Saturday 23 February 2019

First garden visit of 2019 - Brightwater Gardens - snowdrops and friends

Last Sunday, my garden visiting friends Katy and Alison and I headed out for our annual pilgrimage to see snowdrops.  This is the start of the gardening season for us and we always look forward to it.  We were undecided where to go as there were quite a few snowdrop gardens open locally.  In the end, we plumped for Brightwater Gardens .  It is a relatively recent garden but every time we visit, there is something else to see.  There aren't the ancient wooded areas that some places are lucky to have, but we found plenty to enjoy.  Above is a lovely area full of white crocuses.
This wooded area was really beautiful.
 The snowdrops were nodding in the breeze (and I was glad I had taken my woolly hat!)
 A lot of planting has taken place.
 There were crocuses enjoying the sunshine.
 They just say 'Spring', don't they? (Even though it is still Winter).
 The cornus Midwinter Fire was shining brilliantly in the sun.
 Different coloured stems of cornus and willow were working well in this border.
 There were some hellebores...
 ...with different shades of purple.
 We hadn't noticed this little group under the tree before - Badger, Toad and Ratty -  but where was Mole?
 There he is, on the left.
 The crocus bank was full of colour.
 One garden I glanced at had me intrigued by the pale blue flowers.  When we got closer, we found they were clumps of irises in pale blue and creamy white/green, with the beautiful speckled markings.
 One of my favourite gardens, surprisingly, as it has such a meditative and peaceful feeling once yo are inside.  Hedges, pleached trees and grass are the only ingredients.
Looking through the vegetable gardens with a vista which draws the visitor onward.
We had a lovely visit and it was a perfect start to the garden visiting year.

10 comments:

  1. Today has been beautiful, so Spring like it lifts the spirits so much. Lovely photos. thankyou
    Briony
    x

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    1. Thanks, Briony. I agree, it has been lovely and it does lift the spirits. I was in the garden this afternoon pruning roses and clematis and I really enjoyed it - I had a big smile on my face (except when the roses were fighting me too much!)
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  2. Thank you for the tour of the gardens beautiful flowers, especially the irises, lovely to see everything springing into life giving the feeling of good things to come xcx

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    1. Thanks, Chrissie. Everything is really enjoying the Spring-like weather we have been having. It is difficult to remember that it is still Winter... (One year ago, the 'Beast from the East' descended on us around this time and it was cold and snowy.) It is lovely to be able to be out and enjoying the weather while it lasts.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  3. The field area with the Crocus and the snowdrops looks so pretty! I've not seen any Crocus here yet, but I do see a wee bit of green poking up after this last snow, so fingers crossed it won't be terribly much longer. All the flower pictures are beautiful...the Iris, very interesting, never seen any like that.
    Sandy's Space

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    1. Thanks, Sandy. It was a lovely visit and I do like to see the crocuses. It is a bit early for them, but they are reacting to the warm weather. I have tried to grow various iris reticulata in my own garden, but can't seem to get them coming back after the first year. It is good to be able to see and enjoy them in other gardens!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  4. Hi Ellie, thanks for such kindness at "Bag End'.

    What a lovely visit, those iris look like I. reticulata 'Katharine Hodgkin'. Lovely plant but they tend to go over so quickly I don't grow them.

    I hope we don't get a typical cold and wet March that knocks back all these lovely early blooms.

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    1. Thanks, Jayne. You are very welcome - your posts were really beautiful and moving.
      It was a lovely visit. I think you are right about the irises.
      I am sure March will live up to its reputation 'in like a lion, out like a lamb' but I do hope we don't get the extremes we had last year!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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    2. Well, the 'lion' has certainly arrived in Cumbria today. It is raining and blowing an absolute hooley. I've been holed up in the greenhouse for a couple of hours which was nice, but I got soaked just coming back indoors.

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    3. Thanks, Jayne. It is cloudy but dry so far here in Lincolnshire. I think we are due a visit from Storm Freda tomorrow so a crafting day will beckon for me. I cut down my herbaceous clematis today and it was so nice to be out in the garden. Hope you've dried off with a nice cup of something warming and a biscuit...
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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