Tag: garden sculpture

Julie’s Garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 12, 2019

Jude and I enjoy our monthly summer visits to gardens with fellow members of the Hardy Plant Society Shropshire Group but in addition we visit other gardens with our mini-group colleagues. The mini-groups are sub-groups of the main county group of the HPS. This year we are visiting each others’ gardens in turn, one a month from Spring to Autumn.

At the end of March we journeyed out to the village of Fitz to visit the garden of mini-group member Julie. An open area of lawn invited us to wander and soon our eyes were drawn towards a old shrub pruned into a piece of sculpture.

The wood was close to a beautiful pond beneath a Silver Birch, with softly coloured perennials beneath, including some beautiful Epimediums.

Throughout th egarden we kept discovering interesting trees and shrubs.

But Julie’s garden had more to enjoy than plants and plant combinations, with sculptural pieces and touches of humour and signs of inventive minds at work.

This beautiful piece of sculpture features four simply constructed seats which look exactly right where they are. It was created by their son as a set piece for exams – beautiful!

Many of us were fascinated by this crescent trellis built to support climbers so we spent time working out how it was made.

The pool edge held a mixture of pieces, some there just to amuse.

So there we have it – a visit to an interesting village garden in spring.

Tags epimedium, garden pond, garden ponds, garden sculpture, garden structures, outdoor sculpture

flowering bulbs garden design garden furniture garden paths garden photography garden pools garden seat garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials Land Art light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture pathways shrubs spring spring gardening village gardens Yellow Book Gardens

Moors Meadow – a romantic garden full of magic

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 9, 2019
3 Comments on Moors Meadow – a romantic garden full of magic

We had not visited the magical garden at Moors Meadow for several years so we were really looking forward to exploring it with my brother Graham and sister-in-law Vicky.

The garden here was pronounced Britain’s most romantic garden by a national gardening monthly. We were so looking forward to finding out if it lived up to this and if it still felt as magical as we remembered.

It didn’t take long for us to discover that it was indeed a garden full of surprises, artifacts, unusual plants, amazing seats and wandering pathways through changing moods of garden.

I shall now share a gallery of photos showing our walk around the gardens.

So there is my gallery of photos of our journey around the magical and romantic gardens at Moors Meadow. I hope you enjoyed sharing our journey and our enjoyment.

Tags garden furniture, garden sculpture, garden seating, garden seats, gardens of Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, Moors Meadow, outdoor sculpture, trees and shrubs

garden arches garden design garden designers garden garden arches garden paths garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public light light quality natural pest control ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture pathways trees

A Week in Cornwall – Part 5 – The Japanese Garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 30, 2019

As we left Cornwall after our week’s holiday we spent the morning at The Japanese Garden which was part way back to Devon where we were going to stay for a few days. We had visited this garden years ago but could not remember it at all, so it would all be a surprise.

A Japanese gardens has certain elements that make it a Japanese garden, a feeling of welcome, topiarised trees and shrubs, stone sculptures often in the form of lanterns, beautiful calm vistas, paths to invite calm slow wandering and moss in abundance, plus of course that essential water.

Let us begin at our Cornwall garden to see if it gave us a warm welcome, and see if there were areas that gave us the right feeling of calm and peace. Throughout this look at the Cornwall Japanese Garden you will notice how powerful the sense of light and shade can be in creating an atmospheric garden.

Peaceful areas appeared regularly at the end of winding paths or through archways.

Moss featured here as groundcover or growing on branches and tree trunks in the damp atmosphere. These patches of moss either on the ground or aerial are great for wildlife especially as they are always moist. Overall wildlife feels happy in Japanese gardens in the UK, and effecively act as predatorial pest controllers.

Training trees is an ancient Japanese art practised for centuries by Japanese gardeners following set rules using coniferous ans deciduous trees alike. It is a skill just coming into being in 21st century Britain. I love using it in the garden!

Stone sculptures were visible throughout including many forms of lantern. We use a few of these in our interpretation of a Japanese garden her at home in our Plealey patch.

Bamboo of course is another essential element of any Japanese garden, either growing in its many forms or used as a fencing or building material. It is beautiful and structural whichever way it is used.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of the Cornwall Japanese Garden as much as we did. There is so much Western gardeners can learn from Japanese garden design and from the skills of Japanese gardeners. They can teach us a lot about creating peace and harmony in our gardens.

Tags cloud pruning, Cornwall, creative pruning, garden sculpture, gardens of Cornwall, Japanese Garden, Japanese gardening, mosses, natural pest control, outdoor sculpture, pruing trees, topiary., tree training

garden arches garden design garden paths garden photography gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture roses sculpture The National Trust

Our Short Break in Stratford-on-Avon – Part 4 – Coughton Court

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 2, 2019

On our return journey from Stratford afforded us the opportunity to return to explore the gardens of the National Tust property, Coughton Court, a garden we had not visited for many years, so we looked forward to seeing how our memories of the place matched up with the reality.

Coughton Court is the family home of the Throckmorton family, who continue to maintain and develop the garden and grounds as well as the house itself.

In particular, we remember the walled rose garden which is often quoted as being one of the most romantic gardens in the UK which is of course the land of romantic gardens. We could both remember this area which was full of scented roses, many old-fashioned varieties, and its beautiful statue of a female figure. I can even remember the beautifully soft subtle planting around its base of Sedum sectabile and Stip tenuissima. I hoped that planting still remained.

The introductory set of eight photos below illustrate the variety of points of interest at Coughton. They show the beauty of the buildings themselves, the rose garden, bog garden, orchards, woodland, riverside walk etc

The Throckmorton family rose garden was developed in 1966 and was designed by a Chelsea RHS Show award-winning garden designer, Christina Williams. What makes ir si special and different to traditional rose gardens is the way the roses are heavily underplanted with herbaceous perennials. The statue is of Fair Rosamund, a beauty of the 12th century and reputedly the mistress of King Henry II. The popular ancient rose, Rosa mundi was named after her and specimens are planted around the statue. The gentle planting of my memories has sadly been superseded.

There was so much to enjoy in this rose garden that it is best to look at following a gallery of photos that I took within its bounds. Click on the first photo and then navigate with the arrows.

Moving on from the rose garden and its rich sites and aromas, we found our way into a much more open space which presented a pleasant contrast to the business of the rose garden. Here a rectangular lawn was edged with herbaceous borders, planted with Gertrude Jekyl style gentle end of the spectrum plant choices. We enjoyed a slow amble among each side, appreciating the individual plants, plant combinations and the bigger picture of looking right along the length of each border.

It is always good to visit a garden with many different aspects and the gardens at Coughton Court manages to certainly provide lots of different styles of garden to enjoy. Here are few shots showing different aspects I haven’t the space to share. Enjoy!

Tags Coughton Court, garden sculpture, gardens of the National Trust, herbaceous borders, herbaceous plants, Natiional Trust Gardens, National Trust, rose garden, rose gardens, Warwickshire

architecture buildings garden design garden photography garden seat garden seating gardens gardens open to the public grasses ornamental grasses outdoor sculpture sculpture town gardens

Our Short Break in Stratford-on-Avon – Part 2

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 29, 2019

Part two of this report on our short break in Stratford-on-Avon is all about the gardens of Shakespeare and his family. After spending time indoors studying the life and times of the Bard is was good to be outside discovering some outdoor history.

We will begin by looking at the grounds of the Shakespeare family home, where roses seem the most important plant. The planting today does not necessarily relate in any way to how it was in the Bard’s day. We loved this bronze of Shakespeare which seemed to capture his intelligence and depth of thinking and feeling, as well as the contemporary pencil sketch of the house.

In total contrast but just a short walk away, is “The New Place”, a celebration of Shakespeare’s life with exciting modern garden design and statuary. Each piece of statuary and each plant combination provides hints of the period as well as adding atmosphere. There were brilliant plant combinations combined sensitively with modern sculptural constructions. Softening of modern hard landscaping was carried out using soft, whispy grasses such as Stipa tennuissima Pony Tails.

The globe under the tree feature had a real surprise in store fr when you got close to the tree you realised it was cast in bronze. Goldfinches loved it and sang from its upper branches!

A more open space beyond he building and the modern garden area had a completely different feel to it contrasting strongly and providing a peaceful space to rest and have a quick coffee served by a barista on a bicycle. Long double borders with a central path ran along one side of the large green, with topiarised hedging and perennial planting.

Finally a parterre area felt much more in keeping with the garden style of the Shakespearian era, providing another contrasting area to explore. Lavenders gave off beautiful gentle scent.

Tags garden sculpture, gardens, ornamental grasses, outdoor sculpture, parterre, parterres, roses, Shakespeare, Stratford-on-Avon, topiary., town gardens, Warwickshire

outdoor sculpture sculpture Yorkshire

Family visit to Yorkshire Park Part 2 – outside

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 10, 2019

Back at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park we saw Arabella enjoying the huge muddy puddles created by the storm that battered the site as we enjoyed the inside gallery spaces. We meanwhile enjoyed a few outdoor pieces alongside the puddles while we watched her antics. We are so pleased with how Arabella has inherited our love of puddles!

The following photos are a selection of those taken around the sculpture park.

We always enjoy spending time in any James Turrell’s sky spaces and this one called “Deer Shelter” was the first we ever found.

Or final stop was in the chapel gallery with a single installation filling the main room. Sheets and music hang among white string “nests”. All of this rises from a piano. This space had a magical atmosphere.

So that was the end of our family holiday in Scotland and a few extra days in Yorkshire.

Tags garden sculpture, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Land Art landscapes light light quality outdoor sculpture photography sculpture trees Yorkshire

A Family Holiday in Scotland – Part 7 Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 8, 2019

The last day of our family holiday, where we spent a week in the Scottish Borders, was spent part way during our journey home at The Yorkshire Sculture Park. This is a favourite place for our family so it was great to all be there together. There are always top quality gallery shows and outdoor exhibitions as well as the permanent collection of outside sculpture all dispayed in beautiful parkland.

Before going out to the underground gallery to look at the work of Guiseppe Penone, we had a quick look at exhibitions inside which we all felt were rather strange except for Arabella who enjoyed the animals. She loves all animals! See what you think of these.

We went out into the unnaturally cool, wet July morning across the gravel display area into the main gallery. This building is so good at displaying sculpture and is fascinating in its own right. The right hand photo of the three below shows part of the first piece we spotted as we entered the gallery building.

In the main gallery spaces we were enthralled by Guiseppe Penone’s exhibition “A Tree in the Wood”, each piece holding our attention. The centre piece was a tree carved to follow the natural contours and get into its soul. It was a beautiful piece! The tree was so long that the sculptural piece went through two galleries passing through from one to another.

This sculptural piece was one of the most beautiful pieces Jude and I could ever remember experiencing, as the sculptor successfully discovered and enhanced the textures, shapes contours and even the soul of the tree when it was still living. Now this tree will live on for ever, unaffected by storms, freezing conditions and long winters.

But there were plenty of other examples of his tree and wood sculptures here to enjoy plus a few 2D pieces.

After hours of being enthralled by “A Tree in the Wood” we eventually moved outside to a very wet parkland. Arabella however who loves puddles almost above all else soon spotted one result of the rain. To enjoy this you will have to await my next post.

Tags garden sculpture, natural sculpture, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, Yorkshire, Yorkshire Sculpture Park

allotments garden design garden photography gardens gardens open to the public kitchen gardens Land Art landscapes sculpture

A family holiday to Scotland – Part 3- Little Sparta

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 24, 2018
1 Comment on A family holiday to Scotland – Part 3- Little Sparta

For a long time we have wanted to visit the garden at Little Sparta near Glasgow, so when holidaying nearby we just had to pay it a visit. Often places you have waited for with high expectations turn out to be less than you hope for but Little Sparta proved to be more than expected. Jude and I visited with our son and daughter-in-law, Jamie and Sam and our granddaughter Arabella, a twenty-month old garden and nature lover.

Little Sparta is the garden created by artist Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006). It was started 50 years ago, created from the natural landscape and is described in the leaflet given to garden visitors as “a beautiful and shaded place, with trees, flower beds, running streams, bridges, ponds and paths, which lead you past more than 200 artworks many of them carved with inscriptions that will take you into the world of classical Greece and Rome, poetry and philosophy, but also the French Revolution, naval ships, armed conflict and weapons of war.”

So we arrived with expectations of surprises and originality.

We parked in the tiny carpark and followed a rough gravel track for almost half a mile up the slope to the garden entrance. We can’t remember visiting many gardens without vehicle access at least reasonably close. The walk up took us through beautiful Scottish farmland complete with sheep and cattle.

The gateway presented a warm welcome but was somewhat of a trick as it was not the actual entrance to the garden which was a short distance along the stone wall.

With every turn of a path new and very varied vistas presented themselves, close tight places and larger open landscapes.

Surprises in the form of stone sculptures and stone calligraphy add to the delight of this garden and help us understand its designer.

A real surprise was a fruit and veg patch which had the feel of a true old-fashioned allotment.

Tags garden sculpture, Ian Hamilton Finlay, land art, Little Sparta, outdoor art, outdoor sculpture, Scotland, Scottish Borders

countryside garden design garden photography garden ponds gardens gardens open to the public outdoor sculpture

An adventure to get here – Canwood Gallery

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 7, 2018
1 Comment on An adventure to get here – Canwood Gallery

Canwood Gallery in the Herefordshire countryside is found after miles of narrow winding lanes and so is decsribed as “an adventure to find” on its website. We visited this outdoor sculpture gallery after hearing of it from Graham and Vivky, my brother and our sister-in-law.

The driveway led us to a beautifulbrick and timber house wrapped in a garden and fields in beautiful countryside. We started wandering around to the sound of a tractor at work. Apart from that the place was silent. Some sculptural pieces were situated close to the house or even leaned against farm buildings.

An indoor gallery set in an old combine shed held an exhibition called “In the middle of somewhere.”

Starting our tour of the outdoor exhibition spaces we were attracted to these two corten steel pieces. Follw my mini-gallery to follow me as I walked around the pieces looking through them to the spaces beyond.

Close by two large heads looked over the countryside.

Sometimes we both find odd pieces not to our taste and this one made us feel nothing.

When studying some sculpture pieces it is the detail that attracts, such as with these figures, one in wood the other stone.

Simply titled “The Bull”, this piece created from two finishes of metals was full of strength and movement.

Moving pieces always add interest to a collection of static pieces. This figure moved with the breeze most elegantly, catching the light as it did so. Enjoy my mini-gallery to follow her changing positions.

After being mesmerised by her gentle movements the following pieces appeared strong and static.

From the fields we entered the gardens through a metal gate to enjoy the sculpture standing comfortably among garden plants. Two pieces, “Birds” and “Lady of the Lake” are sharing the water of the pond in front of the cottage.

I will put all my photos of the other sculptures in to gallery for you to enjoy.

Tags art in the garden, garden sculpture, gardens of Herefordshire, Herefordshire, Herefordshire gardens, outdoor art, outdoor sculpture, sculpture

garden design garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials meadows

A lakeside walk at Trentham Gardens

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date August 11, 2018
1 Comment on A lakeside walk at Trentham Gardens

It was another hot day with clear blue skies and temperatures just short of 30C when we decided to take a drive out to the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent to visit two very different gardens. The first was a courtyard garden at the Emma Bridgwater Pottery Factory featured in my recent post, and the second the vast gardens at Trentham.

We decided to walk the perimeter of the lake now that my newly rebuilt leg was working well. This was a walk we had always wanted to do but I was unable, so it felt good to be setting off on the walk. We were looking forward to discovering new planting by Nigel Dunnett, meadows integrated into the trees and waterside planting designed way back by Capability Brown. We usually wander around Trentham by turning to our right and going through the Piet Oudolf “River of Grasses” then travelling through his prairie gardens before going on to Tom Stuart-Smith’s modern planting within the original structure of the Italian Garden.

On this day though we decided to turn left an make our way around Capability Brown’s lake. Nigel Dunnett’s first meadow plantings tok our breath away. The subtle colours worked so well together and led our eyes twards the water beyond.

As we moved into the shade of mature trees from Capability Brown’s original designs, his choice of flwers changed with brighter flowers being integrated with the purples and whites. This gave the opportunity for Dunnett to use the strong opposite colours, purple and orange, guaranteed to set the heart racing a little faster and smiles to appear on our faces.

With his designs there are always surprises to make to pause and think and we came across just such a place, a plantation of young Birches, Betula Doorenbos. Close by a flowing piece of metal sculptural pieces were integratred within a stretch of the meadows. Corton steel waves to reflect the waves on the surface of the lake when rough. It looked beautifully satisfying floating above the meadow flower colours.

After wandering through the woodland more meadows appeared with much softer planting style. These stunning owl sculptures were a fine finale to our visit.