Month: June 2020

Postcards from Wales – Powis Castle and Gardens

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Strong winds and lashing rain as we left Shropshire and headed into Wales (by Welshpool - not that great a distance from our starting point at Wollaston Lodge) to visit the extraordinary castle and gardens at Powis Castle. More impressive than I was expecting too - the topiary and towering hedges yes, but not the…

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Postcards from Shropshire – Attingham Park

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Continuing our tour of the Shropshire countryside (June 2017) and making good use of our National Trust membership, next stop Attingham Park. Bringing a Regency mansion back to life, the National Trust have saved, conserved and then breathed new life into this house, the interiors and estate. A magical set of rooms inside the House…

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Postcards from Shropshire – Wollerton Old Hall Gardens

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Well it has was a busy week - starting on the 11th June 2017 - holidaying in the English & Welsh countryside, with sunshine and rain in equal parts and some beautiful castles, gardens, nurseries and stately homes to keep us company. I thought it would be good to revisit these postcards, from some very…

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Mottisfont Rose Gardens, June 2018

Categories Architectural Plants, Clematis, Climbing plants, Cottage Garden, David Austin roses, Fragrant plants, Friends, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, General comment, herbaceous, Iris, Mottisfont Abbey, National Trust Gardens, Open to the public, plants for roses, Roses, Seasonal colour, Summer gardenLeave a Comment on Mottisfont Rose Gardens, June 2018

June 2018 visiting Mottisfont with a fellow rose-lover. A day of laughter and fun. Overblown, blowsy, beautiful, fragrant, lush, a little ragged, absolutely in need of some serious dead-heading - but equally glamorous and hopelessly romantic, there are no rose gardens quite like Mottisfont. Soulful, they inhabit the walled gardens of this ancient priory, clambering…

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Pruning, care and maintenance plan for your roses, starring Mottisfont Abbey

Categories General comment, Mottisfont Abbey, Pruning, Roses, Winter GardenLeave a Comment on Pruning, care and maintenance plan for your roses, starring Mottisfont Abbey

There have been some changes at Mottisfont in Hampshire. A new garden has been created and there is a new-ish visitor centre. But these notes and images are more about the practicalities of growing Old Roses, with detail from winter and spring. For those wishing to delve deeper into the art and science of rose…

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A return to Penshurst Place and Gardens, Kent – and this time (well, pretty much exactly this time last year) we definitely have peonies ….

Categories Architectural Plants, Bee Friendly Plants, Fragrant plants, Garden Design, General comment, herbaceous, Magnolia, Open to the public, Seasonal colour, Summer garden, Water gardeningLeave a Comment on A return to Penshurst Place and Gardens, Kent – and this time (well, pretty much exactly this time last year) we definitely have peonies ….

A return, after a years' absence, to the walled gardens at Penshurst Place in Kent. Well, a trip down memory lane but one definitely worth travelling down again. This time around, the famed 100m long peony border was looking fine, colourful and fragrant, growing lush and up through the wire grid, and with a long…

Continue reading ➞ A return to Penshurst Place and Gardens, Kent – and this time (well, pretty much exactly this time last year) we definitely have peonies ….