Tuesday 14 June 2016

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.

8 comments:

  1. Oh what a blissful treat. Thank you so much for taking us along.

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    1. Thanks, EC. It was a lovely, relaxing, peaceful visit which I really enjoyed. I'm glad that you enjoyed the visit too.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  2. So beautiful!! Glad you had a great visit to the garden. The tree you didn't know the name of is a Monkey Puzzle Tree. Love the water feature, so pretty!

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    1. Thanks, Amy. Excellent work on the tree identification - I probably should have know that! I'll edit the post.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  3. Dear Ellie
    It's wonderful for me to look at pictures of Barnsdale Gardens.

    I happened to know Mr. Geoff Hamilton two years ago (I live in Japan), and I bought two books written by him; 'Cottage Gardens' and 'The Ornamental Kitchen Garden'. I've been translating the latter book in Japanese and most parts have already been finished.
    I also bought his DVD 'The Geoff Hamilton BBC Collection (40th Anniversary Gardeners World DVD Box Set)' and I enjoy looking at the DVDs.
    I am pleased to know that the gardens which appear in the books and DVDs are still maintained, and some day in the future I'll visit the gardens, I hope.

    Thank you for sharing the pictures.

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    1. Thanks, Poirot. I hoped you would enjoy the photos. I have some of his books too and some DVDs. He was such an inspiration to me and really encouraged people like me to try gardening. Barnsdale is not that far away from where we are, but I don't manage to visit very often, although I always enjoy seeing the gardens. They are developing a new garden where the Winter Border was, so things don't stand still there and there is usually something new to see, but you can still see and recognise many of the gardens that were in the DVDs.
      I hope you will be able to visit Barnsdale yourself one day.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  4. Oh, how I love, love the pictures of your garden walk. Beautiful. That spikey tree looks interesting....and love the bird taking a bath in the plunger.
    Hugs

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    1. Thanks, Kim. It was a really lovely way to spend the afternoon and we all felt it was so peaceful and calming. The tree has now been identified as a monkey puzzle tree, thanks to Amy. The sparrow really enjoyed his bath, I think!
      I could have taken many more photos as there seemed to be a photogenic view everywhere we looked and it was all so lush and green. I shall have to visit again and not leave it for three years next time!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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