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.