Chelsea Flower Show 2014

 I don't know about you, but I have been glued to the Chelsea Flower Show coverage on BBC1 and BBC2 this past week.  I have never been to the show itself, but I do like to watch the programmes.  Here are some of my favourite gardens and I think they all have 'floofy' planting in common. The photos are all from the RHS Chelsea website here.  Not for me the best in show choice, with clean lines and restricted beds of plants.  I like the exuberant planting where things are allowed to spill out. Irises featured strongly in a lot of the gardens as did foxgloves. First is the Homebase garden by Adam Frost, with lovely native countryside plants.

 I really want one of these tree trunk seats (when I get my slightly bigger garden...no harm in dreaming!).  It looked such a peaceful and relaxing place.

 The Hope/Help for Heroes garden had more beautiful planting and lots of grasses.  It symbolised the journey through recovery for injured members of the armed forces and won the People's Choice award too. The other great thing about it is that it is going to be a garden for injured service people to use, so will have a new life helping those very people it was designed for.

 Cleve West always has lovely planting schemes.

 This was the No Man's Land garden with a mound at the back with natural planting, symbolising the trenches in the battlefields slowly being taken back by nature.

The Topiarist's Garden was in the artisan category and had incredible attention to detail. The planting was mainly white and green.

 The Night Sky garden was another lovely example of planting combinations and used lots of white flowers to represent the stars . The black background had little brass circles on it which did look as though they glinted.

Another view of the Night Sky garden.

Finally, the Potter's Garden, another in the Artisan category but again showing such an eye for detail.  Call me old fashioned, but these gardens all appeal with the planting and the atmospheres they conjure up.  I'd be happy to sit in any of them.  Now that Chelsea is all over for another year, it is strange to think that all this beauty has vanished, as if it had never been there at all.

Open Gardens visit

 Yesterday we spent a very nice afternoon in a village a few miles away which was having an open gardens afternoon.  The gardens varied in size and style, but all were very well maintained and, considering the cold Spring we have had, were all full of flowers.  Some were a little too regimented for my liking, but I admired the owners' skill.

 Irises were much in evidence, as were alliums, aquilegias and weigelas.

 This was the last garden we visited and had lots of exuberant planting.

 As we were having a lovely cup of tea and piece of cake, we were treated to a flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster.  It came over three times, but, unfortunately, these were the only photos I managed to get.

I think seeing this aeroplane may have been a highlight of the afternoon for many people!

Open Gardens (part two)

 Still in the first garden we visited, in the more shady areas, there were lots of foxgloves, also alive with the sound of bees.

 Looking up through one of the trees in the orchard area.

 The second garden we visited was not quite so large, but was still cleverly sectioned off into smaller areas.  I was very envious of the lovely iris display the owners had.

 The third garden looked small but went around the back of the house and had room for a vegetable plot, pleached lime walk and rather a nice vista at the start.

It also had a gate, leading into the rest of the garden.  Looking at these photos, I am obviously drawn to doors or gates in walls.  This is partly because they frame the view beyond so well, but mainly because I read The Secret Garden far too much and this longing for a secret garden of my own has stayed with me.

 A very tranquil part of the garden with harmonious shades of green and white.

Even the stables (no horses now) were pretty, thanks to a covering of climbing roses.  I thought that the mounting block steps were crying out for some terracotta pots of red geraniums on each step.  I seem to think that image comes from Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit, but it could also be influenced by The Little White Horse, except the geraniums in that book were salmon pink.
What a wonderful way to spend a lovely afternoon (and the cakes were delicious too!)

Doddington Hall, Lincoln

Yesterday, I went to Doddington Hall, Lincoln, (http://www.doddingtonhall.com) with my friend Angie and enjoyed a very nice lunch in the Farm shop and Cafe, before heading out to enjoy the gardens. Doddington is known for its irises, and although some had gone over, some were still beautiful. The above photo was taken in the woodland area, looking across the fields to a barn.

The irises looking gorgeous in the formal garden.

The vibrant colours of the rhododendrons and azaleas which greeted us. We spotted lots of others on our walk round the gardens. I think they look best in a woodland area - they seem to 'belong' there. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.