Visit to Barnsdale Gardens

 I was very lucky to visit Barnsdale Gardens on Sunday, with my friends Katy and Alison.   Geoff Hamilton, the TV gardener, created the gardens and they featured on Gardeners' World for many years, until Geoff's untimely death, twenty years ago.  He was a huge inspiration to me in my gardening and it was through watching him that I thought I might be able to grow things too.
It had been so wet, we wondered whether we would be able to go, and the weather forecast wasn't that great, but in the event, the heavens smiled on us and we only had a couple of showers.  The gardens are about an hour or so away, but I don't manage to visit as often as I would like (I hadn't visited since 2013), so this was a treat.  Thanks to the recent rain, the whole place was green and verdant and full of birdsong.  It was really quite magical.  Also, due to the rain, there weren't that many visitors, so we almost had the place to ourselves.  Above is a lovely wisteria.

 This is one of my favourite gardens, the 'Country Garden', which has some beautiful birch trees and shade loving plants which give a woodland feeling as you walk through.

 The Town Paradise Garden has really matured and was full of lush growth...

 ...as was the Country Paradise Garden.  Hardy geraniums featured in most of the gardens.

 I was fascinated by the structure of this tree (I haven't a clue what it is).  It was quite spiky. (Edited to add: it is a young monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) - thanks to Amy for this).

 Looking across at the wildflower meadow from the Artisan's Cottage Garden.

 I have always liked this water feature, made from an old copper water tank, in the Recycled Garden.

 A little sparrow was enjoying a bath too.

 The Hosta garden displayed a wide range of green.  We noticed that some of the hostas were un-nibbled by snails, but others were rather holey - we decided this was all to do with the toughness of the leaves.

 The light shining through the leaves of the smoke bush caught my eye...

 ...as did this combination of planting, which contrasted so well and looked very vibrant.

 I liked the pastel mix of the Nigella or Love-in-a-mist.

Dan Pearson's design for this 'Cottage Garden' always looks inviting.  It has fruit trees amongst the roses and other perennials, and a small square box maze.  When the roses on the arches are in flower, they look and smell amazing - a previous post showing them in flower is here.

 I know that Alchemilla Mollis can be invasive, but when it has been rained on and the water droplets collect like mercury on the leaves, it can be forgiven.

 We all liked the Herb Garden with its mix of medicinal and culinary plants.

This was the view when we had a cup of tea and were joined by a robin, looking for some crumbs (which Alison gave him, of course!)  It was so peaceful, listening to the birds, looking at the plants and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.