One of the best maintained and stocked gardens in the North of England lies five miles outside York at the delightfully named Warthill. Breezy Knees Gardens was opened in 1999 by Colin and Marylen Parker. Its roots as a farm are easy to see as one enters via the cafe and tramps through the fields along a path though flat land, bordered by rabbit resistant perennials to the fenced in area that is the the home to the fourteen acres of gardens. One of my favourite writers on gardens, John Grimshaw, head gardener at Colesbourne Park, complained in 2012 about the “square-line fetish” of the garden’s construction. I noted this but truly the vast number of perennials in fabulous condition is the overwhelmingly positive Indeed the lay-out greatly improves identification of plants, particularly as they are all clearly labelled up. Tomorrow I shall identify some of the plants that took my eye but for now fill your boots and enjoy the straight lines.
Helleborus niger ‘Christmas Carol’
Castle Howard at Christmas, 27th November 2015
Madeira’s Jardim Botanical Gardens, April 1st 2015
Arriving early in the morning, the café was deserted.
A frog!
Our boat.
We can’t grow these at home.
Galanthophile Diaries
Autumn Display of Perennials at Lakeland Horticultural Society, Holehird Gardens, 22nd September 2014
Whatever the weather, volunteers come from many miles around to give generously of their time. Indeed last weekend when floods and storms hit the Cumbrian fells there were still amateur gardeners toiling away in the 17 acres.
The gardens are free to visit though the society depends on donations. In their hillside setting overlooking Windermere a journey there is an essential part of the Lakes experience.
Cleethorpes, 19th November 2015
“Oliver’s” where we had afternoon coffee having enjoyed lunch with our family at “Marples”. Both are well recommended.
Strange as it may seem, the sea is not always visible here in the Humber Estuary.
The Humber Estuary is ne of the top three sites in England for birds, the mud flats teeming with birds of all sorts.
Here I tested my long range zoom on my brand spanking new Panasonic Lumix TMC TZ70, purchased because attempting to use my previous Sony compact in the Lake District last week ruined the damn thing so it is impractical to pay for a repair. Anyway enough of my problems. The bird below is a Dunlin viewed from the 30x zoom.
Not sure what this bird is but it’s part of the landscaping.
Below is the less attractive end of Cleethorpes. The final two images look across the estuary towards Spurn Point.
Computer Images
Walkers Garden Centre, Doncaster, 16th November 2015
Taking eight acres of what used to be quarry land and then rose beds for the “Walkers Roses” of old, Graham has created a park full of detail, from the reed bed below to the pond with my shadow prominent in the winter’s low sun.
Here we move to the outside eating area where one might dine well, enjoy the view and listen to the roar of the aircraft landing or taking off from the adjacent Robin Hood Airport. And what a joy it is to see specimen conifers celebrated so spectacularly.
Her son
Puente de las flores (Flower Bridge), Valencia, 19th August 2015
I did like this tilting landscape seen from across the Turia Gardens.