The combination of the cold weather and my somewhat less hardy atitude these days has kept my camera firmly in its case. I have spent a little time practising with my photo editor and have "created" these offerings.








Both of these are from separate photographs of a paperweight and a piece of rose quartz.


Coming more down to earth are these from travels to the East Coast.


Blakeney Harbour



Wells Next the Sea

Canons Ashby

There are a great many interesting houses in the Midlands, many of which are owned by the National Trust whose work we should all be thankful for. We have been fortunate enough to have visited a good many of them and hope to be able continue our ramblings when the season restarts next spring.

The end of this season saw us at Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire, a romantic,16th century Elizabethan manor house, which has survived unaltered since 1710. It was the home of the Dryden family since it was first built and sits amongst beautiful gardens. Although John Dryden, the poet, is associated with the house, it is not thought that he would have spent a great deal of time here as it was his uncle who was resident at the time. There is a good Wikipedia article about his life




The West Court containing eight topiary yews was once the main entrance to the house but its sweep of lawn, espaliered walls and charming statue of a shepherd boy demonstrate the elegance of an early 18th century garden. An interesting fact totally unrelated to this photo is that John Dryden of Canons Ashby is the 13th great grandfather, through his daughter Bridget Dryden, of President George W. Bush. Perhaps I should revise my views of the President, perhaps it could be that he is more cultured than you might think. But then, perhaps not!



This unexpectedly grand church is all that is left of the Augustinian priory which gave Canons Ashby its name. The priory once dominated a flourishing medieval village but all that can be seen today are furrows and bumps in the grass. The church has been reduced to a quarter of its original size but it is still impressive with a pinnacled tower that can be seen for miles around.



There are some 70 acres of grounds, some of which are given over to formal gardens. Formal gardens undoubtedly surrounded the sixteenth century house as that was the current style but all traces of them disappeared long ago. The current garden plan is largely the work of Edward Dryden who laid down the paths, walls and terraces between 1708 and 1718 in the style of royal gardeners such as George London and Henry Wise. The gate piers were decorated in an antiquarian fashion including the globe and lion crest of the Drydens.

By 1904 the garden was to have a major influence on the Arts and Crafts style of people such as Sir Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. Although the garden was looked after during the 1920's and 30's it began to become overgrown later, especially during the war years.

Many of the large trees were attacked by gales or dutch elm disease in the middle of the twentieth century and when the National Trust took over in 1981 they faced a huge task of pruning and restoring the garden to the earlier plan. At the beginning of the twenty first century all that glory is revealed once more.


More pictures can be found at Smugmug - Canons Ashby and the National Trust gives some useful information for intending visitors.

Waddesdon Manor

For a variety of reasons I have not been very active with my camera for some while now so I am taking this opportunity to recall a visit a couple of years ago to Waddesdon Manor, another National Trust property, this time in Buckinghamshire , close to Aylesbury.

The magnificent exterior provides the perfect setting for one of the best collections of French 18th century decorative arts in the world, paintings, furniture, carpets and curiosities, lovingly assembled over 35 years by Ferdinand to please his weekend guests.

The grounds are extensive and were largely the creation of the Rothschild family who still have an active interest in the property. There are seasonal changes made to the displays, some of which are a bit reminiscent of British public parks planting, but non the less impressive for that.





One of the most unusual features of the garden is the Aviary. Completed in 1889 by an unknown architect, it was built for Baron Ferdinand as a reminder of one he had grown up with in his childhood home, the Villa Grüneburg outside Frankfurt. It is made of cast-iron in the style of a rococo trelliswork pavilion, such as those erected at Versailles and Chantilly in the early eighteenth-century.


Beyond the parterre garden to the south of the house is an ornamental pond which is very reminiscent, I thought, to Versailles in France.

All in all, a good day out, with a chance at the end to stock up on some of the famous (but pricey) Rothschild wines.


Take a look also at National Trust | Waddesdon Manor for further information.

I have more pictures at Smugmug : Waddesdon Manor

London

I have just added a new Smugmug Gallery at Smugmug - London

Burghley House

Probably one of our last visits to a stately home for this year took us to Burghley House near Stamford in Lincolnshire. It is one of the largest and grandest houses of the first Elizabethan Age. Built and mostly designed by William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I, between 1555 and 1587, the main part of the House has 35 major rooms on the ground and first floors. Whilst we were there they were setting up to film scenes for the new film of the Da Vinci Code, so I shall be interested to see if I can recognise any of the locations when the film arrives. Some of the gothic interiors would lend themselves to the atmosphere and the "Heaven" and "Hell" rooms would seem particularly suited.

Burghley is a wonderful place to visit, with most of its treasures being gathered by two avid Earls. In the late 17th century John, the 5th Earl and his Countess, Anne transformed and embellished Burghley beyond recognition with many of the pieces being gathered on the Grand Tours of Europe that they undertook. His wife was very wealthy, being the daughter of the 3rd Earl of Devonshire (from Chatsworth, another house worth a visit), and no doubt her fortune helped in the acquisition of the art works.

Apart from the house there is a most impressive Sculpture Garden which is open all the year round. This was first created in 1994 by clearing the lost lower garden by Capability Brown and so giving a wonderful backdrop to the exhibits. There are a range of styles from traditional to contemporary and whilst not all were to my taste it was, nevertheless, a very enjoyable hour or two that we spent wandering around.







I am not sure who this is by, but it does go to show what eating too many Big Macs can do to you!















Set into the lake is a piece called "5 Carved Oak Trunks" by Giles Kent.

















Rick Kirby has a couple of exhibits, both of faces with this one set back into a high hedge giving it a most impressive location. I have since discovered that this artist was also responsible for another work that I saw in London and which I have shown in a previous blog, but I think is worth another airing.







This is outside St Thomas's Hospital and was a millennium project which was unveiled by the late Princess Margaret in 2000.





Another delightful piece is shown below, but again unfortunately I don't have the details to give credit to the artist



This is certainly one house I can thoroughly recommend and I expect to revisit some time next year. Also worthy of mention is the restaurant which served us with a very enjoyable meal at a reasonable price.

More information is at Burghley House and I have many more photos, mostly of the sculptures at Smugmug - Burghley House.

Battersea Park

A recent trip to London was supposed to take us to the Tate Britain Gallery, but we found parking anywhere close by to be quite impossible, and so we finished up in Battersea Park. On reflection it was probably a much more enjoyable option.



A statue by Henry Moore of Three Standing Figures is close to one of the entrances in Prince of Wales Drive. I was most impressed that it seems to have escaped the attentions of any vandals.



The park runs alongside the Thames on its northern edge and offers ever changing views. Here we are looking towards Chelsea Bridge in the distance.



This is not a stray photo from China but the Peace Pagoda standing slightly incongruously alongside the river.



A British park would not be the same without a few grey squirrels, and Battersea has its fair share.



There are some wonderfully peaceful walks to be found. It is hard to imagine sometimes that you are in the middle of a large, noisy and overcrowded city.



Battersea Power Station (or what remains of it) overlooks the park from one side. It was good also to see that the locals schools made good use of the space for their sports.

A bit late in the season

We have been waiting all summer for this newly planted lily to produce its first flower. We had given up all hope for this year, but it seems that after all the wait was worth while.



I know I have shown this Nelly Moser Clematis before, but it is tucked out of sight and so I was surprised and delighted to find it back in bloom so late in the season.




And here they are from a different angle 

What is it?

During a recent outing to Canons Ashby we came across this plant in the gardens. Can anyone tell me what it is please, as I have been unable to identify it.



This is one of the seed pods that I picked up off the ground.
No prizes, but any help would be much appreciated.

Baddesley Clinton

Another recent trip found us not too far from home in Warwickshire at a National Trust property called Baddesley Clinton. It is a remarkable house that has remained largely unaltered for the last 500 years and has a facinating history much of which centers around its activities as a Catholic haven during the Reformation. There are three priest's holes in the house, two of which can be seen by visitors. Access to one is from the kitchen and the conditions must have been pretty horrendous as they shared space with the sewers. The house was occupied by the Ferrers family since 1517.



Over the bridge and through the gatehouse you enter a delightful courtyard garden. The central lawn contains the Ferrers coat of arms with 7 diamond shaped beds filled with flowers in the families heraldic colours of red and yellow.



Actually, the house and setting look as though they have stood unchanged since the 15th century but many different periods of building can, in fact, be identified right into the 19th century. The flat, mellow stone block fa�ade changes dramatically to the gabled black and white half-timbered look once through the gatehouse passage and into the formal courtyard.



The house is fully moated, and the ducks appreciate it.



The walled garden contained some of the best dahlias I have seen for some time.





More pictures can be seen at Smugmug: Baddesley Clinton and further information from National Trust | Baddesley Clinton

RHS Rosemoor

We had often thought about going to visit one of the RHS gardens, but we never seemed to be very near to one, and certainly they seem to have given the Midland of England a miss, thus creating a bit of a gardening desert in this area. Our recent short break in Devon found us staying just a few miles from one of their gems, and so whilst the weather was set fair we just couldn't resist it.
The RHS has spent the last 15 years creating a National Garden just to the south of Bideford in North Devon. Originally owned by Lady Anne Berry who handed over her famous 8 acre garden to the RHS in 1988. This with a further 32 acres of pastureland have been turned into a sensory delight. Upon leaving the entrance point, you are immediately grabbed by the wonderful retaining wall beds overlooking the various set gardens below.



There is a section of model gardens which are great for design ideas for the small town garden. Having wandered around these I began to wish that I could start again with our plot. This picture is actually from the central area of the Model Gardens and I couldn't resist the simplicity of form of these two trees.



There are really too many memories to include here, but this is another of the many borders. We were surprised by just how much colour there still was so comparatively late in the season. We shall have to try to go again ealier in the summer to see if they could be even better.



It is so hard to select any particular flower to photograph, but this Tritoma (Kniphofia, Red Hot Poker, Torch Lily - call it what you will) was just begging to be recorded. And who could fail to be impressed bt its ostentation.



There are a good many striking pieces of garden ornaments scattered around. This one I show for its quirkyness rather than any real photographic merit. It's a sun dial showing summer time and winter time, as well as the date on the other sides. Great if the sun is out, but a bit useless otherwise.



This dahlia was another of many blooms I had to get close up to. After a while you get so overloaded with the beauty of it all that you really don't know where to look next.






Areas of the gardens make good use of water as a feature. This was a cool spot on what was a quite warm day.

Take a look at Smugmug - : RHS Rosemoor for some more of the pitures I took that day.
or Royal Horticultural Society - RHS Garden Rosemoor for further general information.

Last of the summer vine

We have had a pretty good crop of tomatoes from our plant this summer, but they are all just about finished now so it's goodbye to taste and back to the supermarket for a while.



This is one of the byproducts of feeding the birds. It seems that the sparrows here are not too keen on sunflower seeds and so there have been many of them popping up.




On an unrelated topic, I was listening to the radio and heard this apparent cure for arthrytis.
Empty a packet of Californian sultanas into a jar and add a bottle of gin. Leave to soak for 10 days and then eat at a rate of 10 per day. This is a guaranteed cure which I can't wait to try. I am not actually convinced about it, but I shall enjoy trialling it!