Here we are back with a collection of photos of garden seats that inspire me to record them and share them. Enjoy!
The first batch are from the National Trust garden at Biddulph Grange.
So I don’t know when my next post in this series will appear – it will simply when I have found enough garden seats to create a little gallery.
So here we are with the final installment in my series of posts where we report on our monthly visits to the wonderful gardens on the Staffordshire and Shropshire border, the Dorothy Clive Garden. We have really enjoyed our monthly visits and every time has been so different with different things to stimulate all the senses.
It has been a most enjoyable series of visits. Next year we will be looking at a very different place in our monthly visit series.
As we have come to expect, the table decorations reflected the season, as we enjoyed a coffee and cake to launch our final visit for 2016. The borders up against the tea shop wall looked so bare now after them recently being full of the brightest colours possible provided by Nerines. But within a few yards of leaving the tea shop we discovered colour in flowers and buds giving promises of things to come.
The new Winter Garden has now really come into its own and will continue to impress for a few months to come.
Structure comes into its own in any good garden at this time of the year and we found that the DC garden was no different. At home we love our cloud pruned box hedges and box balls and in winter of course they come to the fore so we were so pleased to see similar styles of hedge cutting going on on a much larger scale at the Dorothy Clive.
This rolling bundle of box bushes tumble like acrobats along the hedgerow and by partnering up with two mature trees they frame the countryside beyond. Great fun! The next three group around the bottom of a tree like three young triplets cuddling up to their mother. In the third pic the box balls invite the visitor to pass between them to discover more garden beyond.
Berries on trees and shrubs will hang on well into the winter depending how poor the weather becomes and how deeply winter sets in both here and on the continent. If weather as far away as Siberia becomes too inclement for the indigenous thrushes, starlings and blackcaps they migrate to our shores forming raiding parties upon arrival spreading countrywide consuming the fruits, seeds and berries in the countryside and increasingly our gardens. Some colours also last longer as birds are a selective lot when they have the choice, red first, oranges next then yellow and finally white and translucent.
The colours, textures and patterns found on the bark of trees as well as the stems of shrubs take centre stage at this time of year and are lit up by any late year sunshine.
We associate dried flowers with indoor arrangements in the winter but there are plenty of interesting versions to be found outside, especially if you can find some Hydrangeas like the many at the Dorothy Clive Gardens. The colours are those of faded tapestries.
Although not great fans of coniferous trees we can appreciate them more in December when their heavy skeletal frameworks show well. Cones and the last of the flowers hang on their solid branches.
We do however greatly appreciate the silhouettes of tall skeletal networks of deciduous trees.
We were surprised by how many different fungi we spotted as we wandered as we would normally see them in the autumn. They provided bright tiny patches of colour on old logs placed as border edges.
So there we have it, a year’s worth of visits to this lovely garden on the border of Shropshire and Staffordshire, one of our favourites and lucky for us within an hour’s drive so very easy to visit. I hope you have enjoyed the Dorothy Clive Gardens and my attempts at recording its seasonal beauty through the lens of my camera.
Our November visit to see the changing faces of this lovely Shropshire/Staffordshire border garden saw us arriving in sunshine but we were to be treated to a magnificent sky later in the day.
The grass below our feet was wet with the heavy dew from the night hours and it sparkled and glowed in the low autumnal rays of the sun. We just knew we were in for a good day! The two signs near to where we parked up hinted at the joys of autumn we would find and also at the fact that a painting course was being held in the gardens. There always seems to be something going on here as well as the beauty of the garden itself.
We always love the first few minutes of our visits here, when we get the first views out across the garden and get an idea of what the day may have in store for us. We immediately noticed that the Viburnum which we have never been able to identify had now lost the vibrancy of its red-purple hanging foliage and there was no sign of the richly glossy red and black berries. Instead a white feather hung to one of the last remaining leaves. Nearby in the border leading to the tea house yellow dominated, foliage of a tall Calamagrostis grass, an out of season golden yellow Phlomis whorl of flowers and the delicate seedheads of Agapanthus.
Looking out from the tea shop through its large panoramic window we noticed the light glistening on the dew still hanging on covering the grass and the outdoor seats and tables. As I took the pics of the dew Jude the Undergardener/ Mrs Greenbench looked out from the warmth enjoying tea and cake and the beautiful seasonal table centre bouquet.
As we re-entered the chill we noticed that the Nerine outside the cafe which we enjoyed in flower last month was parading its glossy black berries. Dew on the deeaply pleated Melianthus leaves increased their glaucous hue. The gardeners were busy cutting, taking under cover or protecting the tender plants around the cafe terrace. In the hot borders many tender perennials such as Dahlia, Salvias and Echiums were already safely put away leaving swathes of bare cold soil in their wake.
Seed heads have darkened and the scaffolding of stems have become more skeletal during the late autumn and produced a beauty all of their own for our delectation.
Leaves and fruit add richness and depth to the more limited November colour palette.
Side by side two completely different plants, one an Aesculus, one a Fuchsia present the same pinkish-cream colour, the first within its leaf and the second in its faded pink flowers. Beautiful to see them side by side!
Without a doubt my favourite family of shrubs is the deciduous Euonymus and they are always such exciting plants with unusual stems, bark, flowers and berries. Naturally I was delighted to come across this beautiful little shrub, Eouonymus alatus nana with beautiful subtle pink colouring to the autumn foliage and deep purple with orange flowers and berries.
So our eleventh visit to Dorothy Clive was such a worthwhile, even exciting day for us with such an unusual sky event lighting up the gardens for a little while. Our next visit in December will be the final one so we will see what the year end brings to this wonderful place.
Sometimes something happens that will remain with you for ever, a fleeting moment when Mother Nature shouts out, “Hey! Look at me! Check this out!”. She puts on a great show which disappears as quickly and silently as it appeared a short few moments previously.
While following one of our slow monthly ramblings around the Dorothy Clive Garden looking at what the garden had to offer especially for this month, we were, to say the least, waylaid by the weather.
As we walked slowly down the sloping path to the lower garden and the pool, we photographed the birches, trunks pale against the deep evergreen conifers behind them.
We looked over the hedge, the garden boundary, out and across to the countryside beyond. We saw that the light was changing rapidly and dramatically lighting up the countryside. A darkness crept over the approaching clouds which became the darkest blue-grey possible. Combined with the bright shafts of low November sunlight we were suddenly surrounded by the strangest weather we could ever remember.
The birches against their dark backgrounds lit up further. In a matter of seconds it was all magic surrounding us. The first two pics are the first pair prior to the light change, and the following three illustrate the changes those few moments in time produced.
Just look at the subtle changes in these three photos below taken just seconds apart. Look at the light on each tree and the reflection!
We will now share the changing scenes of a fleeting moment in time with you via a gallery of photos shown in the order I took them. Enjoy.
Things began to calm down as a dark cloud took over the sky once again and we enjoyed a final view from this lovely garden bench. It is strange to think that this this beautiful short passage of time which changed our view of trees and the garden in general will never be seen again. An unforgettable experience and an unrepeatable performance!
What a special moment, a moment we will never forget. In the short time this special lighting was putting on its special personalised show for us we were so excited and couldn’t stop pointing out special moments to share.
In my next post I will share the rest of our November visit to the Dorothy Clive Garden.
Our tenth visit to the wonderful Dorothy Clive Gardens saw us wandering around in cool temperatures and lightly overcast skies in late October. We expected to see autumn progressing well and a few plants flowering out of season. The sweeping driveway up to the car park was full of promises of what delights we had in store.
There were few visitors around which is typical of gardens once summer comes to an end. So many visitors to gardens think nothing goes on after September so stay away until next spring. We were there almost on our own sharing the joys of autumn at this beautiful garden with just a handful of other visitors. It is sad because there is so much to see in most good gardens in autumn and through into winter. The first few yards walk from the car park to the ticket office afforded distant views over the garden and a chance to study a newly planted border.
Views along paths among trees and shrubs were greatly enhanced by the low bright light creating bright patches and deep shadows.
The colourful Viburnum we enjoyed discovering earlier in the year caught our eyes again, its berries a more colourful mix of glossy red and black like jewels among its Persian carpet foliage.
Flowering plants keep providing interest well into the autumn and foliage plants really come into their own especially grasses and ferns.
Berries are a feature of autumn not to be missed. This year we are seeing more than usual remaining on trees and shrubs because there are fewer migrant thrushes visiting us to gorge themselves on our gardens’ bounty.
Acers of course feature strongly as it is in this season that their foliage changes by the day, and we can begin to appreciate some of the interesting colours of the bark.
It felt good to discover something totally new at the garden after visiting all year. We noticed that the gardeners and volunteers had been hard at work crafting this rustic fence from old rhododendron trunks with all their curls and bends. It is also exciting to come across a plant that we do not recognise at all so have to seek out a label and if we get lucky we can then follow up with research. This Lindera obtusiloba first attracted us to it because of its startlingly bright yellow leaves but on closer study we were struck by the unusual shape of its leaves.
Autumn is the season that belongs to trees as it becomes their turn to turn up the colours and get out their paint pallettes.
That is it for our October visit so just 2 more monthly reports of our regular wanderings around the Dorothy Clive Gardens. November will see autumn ending and giving way to winter.
Back again ready to enjoy another visit to the Dorothy Clive Gardens and see what has been happening since our August visit. We expected early signs of Autumn and hoped for some colourful displays of Dahlias and Salvias. We decided to take a walk around the young mini-arboretum area this month instead of following the winding paths of the Dingle which has less interest at this time of the year.
As we wandered over to the coffee shop we admired the views over the lower garden and the light which lit up the Pampus Grass behind the Viburnum caught my eye. This was a sign that we could be looking forward to interesting light for garden photography. fingers crossed!
The border alongside the entrance to the coffee shop was at its most colourful so far this year, with Dahlias, Salvias, Nerine and Hesperantha sharing their colours.
These brightly coloured plants set the scene for much of our September visit.
I thought that a gallery of brightly cheerful flowering plants would be a good way of sharing the warm feeling prevailing over the Dorothy Clive Garden this September visit.
Please click on first pic and then navigate using arrows and of course enjoy!
I promised to share our enjoyment of wandering around the soft grass paths that led us around the little arboretum and closely studying the young trees. One surprise was the total lack of autumnal tints to the foliage.
We were particularly taken by this unusual, in fact unknown to us, Hawthorn, Crataegus laciniata. We are now considering adding one to our garden.
The foliage presented a metallic appearance, almost pewter and the haws ranged from yellows through orange and to a dull brown – a most subtle but attractive combination.
I feel that another gallery is the best way to share our amble through the arboretum.
Our next visit to these lovely gardens will be for our October report so we should be getting into signs if autumn by then.
In late August we made one of our regular visits to the Dorothy Clive Gardens on the Shropshire and Staffordshire border to see how the garden was progressing. We chose a warm sunny day for our visit which gave strong contrasts and deep shadow for the trusty Nikon to deal with.
We expected to see lots of colour and much of it bright hot colours provided by flowering perennials as well as perhaps the first signs of late summer presenting a glimpse ahead to autumn, with seeds and berries beginning to show and some leaf colour on trees and shrubs.
There was most certainly no shortage of berries to discover shining brightly like jewels under a bright summer sun.
A few very unusual berries in both colour and shape, were displayed by deciduous Euonymous and Magnolia.
Seedheads were beginning to form on herbaceous perennial plants just as we thought we might find.
We enjoyed the range of colours that flowers provided in the borders and these were highlighted by the August sun riding high in the afternoon sky.
We were pleased to see that this garden’s Tetrapanax Rex was thriving having lost our specimen early in the year. One here was particularly beautiful with clean unmarked foliage.
Ferns also provided brilliant green foliage throughout the Dingle Garden, looking fresh beneath the tall mature trees and evergreen shrubs.
In the new Winter Woodland Garden we were fascinated by the way the gardeners were training the coloured stemmed willows. We will have to wait and see what the end result will look like.
We enjoy watching the changes to be seen in the many unusual specimen trees at Dorothy Clive and have always liked the look of this yellow barked Prunus, P. maackii “Amber Beauty”. We are really wondering at the moment whether this would be the ideal tree for a space we have at home which awaits a tree for autumn planting. Apart from its unusual bark colouring it has a graceful growth habit and a wonderful winter silhouette. For a Prunus it also has large leaves.
The light during this visit was so interesting whenever the sun beamed through the tree canopy. We particularly loved the way it put this Hydrangea in the spotlight.
It is always good to see promises of things that will be happening in the future and spotting them is an important part of any garden visit. Also it provides a most positive way of finishing my report on our august visit to this wonderful garden, a true favourite of ours. And as we have not featured the giant stag sculpture standing proudly at the top of the stream in the Dingle Garden here he is surrounded by lush greenery completely different to when we saw him in the starkness of the winter months.
The pool at the bottom edge of the garden at the lowest point in the garden reflected the blue sky and we enjoyed spotting the small shoals of young Rudd enjoying racing around below the white flowers of the Water Lily.
We really appreciated on this August day the scents and colours of the blooms in the Rose Garden.
Our next visit to our monthly garden for this year will be in September. We hope to see some hot colours in the herbaceous borders and perhaps a little colouring up of foliage on the many trees at Dorothy Clive.
It is half way through the year and also through our monthly visits to the Dorothy Clive Gardens. When we arrived at the gardens for our July visit we noticed signs for a vintage tea party and vintage fair. So we had a little extra to enjoy.
The Dingle Garden which was so colourful on earlier visits had waned but still had a few points of interest. We were surprised to see several plants in flower but extra amazed by the beauty of the selection of Lilium martigon and Hydrangeas.
I think the best way to share our June visit to the Dorothy Clive Gardens will be to present a gallery so that you can share our wanderings. As usual just click on the first image and navigate using the arrows.
So there we have it, the Dorothy Clive Gardens in June.
Today we returned to the Dorothy Clive Gardens to see what was going on in May and to see what had changed since our last visit in March. We had to miss out on our planned April visit due to commitments of giving talks to garden groups and opening our own garden. It was worth waiting a little longer because we really enjoyed our visit discovering so many changes and new things to see.
But an extra element for this visit was our arranged meeting with friends from college over 40 years ago. After meeting up again as a consequence of one of our college friends spotting me during my TV appearance in a gardening programme last year we now meet regularly at cafes and gardens.
The mystery patch being developed this year is now beginning to take shape and we think it may eventually become a scree bed or gravel garden. We shall see. Time will tell.
The first views of the garden showed a much greener scene. Deciduous plants were beginning to show colour in their leaves and the last of the spring bulbs continued to flower.
The area around the pond was gradually coming to life and the Camellia Walk shone pink.
The first leaves were bursting from their buds in the Rose Garden and the productive areas showing promise.
However the real star of the Dorothy Clive Gardens at this time of the year has to be the area called The Dingle, a woodland garden full of azaleas, rhododendrons and ferns, an area of bright colours and rich fresh greens. Enjoy wandering through the narrow winding gravel paths of The dingle with me, the Undergardener, our friends and of course my camera!
We will return in June for our next excursion to the Dorothy Clive Gardens.
We returned to the Dorothy Clive Garden for our second visit of the year. In January we walked around the gardens with snow on the ground and we had to wrap up warm against the cold winds. For our February visit we left home with dark grey skies overhead and a slight drizzle in the air but the closer we got to the garden the better the weather became. Patches of blue sky appeared and the clouds turned ever paler. The temperature had reached 15 degrees Centigrade as we parked the car and made our way to the cafe for the obligatory coffee and cake essential for a successsful garden visit. Our visit was going to have an added dimension as there was an activity day for children all to do with wildlife and the natural world. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Wildlife Trust were there as well as a bird of prey group. Children were given the chance to make bird boxes, bird food cakes and to handle skulls of native mammals. There was also a quiz sheet and a trail for them to enjoy.
As we walked from the car park to the cafe the first photo I took was of a view that in January was simply snow with a few evergreen shrubs rising up. Around the next curve of the path we noticed that a new project was in hand (see right hand picture below). The area had been cleared of old untidy evergreens which were well past their best. The area has already been leveled and large blocks of local sandstone await close by. We look forward to watching this develop over the coming months. The plant sales table looked much better without its covering of snow.
On the lawn outside the restaurant we were enthralled by getting up close to some beautiful owls and falcons. After enjoying our coffee and cakes we took off to walk towards the Quarry Garden, passing a border dotted with tiny pale blue flowering bulbs. As we entered the Quarry we noticed a family making nest boxes.
The Quarry garden was much greener without its snow blanket and early flowering bulbs were adding colour allied with Hellebores in full flower and a few blooms on Rhododendrons and Azaleas.
The textures and architectural shapes of trees come to the fore in winter before the leaves return in the spring. Unusual foliage such as the Rhodendron with orange-ginger undersides to its leaves provide brightness under the shade of taller trees. The upper side of the leaves are glossy but the underside have a matt, powdery feel to them. Close up it gives them the look of a windswept desert landscape.
Leaf shapes and their patterns and textures provided added interest under the tree canopy.
We wandered around a bit trying to find the stag sculpture we found in January and kept getting the wrong path. When we did find him he looked much more majestic without his white coat of snow. We then moved off towards the new Winter Woodland Garden, which is a juvenile garden having been created in early 2015. It already looks and feels a really good seasonal garden, with many shrubs and trees with coloured stems and bark, evergreen groundcover such as Bergenia, several different Carex and Luzula many with striped or golden leaves. Flowering bulbs were putting on an excellent show for us.Ggiven a few years and this will be a beautiful woodland winter garden and will be one of the best close to us so will become a place we visit often.
We left the Winter Garden by walking under the Laburnum arch still devoid of any growth and enjoyed a wander through the Upper Garden where trees and shrubs reigned supreme. A shy sculpture maiden welcomed us.
Having indulged in the powerful scent of this delicately coloured pink Daphne we followed a path that led us around the front of the coffee shop and then down the sloping gardens to the pool.
Species tulips demanded a close look to appreciate their beauty and delicacy.
Can you spot the bee at work collecting pollen from the blue crocus? Great to see this.
So that was our February visit to the wonderful Dorothy Clive Garden. We can’t wait to be back with camera in hand to see what March will bring, perhaps a few touches of spring!