway Planters

We change the plants in the wooden box planters we have at the bottom of our driveway to give the warmest welcome possible to visitors and to cheer up the entrance to the garden. We recently took out the summer display and changed it into a display more suited for the late autumn and to last through the winter. We often buy young plants to go in these boxes and this gives us a chance to grow them on before moving them into final planting places in the garden proper and it also gives us an opportunity to see how unknown plants perform.

We began by collecting together all the new plants, bags of bulbs, chicken manure pellets, multi-purpose compost and trowels. The summer plantings definitely looked in need of refreshing!

We had collected together some young evergreen shrubs, some deep red cyclamen and variegated ivies together with some richly coloured Uncinia rubra grasses.

First job was to plant up the terra-cotta pots in the wrought iron plant stand with purple and yellow violas and some of our seedlings of our bronze evergreen grasses.

I cleared out the summer plants, removed the top 3 inches of compost and refreshed it with chicken manure pellets as fertiliser and fresh compost. While I did this Jude the Undergardener trimmed back the flowering stems on our hedge of Munstead Lavenders along the road edge and planted a mixture of bulbs in the narrow drive-side border.

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Once refreshed and ready for planting we got going on the best part of the job, the planting up of the boxes.

The plants were soon snuggled up to their new partners and the planters looked the part again. The plants removed earlier were loaded into the wheelbarrow ready to be planted out in the garden borders.