Saturday 23 February 2013

Another garden visit

Last Sunday, on the most beautiful sunny winter's morning, my friends Katy and Alison and I went to Hodsock Priory to look at the snowdrops.  This has become a tradition for us and a visit we always enjoy.  Above are some Spring snowflakes (Leucojum).
 It was a little different this year, as there was a wedding in the house, so we weren't able to have our tea and cake inside this year.  There had also been some water damage to the rooms, so there was a large marquee for the teas instead.  There was also a food and craft fair on that day, and although this increased the visitor numbers, it didn't diminish our enjoyment.  Another good thing was that we walked round the grounds and woods following a slightly changed route, which made us look at things more closely and from a different viewpoint.  Snowdrops and aconites above, enjoying the sun.
 There were pools of bright pink and white cyclamen coum around the trees.
 A view of the gatehouse from the garden.
 The snowdrop wood.
 There were a lot of hellebores flowering in the garden. they are much further on than my own hellebores, which are only just putting leaves out.
Hodsock is known for the beautiful drifts of snowdrops in the woods.
 The sun cast some lovely shadows - perfect for taking photos.
 Katy and Alison very kindly bought me a pure white hellebore as a birthday present to add to my two others.
Here is the flower - absolutely stunning.
I hope to be able to visit lots of gardens again this year.

10 comments:

  1. A beautiful place to visit, thank you for taking me with you.

    I have self-seeded Hellebores and they are almost lime green. Very striking.

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    1. Dear Toffeeapple
      Thank you - it is a lovely place to visit, made even better because the weather decided to be kind. Your hellebores sound really interesting. Lime green is a very Spring-like colour, isn't it?
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  2. How beautiful! Even in this time of year there's a lot to see outside...

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    1. Dear Mirjam
      Thank you - I enjoy being outside at this time of the year, as long as there is some sunshine!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  3. I love garden visiting but confess to being a fair weather visitor!! I do love the early spring flowers though so am probably missing a treat!

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    1. Dear Anne
      Thank you. I must say that I didn't manage to visit many gardens last year thanks to the horrible weather. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll do better this year. The sun really helped on this visit - I don't think it would have been so nice this weekend!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  4. Oh Ellie

    Your photos are lovely.

    I adore snowdrops and the hellebore is beautiful
    I hope it does well for you.


    Have a good week

    x Fiona

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    1. Dear Fiona
      Thank you. I was really pleased with my photos from this visit. They do give a flavour of the woods and gardens. Snowdrops are one of my favourite flowers too, because although they look so delicate, they are tough little things, flowering at a very cold time of year and giving us the promise of Spring being just round the corner.
      The hellebore is looking a little sorry for itself as the temperatures have been cold again, but I am hoping that it will perk up once March arrives. Hope you have a good week too.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  5. Hello Ellie,
    Wow, beautiful flowers and happy for you to have such a wonderful day with your friend♡♡♡ The white hellebore your friend bought you is really GORGEOUS♪♪♪ 

    Have a lovely weekend. Sending you lots of love and hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

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    1. Dear Miyako
      Welcome and thank you. I was very lucky to be given the lovely hellebore and we all had a fantastic day out.
      I hope you have a good weekend too.
      Love and hugs back to Japan as well.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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