greenbenchramblings

Walking the Shrewsbury Battlefield – Part One

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 9, 2015
3 Comments on Walking the Shrewsbury Battlefield – Part One

Although we have lived in Shropshire for years it is only now that we have finally visited the site of the famous Battle of Shrewsbury and the Church of St Mary Magdalene built there to commemorate those who died in battle.

There were absolutely no clues that a battle ever took place here as we walked the footpath across the site of the battle, but we enjoyed wandering along the hedgerows with the song of Skylarks high above us and the distinctive call of the first returning migrant warbler, the Chiffchaff. We enjoyed seeing and hearing a Yellow Hammer a scarce farmland bird.

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Signs of spring were to be seen every step of the way, freshly bursting buds with the brightest of greens emerging and the earliest of blossoms.

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The willows were giving a light show, as the sun shone through their catkins.

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Some trees were still bare skeletons against the blue skies.

As we approached the scatter of buildings around the church, a shallow stream flowed alongside with banks of water plants coming to life.

In the woodland around the church we discovered the remaining fish ponds used by the college chaplains.

We wandered past the church and made our way to the nearby Battlefield Farm Shop which luckily had a coffee shop! We decided to have a look at the church on the way back when we would be well-refreshed. In converted old farm buildings an exhibition explained all about the Battle of Shrewsbury.

We began our walk back around the battlefield site following a narrow gravel path between a tall hedge and an old chestnut fence. In a field showing signs of ancient ridge and furrows agriculture we spotted a drainage pond rich in vegetation and a old fallen tree with the most amazingly shaped trunk and branches.

In part two of our look at the Shrewsbury Battlefield site we will look at the church and the skeletal tree in more detail.

Tags battlefields, Blackthorn, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, willows

colours flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials National Trust natural pest control ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Trust trees walled gardens

Croft Castle Month by Month – Part 4 – April

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 6, 2015
1 Comment on Croft Castle Month by Month – Part 4 – April

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It is already time for our fourth visit to the National Trust’s Herefordshire property, Croft Castle. On this visit the sun shone on us and we enjoyed a lovely warm spring day.

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The first noticeable change was that there was now life in the trees as buds were bursting and delicate bright green leaves were making their entrance.

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The ancient Sweet Chestnuts were beginning to show glossy ribbed fresh green foliage.

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Different wildflowers added colour to the little meadow area that we pass on our way to the walled garden, Lady’s Smock with the softest possible pink petals, white and purple Fritilleries and buttercup yellow Dandelions.

Beyond the meadow we passed through the gateway in the stone wall and got a glimpse of the castle and its chapel. We then walked along the deep long mixed border.

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We arrived expecting to see big changes in the walled garden itself and immediately we were struck by how lush green everything looked.

In the bothy we read the job list for the gardeners. The greenhouse had a surprise in store for us, these zingy orange Clivia flowers. I couldn’t resist taking a shot of the peeling paint on an old wooden seat.

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Although there was little sign of growth on the vines the Apples were showing their first blossoms and the Rhubarb plants were producing strong stems. The garden staff had already picked a large crop. In the Rose Garden Tulips provided bright patches of colour.

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In readiness for the next school holiday the staff had put out games from times past. Jude the Undergardener just couldn’t resist it!

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Close to the Hopscotch game our noses were attracted to the scent from the Wisteria flowers.

We loved this sign explaining why some grass was left uncut.

We discovered colour in every border in the walled garden, flowering bulbs and early shrubs.

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Next visit to the gardens at Croft Castle will be in May when Spring will be in”full swing”.

Tags Croft Castle., Herefordshire, National Trust, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, Sweet Chestnut, The National Trust

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Gardening Scheme" trees walled gardens water garden water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Yellow Book Gardens – 3 – Brobury House Gardens

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 1, 2015

For our third Yellow Book Garden visit we found another garden set in our neighbouring county of Herefordshire, so we drove down through the beautiful countryside of South Shropshire and North Herefordshire. It was a sunny day with a sparkling blue sky. Brobury House Gardens are open for much of the year but on the day of our visit they were open for the NGS Yellow Book Scheme. Their website was enticing so we arrived with high expectations. The garden was situated alongside the River Wye so we were looking forward to views of the Wye, probably the most picturesque river in England.

We began as usual with coffee and cake which was served in a beautiful conservatory with seating in and out. The view we enjoyed as we sat enjoying our refreshments increased our expectations. We were given a beautiful plan of the garden with some details of the garden and from this we learned that the garden was being redesigned and a lot of replanting had taken place.

As we approached the conservatory we spotted this beautiful blue Clematis and a nice barrow of plants for sale. From the conservatory we admired this beautiful, gnarled Mulberry tree reputed to have been planted by the naturalist and diarist the Rev Francis Kilvert. Close by, yellow tulips lit up the borders.

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Among the tulips we were pleased to see a Drimys showing its delicately scented yellow flowers. We have a couple of these evergreens in our Avocet garden but we have rarely seen them elsewhere.

From the pond, in the section of garden inspired by Lutyens, we got a wonderful view back to the house.

After the formality of the Lutyens styled garden we wandered down to the strongly contrasting stream and informal pools. Close by was a stand of mature white stemmed Birches, which glowed on this sunny afternoon.

As we followed the narrow stream of clear water we found a border of Hellebores under the shade of tall native deciduous trees. The stars of this border were the Hellebores with flowers the colour of Primroses.

The stream continued its short journey to the River Wye through beautifully planted bog gardens.

As we left the boggy areas we found a stand of Weeping Silver Pears covered in white blossom.

The stream beyond the boggy areas became narrower as it passed through sloping meadowland. Here our native Snakeshead Fritillaries graced its banks and among the purple flowers we discovered this white beauty with thin green lines on the outside of its petals.

Behind the coach house the walled kitchen garden has been renovated and redesigned. It still has peaches growing on the walls and the greenhouse range has been beautifully restored.

We were drawn by the varieties of Tulips in flower in this area, especially this stunning lily flowered orange bloom.

We had one border still to see, a long border against the wall below the house. Spring bulbs featured strongly here so it was a very colourful border.

And naturally we had a coffee before we made the journey home, this time we sat outside on the terrace as the weather had improved throughout our exploration of this interesting garden and the chill wind had lessened. We shall certainly recommend this garden to our friends.

Tags Brobury House, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, NGS, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, tulips, walled garden, water, water gardening, water in the garden, Yellow Book Gardens

garden design garden furniture garden photography garden seating gardens gardens open to the public

Are you Sitting Comfortably? – Part 5 of a very occasional series

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 25, 2015
1 Comment on Are you Sitting Comfortably? – Part 5 of a very occasional series

The time has come once again to share with you the latest collection of photographs of garden seats that we have discovered on our visits. This is the fifth in my very occasional series of posts.

The first selection were all found during our visits to Croft Castle in Herefordshire.

This batch of seats all live in the Bishop’s Garden in the grounds of Wells Cathedral in Somerset.

We remain in the South West of England for our next set. In the grounds of the Painswick Rococo Garden we found traditional garden seats of stone, wood and iron in the main gardens but much more rustic seating in the area set aside as a nature reserve.

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I think I can just squeeze in this little blue job from Dunham Massey in Cheshire.

And that is it for the fifth post in my very occasional series about garden seating. One day in the future number six will appear but who knows when? Perhaps when I have found enough interesting seats to sit on that are worth sharing with you.

Tags garden furniture, garden seating, garden seats

flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardens hardy perennials light National Garden Scheme ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire South Shropshire spring bulbs spring gardening succulents The National Gardening Scheme" trees water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Yellow Book Gardens 2 – Radnor Cottage

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 23, 2015
5 Comments on Yellow Book Gardens 2 – Radnor Cottage

Our second visit to an NGS Yellow Book garden for 2015 was just a few days after the first of the year to Bury Court Farmhouse, and was to a garden in South Shropshire near to the village of Clun.

Radnor Cottage sits on a steep hillside with broad views over the countryside. We visited on a bright sunny day with temperatures in the upper teens and this surprising Spring weather brought out lots of garden visitors.

We hadn’t been to Radnor Cottage for many years so really couldn’t remember what to expect. The garden owners described it as a semi-wild woodland garden so the plants of this season looked good in their setting. As we walked slowly up the steep gravel driveway we spotted wetland areas to our right and a mini-arboretum to our left, but we passed these by in search of the sign indicating “TEAS”.

While fetching the teas I spotted this bright yellow leaved Berberis which we were pleased to see looked so fresh and lively as we have just planted one in our front garden in the Hot Garden. We enjoyed our tea and cake sat among a vast array of containers planted up with Sempervivums and other cushion alpines.

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I have a soft spot for Celandines so I just had to stop for a close look at this double form.

We began our tour of the garden meandering up a steep slope with typical Spring planting among the close cut grass. We liked the juxtaposition of the formal box balls and the gentle naturalistic planting on the grassed bank. William Robinson would have enjoyed this garden! Species Tulips, Anemones, Muscari and other spring bulbs were to be discovered from the narrow gravel paths.

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We found a little veggie patch hidden behind a beech hedge.

We then moved back down the drive to explore the wet area with a series of pools beneath old trees. Banks of daffodils flanked the grass paths. These grass paths appeared as we rounded corners presenting a choice of ways to go each time.

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Leaving the wetland we crossed the gravel drive and entered the mini-arboretum. Buds were bursting and bark glowing in the sunshine.

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Apart from the fact that it was on a steeply sloping hillside, we could not remember the garden at Radnor Cottage at all, so it was just as if we were visiting it for the first time.

Tags Clun, fruit and vegetable growing, ornamental trees, Shropshire, South Shropshire, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, succulents, water gardening, water in the garden

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardens grow your own hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Gardening Scheme" trees Yellow Book Gardens

Yellow Book Gardens 1 – Bury Court Farmhouse

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 20, 2015
2 Comments on Yellow Book Gardens 1 – Bury Court Farmhouse

Our first National Garden Scheme’s Yellow Book garden of 2015 was to Bury Court Farmhouse in the Herefordshire village of Wigmore. We always look forward to our visits to other gardens which open to the public under the auspices of the NGS because of course we open for the Yellow Book too. We were particularly keen to see what other gardens looked like in April as our first opening this year is on 16th April.

To celebrate our first NGS garden of the year the sun came out and the temperature shot up to 17 degrees way above anything we have so far experienced in 2015. We drove down through the beautiful Shropshire Hills and into Herefordshire a county with such beautiful villages among beautiful countryside. We were directed into a rough grassed car park riddled with muddy puddles. We had to seek out a space for our car among dead farm machinery slowly decaying and being taken over by Mother Nature. A cheerful welcome awaited us at the garden gate. Spot the horse shoe hanging from the NGS sign.

We passed through a five barred gate into a courtyard with narrow borders around its perimeter and a rectangular bed in the centre all planted with cheerful spring bulbs and early flowering perennials and shrubs. Hyacinths, Vincas, Celandines, Doffodils and Tulips.

We were amused by the owl family and the bird bath.

The garden boasted a small productive patch with leeks and broad beans already growing well and cloches warming up soil for future crops. A lawned area alongside was bordered by a tall hedge which allowed woodland plants to grow in its shade.

At the front of the house was a large sunny lawn with island beds full of brightly coloured spring flowering plants. Primroses, Primulas and bulbs especially Hyacinths and Narcissi.

This beautiful bronze statue of a hare was basking in the sunshine among blue Anemones.

The borders around this sunny lawn were truly mixed borders with herbaceous planting, shrubs and trees giving interest at every level.

Right in the centre of this lawned area was a clue to the original use of the imposing stone built building in the centre of the garden. It had originally been a farm growing apples to make cider. The photos below show the mill stone that would have been used to crush the cider apples. Ponies were used to pull the stones around a groove.

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So our first Yellow Book garden of 2015 was certainly worth a visit with its cheerful planting and it served very nice tea and cakes!

Tags daffodils, Hereford, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, National Garden Scheme, NGS, ornamental trees, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, succulents, water gardens, water in the garden

architecture buildings Church architecture colours light light quality outdoor sculpture photography the sea the seaside the shore townscapes

A Seaside Town at Night

We often visit North Wales and the island of Anglesey. It is an area with beautiful countryside, long quiet beaches, tiny villages and seaside towns. When we stay for a mid-week break we sometimes use a hotel in the seaside town of Caernarvon, enjoying the walks along the sea front, the quay and the marina.

This post is a gallery of shots taken on a wander through the town and along the sea front as light fell. The temperature was slowly falling as the evening crept in. The atmosphere of the place reflected the changing temperature and light levels. Come and share our wander with us! Fresh evening air and the sounds of the sea lapping at the sea walls trying to drown out the harsh cries of the sea gulls.

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Great memories that make us yearn for a few more days by the sea!

Tags architecture, atmosphere, Caernarvon, evening, light, light quality, North Wales, sea, sea side, seascapes, townscape, townscapes

countryside landscapes meadows the sea the seaside the shore Wales

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside – Part Two – The Great Orme

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 15, 2015
2 Comments on Oh we do like to be beside the seaside – Part Two – The Great Orme

For our second reminder of autumn we return for our next bout of sea air. This time we made our way over more Welsh hills, moors and mountains to the northern stretch of coast. We stopped off in Llandudno for a wander along the pier before taking the driving tour of the Great Orme.

The sky was blue and the sea matched it. The pier seemed all blue too and on this bright day it looked so cheerful. The odd splash of yellow and red added even more drama.

In the next shot you can spot the Great Orme looming in the background, with its strata lines of limestone clearly visible in the bright light. Isn’t it inviting when you spot it there?

Jude enjoyed the sight and sound of the sea as we reach the end of the pier.

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Having enjoyed our walk out into the sea along the old blue and white pier we went on to start the second part of our day out, a drive around the Great Orme following the toll road.

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The single track road winds in and out of the inlets and headlands closely following the line of the coast. The track is enclosed within limestone walls, laid as dry-stone walling.

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One feature of the Orme is a unique herd of wild white goats. We have driven up to the summit of the Orme and around the edge plenty of times in the past but rarely even caught a glimpse of these strange creatures. This day was our lucky day! Their white coats glowed against the deep blue sky.

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We took a diversion to the summit when we were almost all the way around the perimeter road. Our eyes were immediately drawn to this bronze statue of a wild white goat.

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As well as its white goats the Great Orme is known for its ancient mines and its Victorian tram line. While wandering the summit we discovered near the old mine that visitors had used fallen limestone blocks to write their names on the close cropped grass.

We just had to have a go!

We enjoyed a wander around the summit, discovering a little wildlife garden and wild meadows surrounding the quarry and the tram terminal.

We enjoyed wide views across open pastureland on our drive back down into Llandudno. What a great day out at the seaside!

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Tags Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales, trams, Wales, wild goats

architecture buildings colours landscapes light light quality the sea the seaside the shore townscapes Wales

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside! – Part One – Newquay

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 13, 2015
3 Comments on Oh we do like to be beside the seaside! – Part One – Newquay

I thought as we are now in early spring and the weather is improving a little it would be a good time to look back to the early autumn when the sky was still blue and the temperatures more comfortable. So let us reminisce and celebrate two days at the seaside.

It was the week of Jude the Undergardener’s birthday so as she loves to be beside the sea, two visits to the coast of Wales were the order of the day.

So for our first seaside day we headed off over the mid-Wales mountains towards Aberystwyth and then when we got near the coast we headed southwards to Newquay. Neither of us could ever remember visiting before even though we both holidayed in this part of Wales as children. We were surprised how colourful the village looked when we first saw it. We soon discovered Newquay to have a great sense of pride and a community feel to it.

After a quick look around the village we wandered down the quay and on the beach.

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We were mesmerised by this amazing land form, with its domed strata, peeled away in places like the layers of an onion by the powerful erosion forces of the sea.

Whenever we are at the coast we get involved looking at the geology and geomorphology of the cliff, wave cut platforms and all sorts of patterns and forms.

Enjoy sharing our wander with my camera back around the quayside and back through the village with us.

Blue was definitely the colour of the day! What a great day it was too!

Tags Mid Wales, sea, seascapes, seashore, seaside, the sea, the shore, Wales

flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden buildings garden wildlife gardening gardens gardens open to the public grow your own hardy perennials National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening The National Trust trees

Croft Castle month by month – part three – March

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 9, 2015
3 Comments on Croft Castle month by month – part three – March

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So back we went for the third of our monthly visits to the Herefordshire property of theNational Trust, Croft Castle where we had a wander to see what had changed since our visit in February. As usual we began our tour by checking out that the coffee and cakes were still up to our high expectations! To get there we walked past the parkland which features the ancient Sweet Chestnuts. These old trees were still showing no signs of spring, their buds tightly closed.

Suitably refreshed we cut through a meadow area on our way to the walled garden, and in that meadow little patches of colour shone out, white Wood Anemones, the purple of Fritilleries and the yellows of Celandines and Dandelions. Amongst these the patterned leaves of Arum Italicum, our native Arum Lily clothed the ground. Fritilleries although dramatic flowers with purple chequerboard patterned petals were remarkably difficult to make out among the grass.

The long, deep mixed border was showing colour too, mostly primulas and bulbs.

We walked quickly along the long border trying to avoid the biting wind and reach the protection of the walled garden. When we caught the first glimpse of the doorway into the walled garden we were amazed to see that the little section of cobbled path the gardeners had recently discovered had now been exposed and restored right across the lawned area.

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Passing through the little doorway you can see in the photo below at the right hand end of the wall gave welcome relief. There was no wind within the walls and the temperature was so much warmer. It made the day feel comfortable to wander in so we slowed down and took time to look.

The long border beneath the wall had a scattering of blooms such as these Pulmonaria and Muscari and the buds on a few of the shrubs were beginning to burst. The vineyard however was still deep in its state of hibernation.

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As usual we were tempted to go through the blue gates into the working heart of the walled garden. We discovered a newly created fruit garden and close by a Rhubarb plant waited patiently to take its place.

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In the greenhouse plants had been potted up ready to be sold later in the season, including this array of Pulmonarias.

Back out in the main walled garden we found more Rhubarb and this looked well on its way to being ready for harvesting. There were signs of spring everywhere in the protected environment within the wall, fresh greens and reds of newly burst buds on willows and roses.

We noticed as we wandered around the comfortable grassed paths that whenever we caught a glimpse of the garden buildings they seemed to be framed by trees and hedges.

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Leaving the walled garden behind we followed cobbled patterned paths beneath old fruit trees underplanted with Primroses and Daffodils.

The enclosed courtyard garden was full of the contrasting colours of Primroses and Chionodoxa. A cheerful sight!

We seemed to be at Croft on a day when many volunteer gardeners were working on site. They seemed to be enjoying their work and their time was punctuated with laughter and chatter.