We were lucky to visit Ham House and Gardens in Richmond when the lavender in The Cherry Garden was in bloom. Continue reading “Bacchus with Lavender and Clipped Box in Ham House’s Parterre Garden”
Trust The Great Beech For a Bold, Bright Winter Garden
In Phantastes by George MacDonald, a country maiden warns the hero, Anodos, to shun the Ash and the Alder, but says he can ‘trust the Oak, and the Elm, and the great Beech.’ Sure enough, Anodos meets a Beech tree with a voice ‘like a solution of all musical sounds’ who longs to be a woman. She invites him to cut lengths from her hair, and uses them to create a protective girdle of beech leaves for his magical journey. Continue reading “Trust The Great Beech For a Bold, Bright Winter Garden”
Two Styles Of English Garden: Cottage and Formal
If every garden (and every human) was the same, the world would be a pitiful place. These very different gardens seem to suit their respective home perfectly. Viewed together, each accentuates the other’s beauty.
The first, a private cottage garden in the grounds of Dorothy Clive Gardens, is super colourful, flower-filled and just a little laissez-faire. Flowers in shades of apricot, yellow and blue gaily tumble over each other above the unifying green, partly obscuring the view from the home and creating a feeling of privacy.
The second garden, Levels Hall in The Lake District, is grand, formal and manicured. Mullioned windows of a centuries-old stately home overlook topiary cones, tall yew hedges and garden benches. A stone urn acts as a centrepiece above a circle of bedding plants. Gravel makes the area pleasant for visitors to stroll through and continues along the same neutral vein as the benches and stone building. Our eyes, naturally alert to colour and variation, find interest in the different greens while noting the feeling of harmony and restraint. Continue reading “Two Styles Of English Garden: Cottage and Formal”
Arley Hall’s White Gazebo
The ornate, white, metal gazebo at Arley Hall in Cheshire stands ghostly amongst the flowers and neatly trimmed topiary in springtime. I’d describe it as a folly but it has a practical use, making a beautiful backdrop for wedding photography. The matching bench provides a great viewpoint for visitors to linger and enjoy the walled garden.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Unusual Topiary
You could argue that Levens Hall in North West England is unusual in itself – the topiary garden you can glimpse in the background is the oldest in the world, dating back to 1694. But my focus is on the Hat Man in the foreground. Continue reading “Weekly Photo Challenge: Unusual Topiary”
Wordless Wednesday: Fantasy
Wordless Wednesday: The Power of Green
Susan Rushton 