Saturday 22 June 2013

A private garden

Come in
Believe it or not, but the lovely circular building through these gates, is home to some very lucky, extremely large carp fish.
They even have their own Greek myths hand frescoed on the walls surrounding their pool.
Called The Bath House - perhaps initially it was intended to be a bathing pool for humans rather than fish.
A pear tree tunnel
H is a volunteer at our local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) which is a charity. The owners kindly opened their garden to help raise funding for the CAB. For those living abroad the CAB gives free advice and assistance to any members of the public needing help with a wide range of situations. For example, social security, consumer problems, relationship breakdown, housing, debt, employment, immigration, etc.
A rill incorporating ferns, and water plants - I like the way a few buttercups have been left to compliment the cranesbill.
Just over 20 years ago the whole estate, house and gardens were in a state of dereliction which the owners have slowly bought back to life. This is one of the few areas still in the process of being developed.
A second water rill crossed by an attractive wooden bridge 
This beautiful cotswold church beside the estate has a very rare irregular hexagonal Norman tower. Only one other like this is known to exist. 
The original part of the house is late 18th century. The three windowed bow with doorway and attached Tuscan columns and pediment opens on to a colonnaded staircase hall.
 
Diana, Roman Huntress Goddess of the Moon - Greek Goddess Artemis. She is often depicted accompanied by dogs or deer, and mostly, as here, carrying a bow and arrow.
The garden was designed by Antony Young, Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall, mother of Hugh from the TV programme River Cottage, and the estates Head Gardener - Colin Durber.

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In a few days we shall be catching the car ferry to Brittany to stay with my daughter-in-laws parents, but......
does anyone recognise this gorgeous bee. I have never seen one like it before. It was a very zingy, bright citrus yellow with a punky hairstyle, with a narrow band of black, more citrus yellow followed by another narrow band of black, the back end of the bee was bright rusty orange (just visible) it's body was fluffy all over. 
Yesterday, I finally got round to making the hanging baskets for the front of the house. Whilst we are away I am hanging them in the shade under our garden table where, hopefully, they will not dry out or be invaded by snails - fingers crossed. I have used a pretty mix of the fairly new miniature petunias called 'confetti'.
Hanging safely under the table - I hope

109 comments:

  1. Na piękny cel został ten ogród otworzony dla zwiedzających. Jest tam bajecznie. Wspaniale zdjecia to pokazują. Pozdrawiam.
    The goal was the beautiful garden opened to the public. There are fabulous. Great pictures to show. Yours.

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    1. Dear Giga - thanks for your visit - happy that you enjoyed seeing this lovely garden.

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  2. The garden and your photographs are stunning! It's hard to believe it was almost derelict 20 years ago. How much money did they raise from their open day?
    I have never seen a bee like this, I hope someone can come up with the answer.
    Have a wonderful time in France.
    Sarah x

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    1. Dear Sarah - the amount raised was over £10,000 which the CAB were rather overwhelmed by. They had thought may be £2,000 or £3,000 if they were lucky.
      The bee was lovely, it was so noticeable in the garden with its very bright fluorescent colour.
      Thanks for your good wishes, and glad you enjoyed seeing the garden.

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  3. Good morning Rosemary, that is a wonderful and splendid garden and estate. The church itself is worth another look. I am smitten with the wisteria pictures and I am not a big fan of wisteria especially if it is in my garden. But in this garden it is glorious. Your baskets are pretty. I planted petunias last night in a found piece of pottery. I often plant in pieces with no drainage and put gravel in the bottom and hope for the best. Have a terrific weekend, Olive

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    1. Dear Olive - surely it must be very very early in the morning with you?
      The church is a very beautiful ancient building, and you are right it is worthy of another look. I must try and return some time and get more photos. The wisteria was lovely - it reminds me of bunches of ripe grapes, but looked lovely hanging on the very old brick wall.
      Hope your petunias are a success for you, and that mine survive my absence.

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  4. What a wonderful garden - glad they raised so much for CAB (which also exists here in New Zealand). Those hanging baskets are spectacular.

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    1. It was a very successful fund raising day - helped by the lovely weather and the chance to see a beautiful garden.
      I only put two pots per basket so they cost me very little to do. Hoping that they come on well and start cascading.

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  5. Wonderful there are still a lot of people caring about otherpeople. The place is one out of a fairytail.
    Have a pleasant stay Rosemary.

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    1. The waiting room at the CAB is never empty and the phones never stop ringing - there are always people needing help. Yes, the garden does have a fairytale quality to it, and amazing that it is so recent, but it has the added help of old walls and buildings which add extra maturity.

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  6. Dear Rosemary, I'm speechless! What a beautiful place and again, what excellent photograpy. It is mind boggling to think of the many problem solving services your CAB tackles. What an incredible organization and and how generous of your Mr. H to volunteer for such worthy cause. ox, Gina

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    1. Dear Gina - There are CAB offices up and down the country - all manned by volunteers who have to undergo intensive training in order to be able to assist with problems. It is a very well used and valuable service. H gives one whole day a week and also goes on courses from time to time. Glad you enjoyed the photos of this beautiful garden.

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  7. How beautiful, Rosemary! As usual, your photos are gorgeous. I loved the Illiums in many of the gardens visited in England.
    What a great service H is volunteering.

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    1. Yes, the alliums have been great this year, so many shades of purple and sizes. They seem to have really enjoyed the chilly spring. My clump had far more flowers this year than I have ever seen before.

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  8. Rosemary, these photos are lovely. What a wonderful garden! I love the giant alliums. I hope to have them growing in my garden one day.

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    1. Do plant some Marie - they multiply well, and are totally reliable coming up abundantly each year.

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  9. Ooops...I meant to add that I really like your baskets. This year was my first year planting petunias. (I don't grow a lot of annuals.) So far they are growing wonderfully. I hope yours survive your time away.

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    1. I don't grow annuals either - just in the hanging baskets, and some hardy geraniums for the pots. Geraniums will happily survive when we are away even if it doesn't rain. I have never grown these miniature petunias before but have noticed them in the last couple of years - I will give them a good water just before we leave.

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  10. Well, hanging something in the shade would be absolutely no problem here now, nor would watering be. Still, you might have to search for your flowers when returning because the wind might have blown them all over the place. I have been shoving with pots here to protect the fragile plants from being blown to the ground, with little success though, so I hope they'll recover once the wind decides to lie down. I hope it'll make the plants stronger, looking at it from the positive side, I try ;)

    But about your beautiful post now, what a gorgeous(sunny!)garden and a beautiful house! Being able to live in such a place, surrounded by all that beauty must be heavenly. Thanks for sharing. So good people could go and see this beautiful estate, all for a good cause.

    Enjoy your weekend Rosemary, and your Brittany trip. Brittany is so beautiful and diverse, I wonder what part you'll be staying in. This must be the first time you'll be traveling to a place I've also visited come to think of it ;) Can't wait to hear about your adventures!
    Marian
    PS I've seen many bumblebees and bees in the garden but never the funky punky one with the orange back end you're showing here. It's probably one of these(http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/bombus/g133.html) but impossible for me to say which one exactly.

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    1. Dear Marian - thank you very much for your really comprehensive comment. The chart from the Natural History Museum is excellent, and my bee definitely seems to fit in somewhere amongst those.
      It is bright and sunny here today, but also quite gusty so I think we must be getting the tail end of your windy weather.
      Hope that your plants do not suffer to much it is rather soul destroying when you work so hard within the garden and then the elements turn against you and damage all the good work.
      The part of Brittany we are visiting is near Josselin where there is the beautiful Château de Josselin, and our DIL parents have a book shop there too.

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  11. Beautiful! Both the house and the grounds. There are quite a few water features on the estate, including the carp house. Thanks for this lovely tour. A wonderful cause.

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    1. Dear Loi - plenty of money was raised - it was extremely generous of the owners to have so many people wandering around their garden for the CAB - you are right water did figure quite prominently in several areas of the garden.

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  12. What an absolutely stunning garden. So might to see and take delight in. Have a great time in Brittany.
    June

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    1. The owner's have really created something rather special out of what was dilapidated in the 1990s. Thanks for your good wishes re Brittany.

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  13. Rosemary, the private garden and House are both elegant, gorgeous and so grand. I could just imagine that it is also as beautiful inside the house. The gardens are perfect for a stroll and must smell so fragrant. Your hanging flowers are gorgeous too. So colourful. Enjoy your trip to Brittany.

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    1. Dear Pamela - the house was off limits but I am sure that you are right judging from the way everything else was kept.
      I was really pleased when I found the miniature petunias - usually I just buy hanging baskets, but this year I have been late in getting organised. I found those in the local garden nursery and decided they would do fine in the baskets that I had, and doing it myself was far cheaper too.
      Thanks for your good wishes for our trip, and I hope that you have a wonderful birthday.

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  14. Wow what a beautiful garden and you seem to have had a good day for it too.

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    1. You will know roughly the spot where this garden is Paula - it is further down the valley from Newark (NT). It was a couple of weekends ago when we had that perfect weather.

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  15. Beautiful and how lovely that you've shared this with us. Stunning photos and I love your hanging baskets. We too are off to Brittany in two weeks, sailing from Portsmouth. We have friends who live in Plougourvest near Landivisiau. Have a wonderful trip.
    Patricia x

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    1. Hope you have a good trip too Patricia - we are sailing from Poole and it is rather an early morning ferry - we shall have to leave home at 5.00am. I shall look forward to seeing your photos of your trip when you get back.
      Hoping the hanging baskets survive alright.

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  16. Great Charity. Beautiful photographs. The garden took my breath away.....and I learned a new word...Rill....Thanks, Janey

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    1. Hello Janey - thank you and pleased that you enjoyed seeing this beautiful garden. I always wanted a rill in my garden, but it is necessary to have water movement from an electric pump to stop it from going green and mossy. I forgot about this when laying out our garden and realised too late.

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  17. Thank goodness the weather has improved now that the open garden season is upon us. Our garden is full of red-tailed bumble bees this year - the males do have yellow stripes as well as a red tail, but I've never seen one quite like this.

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    1. Before I saw this bee I thought that there were bees, bumblebees and one or two variations, but looking on the internet it seems that there are 250 different bees in this country - I had no idea. This one though must take the top prize for the brightest and cutest one I have ever seen.

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  18. That is a verry beautiful house and garden.
    Great photo's.

    Have a nice sunday,
    Greetings,
    Inge, my choice

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    1. The house was worthy of restoration and the garden has been beautifully designed - hope the rest of your weekend is good too.

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  19. That is a most unusual bee. Beautiful in fact. No idea what kind it is. I love petunias and your baskets are so colorful. Nice photos of this house and garden

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    1. Thanks Sanda - the bee was a real eye catcher flitting around on the thyme flowers.

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  20. Hello Rosemary

    Enjoy your trip to France.

    The bee is superb and I have not seen the likes before. What a thrill for you.

    The garden is breathtaking and I am particularly fond of the Diana statue. She has such confidence.

    Thanks for sharing this tour, I loved it and will return.

    Helen xx

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    1. Hello Helen - there was some lovely statuary and also water features within the garden, and well placed to lead the eye. I liked the bronze of Diana too.
      Hope you are continuing to have a lovely holiday in Ireland.

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  21. Thank you for sharing this delightful garden, Rosemary. There is so much to love: the beautiful Norman church, the rills (would love one of those!), the wisteria which is to die for... That bee is fantastic - he should be reproduced as jewellery. CAB sounds like a great charity and what a worthy activity for H to be there every week. Oh, and good luck with those very pretty petunias. Have a great trip to Brittany.

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    1. Thanks Patricia - the petunias were a great find. I had been looking for a ready made basket, but couldn't find one I liked. Spotted the petunias - end of story. Hope that they are OK whilst we are away in a shady corner.

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  22. Hello Rosemary, They certainly have done wonders fixing this estate. There is so much variety, and so many attractive areas and focal points. I find the Cotswold church quite interesting--is it still used as a church, or is it now just a building on the grounds?
    --Road to Parnassus

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    1. The church is lovely Jim - I will return and do a post on it sometime. It is a redundant church, there are so few people nearby, also it is in a very quiet valley. It is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust and also designated by English Heritage as a Grade ll* listed building. Unusually it also stands in a circular churchyard suggesting that the site could be pre-Christian.

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  23. You have access to the most wonderful gardens, Rosemary. This one is exceptional. The mellow house is lovely, too. Our daughter was able to take a well-earned two-day break in the Cotswolds last week, which she enjoyed and brought back some local honey for us. I hope your trip to Brittany is another good one - such a beautiful and interesting part of the world.

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    1. Pleased that your daughter has enjoyed a break in the Cotswolds, and hope that she picked some fine weather. This house and its gardens, hidden in a deep valley, was a pleasure to be able to visit.

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  24. It is a beautiful garden Valerie and especially when you consider it is so young, lots of lovely features that would not be too difficult to emulate.

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  25. Magnificent grounds & a labour of love sure shows. Lovely clear photos.

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    1. It is a beautiful garden with lots of interesting corners to it.

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  26. What an amazing place. I am always thrilled when I hear of people who bring interesting old places back to life. And I am mighty puzzled, becuase I follow your blog and I realise I haven't had any updates. If I hadn't just thought of visiting you today, I wouldn't have seen this post. I had better check it out.

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    1. Dear Jenny - sorry about the updates - I have had that happen to me too, but sometimes it takes a while to realise - blogger has a mind of his own, however, delighted that you found me again.
      It is lovely that the place has been given a new lease of life. The house and garden live down a very narrow road into a secret valley, so it is in a delightful spot.

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  27. Wonderful photos of a both stunning house and garden , they really worked magic ! I never saw a bee like this , looks like a cartoon bee ...must be some cross over :-) You have a snail problem too? I just hate these little distroyers of my garden !!

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    1. Snails and slugs are a big problem each year, they can munch through so much very quickly. The situation is made much worse of course, because, as I am sure you know, slugs and sails are hermaphrodite.
      Snails apart, glad that you enjoyed seeing the house and garden - and the bee, you are right, it does look like a cartoon bee, but really beautiful I thought.

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  28. Every garden scene is so beautifully green and lush - delightful.

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  29. wow what a beautiful place
    fishes living next to greek myths. I liked that

    your baskets looks lovely. wonderful colours

    have a nice trip my dear : )

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    1. Dear Demi - I wouldn't mind living in there myself - it is far too good for fish!!!
      Thanks very much for your good wishes - the weather prospects seem hopeful at the moment. H said the jet stream is moving north - we would rather not have a choppy crossing on the ferry.

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  30. What a magnificent place, I love it! That bee is certainly a fluffy punky bee, i've not seen one like that before. Have a great trip! x

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    1. The punky bee seems to be an unknown quantity to everyone. I am beginning to think that I dream't him up, but no, I have taken his photo, so he must be real.

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  31. Dear Rosemary,

    I am always so impressed by people who save derelict houses and gardens and bring them back to life. They should have a special medal designed for them! This one is so lovely, I'm glad more people were able (and through your blog, are able) to appreciate it.

    I like your punky bee. He is, to my mind, the quintessential bee!

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    1. Dear Mark - you are right about the bee - when people draw bees or dress up as them, this is the look that they are aiming for.
      The owners have made a wonderful job of restoring the house and creating a new garden, but were also generous in sharing it to raise money for the CAB.

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  32. Another lovely garden tour ! They must work very hard to make this garden and the house in twenty years !Your basket look so beautiful !
    Have a nice day my dearest Rosemary !

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    1. You are right Olympia - however, they have plenty of staff working for them, so it is much easier to achieve than it would be for you or me.
      Hope all is well with you.

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  33. What a garden, just love such flower tunnels.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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    1. A tunnel of flowers really is an oasis and a lovely protection from the sun.

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  34. Rosemary, what a total joy this estate is. And the way you welcome us in from the entrance to the round house - just gorgeous. Thank you.

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    1. Dear Kate - I first saw this garden about 15 years ago when it was in its infancy - I was surprised how much it had matured over the intervening years. It now looks a well established garden. Glad that you enjoyed seeing it.

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  35. Hi Rosemary.. thanks for your message on my blog, I'm not that knowledgeable but I do have a keen interest in bees... I've had a google and I believe the bee is called Early Bumble (or scientific name Bombus pratorum)and as it appears to have a yellow face this would mean it is a male.. if you google the name you will see it looks very similar to your photo. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is a good website to look at and has identification pictures. Hope this helps.
    Julie :o)

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    1. Thanks for your prompt reply Julie - I will do a bit more investigation along the lines you suggest.

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  36. WOW I LOVE ALL OF THOSE PHOTOS. And that bee is so cool.
    Thanks for leaving your comment on my blog.

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    1. The bee is cool, I agree - he has such a lovely yellow punk hairstyle.

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  37. Hi Rosemary, what a truly wonderful garden to visit! And how spoilt are those fish!
    Looking back, I also loved your post on the train journey from Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness, one of my favourite parts of the country.
    Have a great trip to Brittany and look forward to hearing all about it!

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    1. Thank you for your visit - Scotland was truly memorable and we had that wonderful weather - which also looks like being just a memory at the moment.

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  38. The garden and the sunshine! are stunning.
    I hope your hanging baskets look even more colourful when you return from your holiday.

    As for the very splendid bumblebee - I'm off to check out the bee ID charts, bees are so fascinating. We have a colony of Buff Tailed Bunblees in the roof space of our house (a converted ancient stable) - it's lovely to see 'our bees' busy around the garden.

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    1. Thank you so much Celia - he is such a gorgeous bee. I have been really heartened to see so many bees in the garden this year - our two Rowan Tree had hundreds on their blossom a couple of weeks ago.

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  39. I think your bee is a male Early Bumblebee, Bombus pratorum http://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/early-bumblebee.
    At the weekend I was chatting to 'the bee man', a neighbour who keeps many hives and mentors the other bee keepers in our village. He said in the past 3 weeks the bee colonies has caught up with overwinter losses and many had swarmed, making new colonies. Unlike honey bees, only the Queen bumblebee survives the winter, she then has to start a brand new colony who help her breed new queens to carry on the species. Aren't they special?!

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    1. That is wonderful Celia - thank you very much. I can definitely see a strong resemblance to my bee in photo No. 2 by Graham Calow which shows a male. It is interesting as I did not realise before how many colour variations there are within the same group of bees. The one in my garden was definitely a very flamboyant male. Lovely to know that the bees have caught up following the cold winter and chilly spring. It is really encouraging news and just shows how resilient nature can be.
      You are right, they are special and we loose them at our peril.
      By the way I live in the hills above the World's first bee guardian town.

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    2. Hi Rosemary, I've just discovered that our bees aren't Buff Taileds as I thought, they are in fact Tree Bees, Bombus hynorum. This be was unknown in Britain until 2001, but is now spreading fast and is quite common in the south and east. Our native bumblebees prefer to nest underground, but the Tree Bee likes (you've guessed!) trees, and other hollow woody places, like old stable roofs!
      They are very distinctive once you know: ginger head/dark black-brown body/white bum
      Look out for them.
      C

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    3. I will definitely be keeping an eye out Celia - this morning I have been looking into the possibility of getting a beeskep made, I am awaiting a quotation on the email. I have a drystone wall in the garden with a deep square alcove which seems to be tailor-made for a skep - watch this space.
      I do know that there are some foreign bees that have arrived in this country that are a threat to our bees, but do not know what their appearance is like.

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  40. What a beautiful garden that is! And sunny too, not been much of that round here! :D

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    1. Thanks for your visit D - glad that you enjoyed seeing the beautiful garden, and yes, we were lucky with the weather.

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  41. I loved reading this, Rosemary. It is a lovely, well-maintained garden and your photos of it are stunning. It's good to see the CAB supported. The wisteria is gorgeous and the church is very interesting. I love the little bee; it does look like an Early Bumblebee (and I'm fascinated by a bee guardian town, I've never heard of this before.) Hope you have a wonderful holiday.

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    1. Dear Wendy - thanks for your greetings re trip - if you are interested in our bee guardian town you can read about it here:-
      http://www.beeguardianfoundation.org/bee-guardian-town-stroud.html
      Several people have remarked on the little church, so when I have time I will make visit and show more of it and its history- being Norman it is particularly old.

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  42. Dear Rosemary,
    After such a long absence, I have had the pleasure of getting lost in your beautiful photos of this exquisite garden! What a treat... Such gardens are really a treasure-- thank goodness your friends have taken on the happy task of bringing them back. I can't wait to hear more about the Norman church as well...
    Enjoy your holiday!
    Warm regards,
    Erika

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    1. Dear Erika - how lovely to know that you are back again. I am sure that you have been working very hard. I am just about to shut down the computer and pack the car. I will make a point of visiting the church sometime on my return. Hope all is well with you and your family.

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  43. Dear Rosemary,what a great post!!
    And what a beautiful place to visit!!!
    Amazing garden!!!I like all those preety flowers!!
    And your basckets look georgous!!!
    I realy enjoyed your wonderful pictures!!
    Have a nice week!!
    Dimi..

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    1. Thanks Dimi - the garden was really magical, glad you enjoyed seeing it. I am just off now to pack my bags for our trip. Take care and thanks.

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  44. Rosemary, you have posted so many delightful, dreamy pictures. Each view is more perfect than the last. The statue of the Roman goddess is amazing. I am in love with this estate and its gardens (although if you look back at my older comments, I probably say that a lot!) The miniature petunias you've chosen for your baskets are so cheery and cute and full of bright colours.

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    1. Thanks Rosemary - the petunias are beginning to look as if they have been in the basket for ages now, so hopefully they will survive OK. The bronze of Diana was extremely covetable - she could be seen in the distance along several views.

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  45. I'm really impressed with all I see...This garden is simply sublime and so different from what I can see here.Thank you Rosemary,it was a real treat!
    Wish you have a wonderful stay wherever you go and have fun!

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    1. Thank you Olympia - off in the early hours of 'our' morning to Brittany - going on the car ferry. The garden looks very mature for its age mainly due to the original old walls that were obviously in situ. I think that it is a very English garden, and little bits of it are what many of us seek to emulate.

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  46. What a lovely garden! That bee is unknown to me. It looks funny! You have beautiful summer flowers I hope they'll be all right, when you come back. Happy week, Rosemary!

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  47. Hi Rosemary, this garden is just STUNNING! How nice that it was open for the public to see for a charity purpose! I love the house as well and how cool is to have a special church on your own grounds? Thanks for featuring this gem on your blog. - I love your petunia baskets. Crossing my fingers for you that they do well during your absence.
    Christina

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    1. Thanks Christina - yes, the Norman church is a little gem which I intend calling back on to do a post - it is very ancient. The flowers seem to have settled in well and in the shade I think that they should be OK thanks.

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  48. Well spotted Rosemary. I am not a bee expert but I have heard of the Great Yellow Bumblebee(Bombus distinguendus)which is quite similar (although yours looks a tad fluffier than images I have seen) if so they are very rare and only found on the north coast of Scotland, your local beekeeping society or the Bumblebee Conservation Trust I am sure would be more than happy to know and share their viewpoint. Such a gorgeous creature. Do you think one snuck into your knapsack when you where on your highland jaunt?

    Thank you for sharing such a stunning garden with us Rosemary. Your photographs are gorgeous. The garden is so beautifully tended. Can we just give a little shout out to the incredible lawn with those amazing stripes going round the bath house, there's some serious lawn love going on right there!

    Enjoy your trip.

    Paul

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    1. Thanks Paul - yours is definitely the last comment to get a reply - off to bed shortly - very early to rise to catch an early ferry.
      I have been interested in bees for the last few years and especially as I live near the Worlds First Bee Guardian Town. Now my interest has turned to having a bee skep made for one of the alcoves in our drystone wall. Once it is in situ I just need the bees to come calling at their new 'des res' being specially handmade as we speak.
      I do like stripes on the lawn - H is not very good at doing them, so we have a man who comes and makes ours!!!

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  49. Dearest Rosemary.
    I am way behind in my comments and catching up.. but i still cant work out some things.
    however.. i am on bloglovin..but my story of today didnt show.. i dont know why.. i posted through my blog valrosa59blogspot.com.. i thought it would show on blog lovin..
    Someone is very lucky to live in such a magnificent home. Its so beautiful.
    The gardens and lawns so perfect.
    I have never seen a bee like that.
    Have a good trip.. hope your baskets will be ok.
    best wishes
    val. xx

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    1. Just arrived back home - it is very late but I think that my plants have survived OK thanks.

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  50. Dearest Rosemary,
    I see that my post of today has been published..i am so happy..
    val xx

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  51. Dear Rosemary,
    I guess you are sunning your self in Brittany while I am writing this and won't read my comment until you return.
    I laughed about your striped lawn. My uncle was very particular about having a striped lawn and no gardener was ever good enough at doing it for him so he always did it himself. He tried to teach me but my stripes were always too wobbly.
    I am going to keep a look out for the Great Yellow Bumblebee while sojourning in Blighty for the next month.
    Bye for now and I hope you have had plenty of sunny days,
    Kirk

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    1. Thanks Kirk - I shall be behind schedule for a little while with comments etc. H and I have a big occasion happening this week, and I have all the stuff from France to clear up first.

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  52. Oh Rosemary, I'm swooning. Such beauty, such gorgeousness of color. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing. So difficult to believe that this is a private property. Imagine living in such spectacular luxury. As I said, I'm swooning. :)

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    1. They are very fortunate people Yvette, but generous that they also share it with others.

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  53. Sorry I'm so late coming to this lovely post, Rosemary. By now you will be enjoying your holiday in Brittany and it looks like the weather for the coming week will be good.

    Thank you so much for this tour of a spectacularly beautiful garden with its dignified house and that gorgeous church next-door. It’s hard now to believe that as recently as 20 years ago the estate was almost derelict. It must have taken a great deal of time and effort to restore it to such perfection.

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    1. Just arrived home Perpetua - everything is in chaos at the moment - H and I have a big anniversary this weekend - not quite sure what to do first!!! Glad you enjoyed seeing the beautiful garden,.

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  54. Hello Rosemary,
    That bee is so cute and fluffy! :)
    From: Bea Cupcake

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    1. He is a fantastic bee, and is a wonderful colour - I had to dash inside quickly to get my camera when I saw him.

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