Gardener and Photographer with a love of Roses and a magpie-eye for all things Horticultural
Shropshire, Wales, Oxforshire .. we are putting in the miles together! But the last leg is in Sussex in the beautiful town of Arundel - which is presided over and looked down upon by the rather spectacular Arundel Caste. Part genuine medieval fortification and part Gothik 19th Century confection - it truly is an amazing…
Continue reading ➞ Postcards from Sussex – the extraordinary Arundel Castle and Gardens
A sleeping country gentleman's house this, nothing aristocratic but beautifully preserved - preserved just enough but not restored - the dust and cracked plaster are still there to see - and the decline of centuries is an open book. The poverty of the estate has become its greatest asset, where other properties' wealth may have…
Continue reading ➞ Postcards from Oxfordshire – Jacobean Chastleton House
Another Welsh Castle, this time quite the fortified beast, with a dungeon that surely brought despair to anyone unhappy enough to find themselves there. Much to enjoy in the gardens though with formal and more naturalistic planting and long views - and glad to have been able to take photographs of the interiors too. Read…
Continue reading ➞ Postcards from Wales – Chirk Castle
Erddig, now in the hands of the National Trust, represents a House and Estate that had suffered successive generations (seven or more) of penury and all of the neglect that comes with well-intentioned but financially improverished ownership. Good intentions but lack of funds saw this beauty diminished until the NT took the helm and have…
Continue reading ➞ Postcards from Wales – Erddig
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…
Continue reading ➞ Postcards from Wales – Powis Castle and Gardens
Set by the banks of the crystal River Test, cutting through the chalk downland, sits Mottisfont Priory, dating to the 13th Century and with a colourful history right up to the 20th Century with Maud and Gilbert Russell bringing life again to the old house and the National Trust subsequently taking the House and Gardens…
A pilgrimage to these gardens, for which, so far as the roses are concerned, we have Graham Stuart Thomas to thank principally and for the last 40+ years, the National Trust for preserving and enhancing his original collection of Old Roses. Mottisfont holds the National Collection of Shrub Roses. I met Jonny Bass, the head…
Continue reading ➞ A return to Mottisfont Abbey; an Old Rose Pilgrimage
An afternoon wander through the woodland, wetland, water gardens and wildflower meadows at Wakehurst Place, Kew in the Country (and National Trust too, but the parking is only free to Friends of Kew.. a big issue, this...) There is much, much more to see here within the greater parkland and more formal gardens at Wakehurst…
A long walk through the Surrey countryside from Westcott near Dorking, south across woodland and vale to Leith Hill, the highest point in Surrey. A National Trust property now, it has a commanding view across the landscape - and from the top of the tower, you have more altitude than the viewing platform of The…
The Teddington Gardener 