Painted Lady

The recent hot spell has brought a sudden welcome rush of visitors to the garden. It had seemed that the decline of the butterfly was becoming terminal, but the last few days has seen much interest in our oregano in particular by the Painted Ladies.

More butterflies

Hardwick Hall, Nottinghamshire

We had a very hot but enjoyable day out visiting Hardwick Hall recently. The house, now managed by the National Trust, is one of the finest Elizabethan properties to be seen and reflects the wealth of Bess of Hardwick for whom it was built in the 16th century.

The gardens are largely formal, and there is a restored herb garden which it is well worth making the effort to see.

For more pictures of the visit, click here

Logan's Rock, Cornwall

Many years ago, too many in fact, I went to Logan's Rock in Cornwall and distinctly remember seeing a "rocking" stone balanced precariously on the cliff top. This year I relived my childhood memories and went back there, or at least tried to. Parking up at the car park in Treen we set off to walk across the fields to see Logan's Rock, and whilst we saw what everyone tells me was indeed Logan's Rock, it was not as I recalled it. There was no "rocking" stone, just lots of magnificent views, and lots of rocks, but not the one I wanted.
Maybe it has been pushed back off its perch, back onto the beach as it was in 1824. After this incident it had to be hauled back up the cliffs, all 80 or so tons of it, and re-sited. Never mind, it was a glorious walk, although some of the scrambling over the rocks made me more aware of the differences between the two visits. Maybe the French are right. Vive la difference!

For more pictures of the visit, click here

Kiftsgate Court Gardens

A recent day out took us to one of our favourite areas, the Cotswolds, to visit an old favourite, and a new. Kiftsgate Court Gardens was new to us, but I am sure we will be back there as it is simply a garden lovers delight. It is situated in Gloucestershire has some wonderful gardens created on the top of, and down the side of the Cotswold escarpment just south of Mickleton and was built in 1887-91 by Sydney Graves Hamilton who owned Mickleton Manor, on to which one of his ancestors, Walwyn Graves (1744-1813), had built a Georgian front with a high portico. This facade was moved, with the help of a specially constructed light railway, up to a new site on Glyde Hill and become Kiftsgate Court.

There were peonies in abundance during our visit where I think they must have relished the sunny sheltered spot in the Four Squares garden on the upper terrace.

Although the gardens are not huge, they do pack an awful lot into a relatively small and difficult place to work. This White Sunk Garden does now have some other colours introduced which give it a greater variety.

The Water Garden was created on what was once the tennis court, and the surrounding yew hedges add to the feeling of serenity created by the flat reflective surface of the water.

For more pictures, click here

After a very pleasant visit here we took a trip just up the road to Hidcot Manor Gardens, to complete a heavenly day.