greenbenchramblings

A garden reborn – Glansevern Hall

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 27, 2015
1 Comment on A garden reborn – Glansevern Hall

In this post we will be looking back to a garden visit we made in mid-May when we visited a garden near Welshpool just over the border into Wales but still only a half hour drive away. The last time we had visited the gardens at Glansevern Hall was about ten years ago when the current owners had just started to rejuvenate the run down gardens.

We arrived to find everything improved so much so that some areas were hard to recognise. It is now a garden of real atmosphere, a truly romantic garden. After parking up in a car park which was a clearing among beautiful mature trees, we entered the garden through a courtyard which would have originally have been the stable block of the hall. Planting in narrow borders at the base of the wall included some interesting plants and some great ironwork.

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Once outside the courtyard several garden rooms contained exciting plant combinations and swathes of colour and texture.

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We discovered more wonderful ironwork too!

In contrast to the irregularly shaped beds we came across circular beds planted in very different styles.

A pergola covered in Laburnum with its bright yellow racemes was a real surprise to find as we began finding our way to the informal meadow areas and their collection of interesting trees and shrubs.

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This weeping specimen tree took some identifying. We had never seen one before but eventually came to the conclusion that it was a Weeping Mulberry, Morus alba pendula. A real beauty. The sculpture and the Viburnums were much easier to identify.

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The gardens close to the hall itself were much more formal and had an “arts and crafts” feel to them. The colours of the planting were most unusual in different pale shades of blue around the front and shades of yellow along the side borders.

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Moving away from the hall we walked beneath a wonderfully colourful and highly scented pergola swathed in Wisteria with its long white and blue racemes of flowers. Beneath the narrow borders were full of purple headed Alliums.

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After a quick break for coffee and cakes we traced the path around the lake which was surrounded by specimen trees many rare or unusual, some we had never seen before and a couple we had never even heard of!

We had a great day at Glansevern and came away amazed at how much work had been done developing the gardens into such a romantic place.

Tags garden metalwork, gardens open to the public, Glansevern Hall, herbaceous borders, herbaceous plants, ornamental grasses, pergola, Powis, Powys, wisteria

allotments community gardening National Garden Scheme NGS Shrewsbury Shropshire Yellow Book Gardens

Sharing our allotments with all generations.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 25, 2015
3 Comments on Sharing our allotments with all generations.

On our allotment site, Bowbrook Allotment Community, we try to be as inclusive as possible and encourage everyone to become members, take part in our activities or simply visit us to enjoy our special community garden.

So far this summer we have hosted youngsters from our local Beavers and Rainbows groups and more elderly groups from the Fitz Friendship Group and the National Women’s Register.

The Cubs came on a wet evening to help us with garden jobs in our borders, weeding and mulching. A week later we were joined by our local Rainbows group who came for a wander around our Interest Trail using one of our quiz sheets. They enjoyed the excitement of our wildlife areas and community gardens. The pics below show the Cubs weeding the edge of one of our Butterfly Borders and the Rainb0ws exploring our Fruit Avenue.

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This week we entertained a group called the Fitz Friendship Group who were mostly elderly but equally excited at visiting our site.

We serve our visitors with tea/coffee with cakes and we have our own tea committee who call themselves the Tea Bags. The first two photos below show our beautiful antique cups and saucers lined up ready to be filled and our selection of tables and chairs ready to be used.

Anne can be seen working away in the kitchen area of our communal hut, slicing the home-made cakes ready for serving.

When our visitors arrived we assembled for a quick background talk about our site explaining how we have developed over the six years of our existence, before setting off on a gentle stroll around.

As we walked the trail Jude, Sherlie, Pete and I pointed out areas of interest. We were amazed how many memories our wildflower meadows evoked. It was a slow but very successful wander. Several of the group found walking difficult but showed such determination to get as far as they could.

We call these sessions “Walks and Talks”, and the fees our visitors pay go towards the charities of the National Garden Scheme. The refreshment money helps to run the sessions and enables us to purchase equipment to make such days easier.

After the “Walk and Talk” refreshments were relished by all. The “Tea Bags” waited on and the four of us who led the tour wandered between tables answering questions.

Here I am with tea cup in hand trying to share words of wisdom!

Our collection of camping stoves were kept busy boiling water to make drinks and the cakes disappeared rapidly.

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A great day was had by all and our visitors left tired out but well-refreshed talking about what they had seen.

Within a half hour we had cleared away and all that was left to see of the day was the collection of flower arrangements Sherlie had created for table centres, using flowers picked from the cutting border on our plot. We have another seven groups already booked for the rest of the summer.

Tags Bowbrook Allotment Community, communal gardens, community gardening, community spirit

architecture countryside landscapes photography steam power Wales

A Birthday Excursion to The Welshpool and Llanfair Railway

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 23, 2015
2 Comments on A Birthday Excursion to The Welshpool and Llanfair Railway

We usually go out somewhere on both of our birthdays so today being my birthday, Jude, The Undergardener, decided to take me on a nostalgic trip on an old steam railway line. We often pass the stations and see the track. At times while journeying down the River Banwy valley the track runs quite close to the road out into mid-Wales and towards some of our favourite stretches of coastline.

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We drove in to the car park of the Welshpool Raven Square Station, parked up and bought our tickets, which were just like the ones we could remember as children, little card ones which the Guardsman clipped while we sat on the train waiting to leave.

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The station building looked so small as we wandered up the path once inside we discovered that a booking office and waiting room were squeezed into it. When we went through the station and onto the platform the building showed its true dimensions.

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Interesting old signs caught our attention wherever we went. In the waiting room artifacts from the railway’s previous life added authentication.

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We didn’t have to wait long before we heard the hoot of the little steam engine approaching the platform.

The little engine proudly displayed its name, Countess, on the side of its boilers.

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Once steam was up and the Guard waved his green flag the little train moved very slowly away from the station and we travelled along the beautiful valley of the River Banwy.

After enjoying so much beautiful countryside we arrived at the end of the little narrow guage line at the station at Llanfair Caereinion. Here we refreshed ourselves with coffee and cake while the engine topped up with water and coal in readiness for the return to Welshpool.

We found more authentic old items from the days of steam at this station too mixed up with little patches of colourful gardens.

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Before climbing back on board and sitting on the hard wooden benches that were our seats, we took a few moments enjoying looking close up at our engine “Countess”. She positively sparkled as every surface had been rigorously polished, buffed, oiled or greased.

The journey back along the valley gave us the chance to enjoy different views of the surrounding landscape.

As soon as all the passengers had disembarked the little old locomotive squeaked its way a little further down the rail track to the water tower and drank thirstily.

After this delightful day of memories and nostalgia we promised ourselves a day on the old barges on the canal at Llangollen and of course there are all those other narrow guage railways scattered throughout Wales to indulge ourselves with!

Tags memories, narrow gauge railways, old railways, steam engines, steam power, Wales, Welsh railways, Welshpool

garden design garden photography gardening succulents Uncategorized

Succulents in Pots

It is always good to have little projects to get on with in the garden. My latest little project was to create a pair of succulent pots. We already have pots of succulents dotted or hopefully arranged around our Rill Garden. Here we feature several different Aeoniums, Echeverias and Sempervivum. They grow happily here because it is south facing and gets extra light reflected off the glass of our garden room.

We thought it about time we introduced some more succulents for added interest for our garden visitors on our open days, so bought a pair of beautifully shaped terracotta bowl-shaped pots and went off to our local nursery, Love Plants, to get an interesting selection of different succulents. We looked for different leaf colours, textures and shapes. A few had the bonus of brightly coloured flowers too. They have such wonderful names too – much too difficult to remember, Oscularia deltoides, Sempervivum jovibarba alionii, Echeveria elegans, Pachyphytum “Dark Red”, Pachyphytum bracteosum and Sedum x rubrotinctum.

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So we gathered together everything we needed on the table in the Rill Garden and got to work.

We mixed up a suitable growing medium by combining equal quantities of a soil based compost and horticultural grit. We hoped this would be free draining while just holding enough moisture to keep the plants happy.

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We then covered the drainage hole with crocks and added a shallow layer of my compost mix, ready to arrange the plants to their best advantage.

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Some of the plants we put in the pots were our own cuttings. The picture on the left shows how new plants have grown from leaf cuttings. The plant on the right was grown from an offset.

Once satisfied with the arrangement we filled in between the plants with the compost mixture and topped it off with a mulch of horticultural grit.

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Whenever you deal with succulents bits fall off and each bit can become a cutting. Other pieces we deliberately took as cutting material.

The photo below shows a leaf cutting taken from an Echeveria which is now forming tiny plants at its base. This is an easy way to make new plants albeit rather slow. It is a process requiring a lot of patience but not much skill.

And here they are in situ, alongside our rill, our new succulent planters.

Tags Echeveria, garden containers, gardening, gardening in pots, Sedum, succulents

garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public National Trust The National Trust

Wonder Walls

We always enjoy discovering what plants manage to grow in walls and marvel at how they get a foothold and seek out enough food. You can imagine how delighted we were when we came across this 50 metre long wall which was a garden in itself.

This garden on a wall was at Sizergh Castle, a National Trust property in the southern end of the Lake District in Cumbria. there were other interesting “wall gardens” here too.

The wall runs the length of the Dutch Garden and is constructed of limestone. It is now home to many very happy looking plants. They are a sort of hanging garden!

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Along its top edge a narrow border adds an extra dimension to this wall. Forget-me-Nots in pink, white and the more usual blue provide splashes of colour. After enjoying the vast range of plants growing in the gaps, crevices and cracks of the wall a shelter with a comfortable seat provides a convenient resting place.

Within the gardens at Sizergh we found other examples of “hanging gardens”, one hanging from a flight of stone steps covered in alpine plants, presenting a colourful display. These decorative steps had been roped off to stop anyone using them and damaging the plants growing there. Many visitors stopped to take photographs of this mini-garden which I presume came about by accident. The plants probably self-seeded into the gaps between the stonework. Similarly plants have taken up residence on the side walls of the steps.

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In the kitchen garden at Sizergh the stone walls that make up the sides of the old cold frames also became a habitat for self-seeded little plants.

The walls around the kitchen garden gave the impression of more hanging gardens for us to enjoy. Many of the plants in these walls were wild flowers of hillsides and cliff faces or ones normally grown on rockeries. It was interesting seeing thes plants growing vertically instead of as mats on the ground.

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Ferns were particularly happy growing in the shade of the walls where they could establish themselves in cooler damper conditions found there.

These walls also had extra habitats added to them to encourage even more wildlife to shelter or set up home.

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For my final wall I include this stretch of the castle walls themselves where little creeping daisies, Erigeron karvinskianus had settled in happily showing off its flowers in white and many shades of pink.

We were amazed to find so many plants growing in these walls at Sizergh and wondered how many thousands of tiny critters we could not see as well as small mammals and birds were also sheltering or living there in their own secret miniature world.

Tags alpine gardening, Cumbria, gardens open to the public, NT, Sizergh Castle, The Lake District, The Lakes, The National Trust, wall plants

gardening hardy perennials nurseries

A Real Nursery – Halecat

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 10, 2015

While in the Lakes as we drove to the gardens of Brantwood we noticed a sign to Halecat. This rang a bell loudly for us, as we had intended to seek this lovely nursery out. Halecat is an independent nursery where the owners Tom and Abi grow most of their plants from seed. We had invited Tom to come to our Shropshire Hardy Plant Group to talk to us about getting the nursery established. He brought along an amazing selection of plants for sale. So having seen the sign we planned to visit a few days later.

Halecat Nursery was rescued from dereliction by Tom and Abi. They took on an old nursery that had been closed for years and slowly the woods that surround it had encroached into the site itself. Years of hard work and dedication has returned it to a working nursery.

We followed that sign down lanes that got narrower and narrower but soon found the nursery entrance. It looked like no other nursery we had ever seen before. Blackboards were full of information, informing the visitor what was in season now, what the nursery staff were up to and any nursery news. Unusual containers were full of equally interesting plants. A large sign invited you to the self serve cafe where you made your own drinks and put your money in an honesty box. It was all very friendly and inviting. We were pleased to notice that the nursery had won a Gold Medal and Best in Show award at the recent Holker Hall Garden Festival.

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When we arrived owners Tom and Abi were busy in one of the polytunnels potting on seedlings. A large bell was hanging outside the office for customers to ring when they wanted help or wished to be served. When it rang either Tom, Abi or one of their employees soon arrived on the scene.

Looking over the site we could see that the many raised sale areas were intermingled with display gardens. It had a very lively look about it. Several prospective purchasers wandered around the gravel paths. Plants were labeled with all the information a gardener could want to know, the plants soil requirements, aspect etc as well as an accurate description of the plants. We found many plants we had never come across before so these labels were most useful.

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Our visit emphasised how much better these independent nurseries are for the real gardener compared to the modern chain garden centres. Here at Halecat there were no gifts, no pet food, no clothing sections and no outlet shops. So refreshing! And above all the staff know about plants and gardening.

As you must have guessed, we didn’t come away empty handed. We found room in the car for a few special plants. The temptation was simply too great!

We came away with Polygonum , Nepeta s, Pentstemen, a tiny Iris sibirica and an alpine Aquilegia

Tags Cumbria, Halecat Nursery, independent nurseries, nurseries

birds colours garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens hardy perennials roses Shropshire Yellow Book Gardens

My Garden Journal – June

Half way through the year and here we are again to have a look at my garden journal for the month of June. My special Moleskine embossed with the word “greenbenchramblings” is now on its way to being half full.

In my first page for June I wrote “Garden writers talk of the “June gap”, a time when fewer flowers bloom than in other summer months. Luckily for us we have spotted no gaps in our garden.

For us June is a month of Roses, of Day Lilies, of Geraniums, of Snap Dragons and so much more. It is the month of scents too. Whenever humidity rises scents become richer and invade every part of our garden, so much so that we find it hard to identify individual scents and from where they arise”

I filled the second page with a gallery of rose photos. Enjoy navigating through my set of Rose pics.

On page 3 we find this month’s quote from Jenny Joseph. “My quote from Jenny Joseph’s little delight of a book looks at how scent changes with the weather”

“Though the over-riding smell of sunlit June is a mixture of Philadelphus and Strawberries, if it gets too hot there is an arid, dusty smell, the smell of rank stinging nettles. If we get rain after dry heat at this time, an almost delirious richness comes from all the wet foliage.”

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We have a highly scented Philadelphus shrub arching over the path to our Shade Border, but it is in reality growing in our neighbours’ garden. We train the long flowering stems over the path so that we pass through a tunnel of rich sweet scent.

On the opposite page I wrote about the creatures seen by the wildlife pond in mid-June, Dragonflies, Damselflies and Pond Skaters.

“Dragonfly and Damselfly larvae creep slowly up stems of pond plants and metamorphose from the ugly to the beautiful. Pond Skaters skim in twitching movements across the surface of the water without breaking through.”

I enjoyed painting our most beautiful Damselfly which we see often on summer days flitting around our garden and often coming into the house to see us!

Page 5 features one of our favourite families of herbaceous perennials, the Geraniums. We have many different varieties and cultivars flowering in many of our borders.

“Geraniums are any lover of perennial plants favourites. So many shades of pink and blue on flowers of varying size and detail of petal”.

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On my next page I looked at the bird life in our June garden,

“Our garden in June is subject to regular invasions of fledgling birds, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits along with Finches Green and Gold. They beg for food noisily and even ask us for food as we get on with our gardening chores.”

I then picked myself up on the use of the term “gardening chores”,

“It strikes me as odd that we speak of gardening chores or jobs and tasks. Gardening is a delight.

To accompany these words I painted a water colour of a fledgling Blue Tit, looking a little like a faded version of its parents.

Pages 7 and 8 of my June journal featured a bit of pond dipping and a look at a special Rose.

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“A warm evening in late June was a perfect time to get out my pond-dipping net and sample tray. A few scoops and the tray was full of life.”

I painted a Water Measurer and the larva of a Common Newt. Both these creatures appeared in numbers in every scoop I made with the net. Even if just a few of these young Newts reach adulthood it will help manage the slug population and perhaps reduce the number of holes in our Hosta leaves.

My final entry in my garden journal for the month of June was a look at a special Rose which we discovered just last year. We were initially attracted to its beautiful buds and rich chocolate brownish red blooms. We discovered it was called Dark Chocolate and it has the added benefit of a rich scent.

“We have an unusually coloured rose growing in our “Secret Garden” called Rosa “Hot Chocolate”. The colour is a deep brick-red with hints of the darkest brown. Its scent is rich, fruity but with a hint of dark chocolate. The buds of Hot Chocolate are one of the most beautiful of all roses.”

And that is my journal for June.

Tags climbing roses, damselflies, garden journal, garden pond, garden pools, garden wildlife, June, newts, roses

climbing plants colours flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden photography gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials irises kitchen gardens meadows National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs poppies Shropshire The National Trust trees walled gardens

Croft Castle month by month – Part 6 June

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 6, 2015
4 Comments on Croft Castle month by month – Part 6 June

We arrived for our June exploration of the gardens at the National Trust property, Croft Castle, with great expectations as the sun shone, the sky was blue and the temperature warm. We were not disappointed in any way! After our usual coffee and cakes we made our way to the main feature of the garden, the Walled Garden. On the way we enjoyed finding some very colourful plants with the added extra, scent.

On entering the Walled Garden the colour and scent continued. Our first glance through the doorway promised a great deal to see and smell.

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Poppies were on top form! Beautiful!

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As we ambled up the gentle slope studying the plants in the border against the wall we noticed that the vines were now in full leaf with tiny bunches of flowers forming, the promise of a healthy grape harvest to come. Irises blooming in the borders opposite bloomed with much more complex and colourful flowers.

As usual we passed through the blue gate to see what was going on in the gardeners’ working area, but not much was going on. We were pleased to see the Cobaea back in flower. It lives up to its common name, the “Cup and Saucer Plant”.

Our old favourite, the Cornus cousa was white over with flower-like bracts and beneath it Nancy, Liz and Clementine the Pekin Bantams we met earlier were enjoying their new home.

The ancient apple orchard and the mixed borders hugging the red-brick walls were full of colour, scent and texture. The walled garden had truly come to life!

More borders have come to life this month in the central area of the walled garden among and around the old gnarled fruit trees. A meadow of poppies, a rose garden and mixed borders all add to the effect.

We left the walled garden through a gateway with a shrubby area with Foxgloves enjoying its shade.

The Secret Garden was at its peak, soft colours, gentle perfumes and a multitude of greens.

Around the front of the residence at Croft Castle we looked over the wall to admire the vast area of meadowland. Deep pink Centranthus bordered the base of the walls giving a bright margin between wall and meadow.

We are half way through our year of monthly visits to the gardens of Croft Castle. Our next visit in July will hopefully be bright, warm and sunny too, giving us even more to look forward to.

Tags cornus, Croft Castle., fruit and vegetable growing, gardens open to the public, Hereford, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, meadows, National Trust, The National Trust, walled garden, walled gardens

arboreta garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardens gardens open to the public Italian style gardens meadows ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs trees water garden water in the garden

A Week in the Lake District – Part 7 – Holker Hall

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 4, 2015

I had recently read a book on the original creation and the more recent re-design of the gardens at Holker Hall so I was really looking forward to visiting it to see it for real. The book made mention of many rare and interesting trees being planted which made me extra keen to visit.

We hoped it would reach our expectations as it was the last day of our week in the Lake District. We looked forward to a gentle stroll around a peaceful, atmospheric garden. We were not disappointed in any way! Holker’s gardens were full of variety and surprises, with a careful balance of the formal and informal.

As we entered the garden we were presented with this vista, a vista full of promises to come.

Taking each pathway off from the central path we discovered beautiful examples of formality, neatly cut grass, hedges carefully clipped and seats neatly tucked into niches.

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But formality cannot work without carefully chosen and well-grown plants.

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As we moved away from the formality of the first section of the garden we found gentle meadows which presented a complete contrast.

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The meadows contained surprises, a stone circle, a maze, seats of single blocks of slate and the most beautiful sundial.

It was hot wandering out in the open space of the meadows so it felt good to wander around shaded areas and an Italianate water garden.

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One of the reasons to visit Holker Hall is the collection of rare and unusual trees. They were underplanted with meadows of grasses and wildflowers which gave the wooded area the character of a real William Robinson styled wild garden

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We were amazed by the number of interesting trees at Holker and enjoyed discovering several champion trees. There were so many special places throughout the gardens where shrubs and trees were sensitively grouped to set them off in the best light.

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Tags Cumbria, garden trees, Holker Hall, Italian garden style, meadows, shrubs, The Lake District, The Lakes, trees and shrubs, water in the garden, wildflower meadows

colours countryside flowering bulbs landscapes light light quality photography trees wildlife woodland woodlands

A Week in the Lake District – Part 6 – Bluebells

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 2, 2015
1 Comment on A Week in the Lake District – Part 6 – Bluebells

The Bluebells in our Shropshire garden were flowering and sharing their rich scent with us early in May, so we were more than a little surprised to find them only just coming into flower when we visited the Lake District a month later. While driving the perimeter road around the lake called Thirlmere, we followed the road as it moved into woodlands of tall trees elongated as they fought to reach the light.

Beneath the canopy, the play of light and shade fascinated us as explored the woods.

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As we explored further we noticed a haze of blue appearing among the fine grasses of the woodland floor. On close inspection we realised they were Bluebells, the wildflower of spring.

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Please enjoy this final set of photographs showing the richness of light in the woods around Thirlmere, one of the many bubbling streams and some of the wild plants growing there.

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