Baumber Walled Garden

There are quite a few photos in this post, but I feel justified in including them, as this is the first garden visit I have had since June 2019!  We headed out last Tuesday and although the weather was a bit unsettled, with some showers, it was lovely to be out with my friends Katy and Alison.  Baumber Walled Garden is set in an old walled garden, as the name would suggest.  It is unusual as it has a double wall and the area in between has been planted up on a couple of sides.  You can read about it here and the history of the garden is here,

It is definitely not a traditional kitchen garden and has lots of different areas.  There is a large swimming pond and lots of grasses have been planted around it.

Some areas had an exotic feel.

You can see the swimming pond better in this photo.

They hold weddings at the garden and the marquee in the photo is evidence of this.

This relatively simple planting of alliums, where just the seed heads remain, together with the lavender was very eyecatching.

A white and green border led up to this little arch - perfect for romantic wedding photos.

The white and green theme continued on the other side.

Another area contained this interesting oriental structure, complete with replica terracotta warriors.

This perennial and shady border beneath the trees was one of the in-between-the-walls areas.

More grasses were dotted about in different beds.

On the wall where the greenhouses once stood is a lovely beachy area.

The grasses here become the waves as they dance in the wind...

...I think there were four types of plant to make this area, but it was really effective.

Looking across the swimming pond on the way out.

Looking back the other way.  Katy and Alison knew I would love this garden and they were right.  It has lots of quirky features and some fabulous planting.  There is also a very good tearoom which, of course, we had to try and I had a wonderful time.  They also have plants for sale and yes, I came home with one - a Rhodanthemum 'Marrakech' which is a plant I have been after for a while.  

I foresee more visits in the future.

Visit in the rain

We ventured out again yesterday to another open garden, this time one with crafts and ice cream too.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't quite so kind, but being hardy sorts, would that put us off?  No!  Although the formal gardens were beautiful, with stunning views wherever we looked, it was the wildflower meadow which we were both drawn to.  It was a haze of white daisies with splashes of blue cornflowers and echiums.

 Grasses were intermingled among the flowers to create a relaxing and beautiful space.  Here and there, I spied bold flashes of colour from poppies and one in particular caught my eye.

 I followed the mown grass paths round and there it was, shining out despite the soaking it had received.

 I couldn't resist that colour!

I loved the way the raindrops were clinging to the petals.  Having wandered in the gardens, we looked at the craft stalls and then enjoyed an ice cream (Chris had toffee ripple and strawberries and cream and I went for chocolate - well, you have to, don't you?  It is nearly July!)

 Coming back from a garden visit is always a little dispiriting, but this hydrangea was there to help to cheer me up!  I have always wanted a blue hydrangea and this one is doing a great job of being lilac-y blue.

Watching the flowers change from creamy white to creamy green to blue has been a joy.
P.S Welcome to my new followers - I really hope you'll enjoy reading my blog.

Stitching Sundays 20 (really, it's Monday - oops!)

Yes, it's Monday again and I'm late with my Stitching Sunday post.  I have had a very productive stitching day and my embroidery is really taking shape now.

I have been adding lots of grasses all over the foreground and mid ground.  Initially, there was a bit of a line at the bottom of the first layer of grasses I sewed, unintentional, but there all the same, so I tried to alter the way the grasses overlapped across the different layers and am much happier with the effect now.

In the close up, you can see the way I am trying to overlap the grasses in order to have a more naturalistic look.

This is a section cut through, giving an idea of the background, mid ground and foreground working together.  I still have a little more to do, I think, but now the challenge will be to know when it is finished and stop...

Stitching Sundays 19

 Here we are again, another Stitching Sunday and Chrissie, who started this, is back, so I shall be linking in.

 I had a very serendipitous trip to the local charity shop yesterday as I found these embroidery cottons there, just begging me to take them home and use them in a project.  I knew just the thing (with the exception of the purple/pink skeins) as the colours would be perfect for the grasses in my project.

Here's the progress for this week - you probably can't see it, so here's a close up...

I have started adding the grass, but this is just the start as I am intending to have loads in greens, browns, beiges, straw colour all over the foreground and middle too.  I just need to keep going...

Stitching Sundays 18

Yes, time has run away with me again and it isn't Sunday, it's Monday!  Still, better late than never to post my progress so far.  I did spend a fair proportion of the day embroidering yesterday and I really enjoyed the luxury of being able to do that.  As you can see, I have been working on the foreground and adding in some grasses as well as dandelion-type seed heads and other little bits and pieces.

 The dandelion-type seed heads caused me a fair bit of frustration because, try as I might, I just couldn't get them to look how I wanted them to.  I tried seed stitches and then star stitch, which just looked like a star, rather than a plant (the clue is in the name, Ellie!)  So, I decided to make the seed heads out of french knots instead and I am happier with these, even if they don't have the fluffiness of a real dandelion. They have become a generic seed head, rather than anything identifiable.

 I also added in a couple of things at the front, again making use of french knots.

I am pleased with the feathery grasses as I just stitched in an informal way, with no real prior practising.  I think it is all coming together now.  The next thing will be to add in lots of blades of grass in different colours, to make the plants look as though they are growing through something.  I think the end may be in sight, at long last. (I have other projects that I really would like to start; the most pressing being winter decorations for the seasonal tree!)

Barnsdale Visit (part 2)



Here are some more photos of my visit to Barnsdale Gardens.  I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea - the gardens didn't all look perfect and there were areas which needed weeding, plants which needed cutting back and some places which looked unkempt.  However, these areas made me feel as though the gardens were real, not show gardens, but changing and growing gardens.  (Of course, I am a little protective about them, as I really enjoy visiting, but if you visited, I wouldn't want you to be disappointed!) The photo above is of the Japanese Garden which is not one I usually linger at (not enough flowers), but I can appreciated the meditative qualities it has.  I did think the art work really complemented the garden as it used the same colours and was painted in really thick paint, with whirls and swirls which reminded me of a Van Gogh sky.

 The woodland painting was placed in the perfect location at the end of a garden vista, in front of real woodland.

The painting in the box garden reminded me of an aerial view of a tropical river, such as the Amazon.  The colours really appealed to me too.

 This is a view across the allotment area, through the orchard.

 Another intriguing vista - where does this lead?

 The Ornamental Kitchen Garden was made for the series of the same name and shows how vegetables and flowers can work so well together.  Again, there was companion planting of marigolds.

 Serried ranks of vegetables, from onions up to beans, which created some lovely lines.

 Here were some of the individual plants which caught my eye, from the dainty alpines...

 ...to the giant artichoke (I think).

 This delicate Californian Poppy is from the 'Thai Silk' range and has the most beautiful shading from cream to buttery yellow to blush pink.

 I really liked the combination of the tall stately agapanthus and the swishy, billowing grass which moved like a wave in the breeze.

Finally, to end on a real splash of colour, here is a dahlia, complete with hover fly; the brilliance of the fuchsia pink contrasting with the deep purply green of the foliage.

As you can tell, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and will not leave it another two and a half years before I go again!

Garden Visit - The Garden House, Saxby (part 2)

 Here are the rest of the photos from our visit.  This was the first time we had seen the roses in bloom in this part of the garden.

 There was a beautiful combination of roses and penstemon here (possibly Penstemon 'Heavenly Blue', 'Sour Grapes' or 'Alice Hindley').

 Further along there was an introduction of deep red with another penstemon (Garnet?).

 Looking back through the garden the other way.  I do like the formality of the hard landscaping and the yew and box contrasted with the 'floofy' penstemon.  (I really should find a more technical term for floofy - exuberant, perhaps?)

 We walked through more wildflower meadow down to the pond and saw flashes of purple (a type of knapweed, I think).  There were lots of insects about and they seemed drawn to either my hat or my suncream!

 This was the first time we had visited in time to see the lovely wildflowers and grasses.  Usually, we visit before it has grown up or after it has been cut down. 

 We kept seeing flashes of the most brilliant blue which, I later discovered, is the male Damselfly.  We noticed one had landed but on closer inspection, he had landed for a purpose!  A polite term is the male and female 'in tandem', so I shall stick with that!

 Walking back towards a much looked forward to cup of tea, the lavender path gave a lovely vista of the surrounding fields.

 Back through one of my favourite areas, the Cathedral Garden.  Meditative, quiet space, full of greens - pleached limes, grass and hedge - three elements working together so well.

Another view of the space.
We really enjoyed out visit and I am looking forward to the next one...

Also, today is our 20th wedding anniversary - I can't believe that it was so long ago!  Those years have just flown by!