My sister is a very keen gardener, and her garden is simply beautiful. She and her husband have made a special part of the garden into a haven for wildlife, especially bees and butterflies. The cosmos and lavender were buzzing while I was there. I think my favourite was the white cosmos. As well as a very beautiful creamy yellow rose in the front garden.
We did the "villagey" thing on Saturday and went to a flower show and various stalls in aid of charity. Some of the flower arrangements were beautiful, and inventive. The cake stalls I had to pass by very reluctantly, as there was no way I could have packed them up to take home on the train!
On Sunday we went to one of the Gardens open for charity under the National Gardens Scheme. Chinthurst Lodge, near Guildford was an old house, with a very large garden, which had been planted with love and a great deal of thought.
As we went in, we were faced with a big lawn, and a lovely pond, with irises, and other plants waiting to come out. (That's my brother-in-law doing some photography!)
Down the pathway, and we came to a gravel garden, with hostas and grasses, and a lovely arbour with a seat. I would liked to have sat there, but someone else got there first! You can't see the arbour, but you can see a fascinating water feature, which was a big brown bowl, with water gently bubbling up.
A closes look at the water feature. The water slid off the edge so smoothly it looked like jelly! (The UK sort!)
I loved the way the owner and gardener had grouped different types of the same plants together. These Heucheras looked good like that.
And the blue of the delphiniums was quite startling! (I think these may have been in the bit of the garden for growing flowers for cutting)
The vegetable garden was guarded by a very friendly-looking scarecrow who had a little mouse running up his gown.
Coming round the herbaceous borders back to the lawn again we met some interesting wood sculpture!
On the big lawn where we came was a bronze sculpture of hares boxing. I liked them a lot!
A decorated well (which was firmly covered with wire netting, as there was water down there!) led to the tea garden - a welcome sign!
The teas, plus the biggest slices of gooey cake I have ever seen, were served in the White Garden. It had been laid out in a formal style, with white lavender bordering the edges of traingular beds, and white roses along the fence. I was reliably informed that the rose was called "Rambling Rector"!
By the time I had finished going round this very big garden I was glad of a cup of tea and a sit down. And yes, I did have a big slice of cake!
That really was the end of my visit. I was sad to have to go home, but Mr.G was missing me - or rather, my cooking as I had left him freezer 'ready meals' - so on Monday, I set off for the long train journey home.
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14 comments:
I have a Rambling Rector, but he is not rambling, so he is going to have to be moved somewhere sunnier and jolted out of his inactivity. He is not earning his stipend stuck behind the garage!
If you didn't come away with a notebook full of gardening ideas, I certainly have from looking through your photos!
Lovely Gilly - Plenty of ideas for my own garden. I may have to make a scarecrow. It looks as if you enjoyed your weekend. My friend lives near Guildford - in Godalming. Was that near to where you stayed?
Wonderful photos, Gilly. I am glad you had a nice visit with your sister. I would have like to see the flower show!
Gilly, Thank you so much for including us in your journey. The photos are all very interesting and beautiful. I , too, enjoyed the water features (Would love to 'build' one of them!!) and the sculpture. And 'startling' is a good word for those delphiniums and balloon flowers!
I have wanted to have a White Garden, too, in part of my yard, but so far I just have a small start on it. I have some edging plants to get in this week while the sun is shining.
Lovely garden Gilly - very relaxing to stroll around in such beauty. Good to relax with cake too. A x
Diane - My sister lives mearer Woking than Guildford - the garden is at Wonersh.
Anne: I did rather regret the cake afterwards!!
oh that water feature looks gorgeous, makes me want to reach out and dip my finger into it!
The gardens are lovely. I think the mouse on the scarecrow is such a cute idea. Glad you had a nice visit.
Ah, more beautiful gardens. Love the delphiniums for their rich, saturated blue. It's windy and rainy here and two beautiful, vibrant roses freshly opened yesterday ended up broken on the grass this morning!
Interesting that your favorite flower in your sister's wildlife section of the garden is the white Cosmos. It's probably a favorite with butterflies, too. They tend to like white flowers.
Lovely gardens, lovely photos.
How beautiful!! I love the shock of the blue delphiniums!!
That fountain is lovely and it makes me sad - my fountain was similar but it's out of commission now until we can get a repair figured out.
I like the boxing hares, too!
Delphiniums are such gorgeous flowers. They are one of my favourites as are cosmos too. I love visiting different gardens and seeing the way they are decorated and how they are landscaped. Lots of ideas.....
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