Avebury Manor Gardens
We are now well into the month of September and the manor gardens are still a mass of summer colour - autumn appears to be nowhere in sight
Cleome - Spider flower
Some of the garden walls have an attractive thatch coping
Centaurea cyanus - cornflowers
Swiss Chard along with
Artichokes and Fennel jostle for attention amongst the flowers in the herbacious borders
Zingy shocking pink Zinnias mingle with their more restrained neighbours
There was a selling sculpture exhibition in the gardens
I liked this giant ceramic seedpod - if it had been a peapod then it would definitely have come home with me for my collection
The garden keeps on revealing hidden delights with each new path or archway encountered
The Kitchen Garden
here we found real treasure - freshly picked damsons, now I can make
Lovely photos of this garden ... I will be interested to see inside, when you post about it. I remember the programme on TV and I will be most interested to hear your views on the various rooms.
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
I will probably show the post at the weekend - I didn't watch the programme myself.
DeleteA beautifully kept garden in lovely surroundings. Not sure how they manage to keep so much colour for so long my garden looks positively drab against theirs.
ReplyDeleteIt looked more like a summer garden Elaine - the high walls help quite a lot I think, plus they keep planting throughout the summer months.
DeleteBeautiful garden, summer lasts long this year with the strange weather changes.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely going around this beautiful garden
DeleteA wonderful garden at this time of year. They even have fresh sweet peas, a late sowing I suppose here they are at their end. The damsons look attractive and there is some wonderful art, I should like to have such a kingfisher along the canal, because until now I never saw a real one......and they are here.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many gardeners they have, to keep a garden beautiful like this is quite a chore.
I don't know how many gardeners there are, but there were certainly quite a few of them working in the garden.
DeleteI met the parents of the girl who made the kingfisher wandering around the garden.
What a wonderful garden to wander around. I wish my sweet peas and cornflowers had looked that good - both were a disappointment here this summer. The house looks lovely too. The sculptures are interesting; so striking. And I love those damsons and the sound of the delicious ice cream!
ReplyDeleteIf you can find some damsons the ice cream is delicious. If you are interested I have left a link showing the last time I made it.
DeleteThank you - I've followed the link!
Delete♡
DeleteSounds like summer just finally showed up in Britain! So beautiful. And I enjoyed going back and reading your post about collections. I am the world's worst collector because I start, get about six things in a collection, and then fizzle out. But I do have two rather extensive collections: (1) statues of the Divine Feminine and (2) religiously-themed 3D and wiggle pictures.
ReplyDeleteI don't have many peapods believe it or not they are so difficult to find. My son and DiL seem to be good at tracking them down and recently gave me a nice little tray covered in peapods, and a handmade embroidered brooch
DeleteDear Rosemary, thanks for the tour through the beautiful Avebury Manor Gardens! I like that they had a selling sculpture exhibition there. Enhances the gardens and helps the artists at the same time, wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI love Damsons! When I was in Germany about a week ago, they had them there too and mom and I made a Damsons yeast cake, mmm...., so yummy! I haven't seen Damsons in California, so it was a very special treat.
Warm regards,
Christina
Yes, Damsons have a very distinctive taste which is difficult to describe - they are an old fashioned fruit and not easy to find.
DeleteWhat a beautiful manor house and garden. I never thought about artichokes as a decorative addition to a flower bed. I do love eating them! I have no idea what damsons taste like. Perhaps they are what I call plums. They look delicious.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I am a fan of modern sculptures on historic properties. They seem out of place somehow.
I grow artichokes in my garden too for their flowers - I find them fiddly to prepare and cook. My DiL usually does some for us when we visit them in Paris as they are more readily available and a decent size there - the French people love them. Damsons belong to the plum family but their flavour is different - they have a very rich deep flavour, difficult to describe, but they make wonderful jam, pies, and my ice cream of course.
DeleteI think artichokes are a wonderful addition to a garden. I had just never seen it done here in the USA.
DeleteMy artichokes come from California. They are usually very big, the size or two of my fists together. I cut off all the sharp thorny tips on the leaves and a bit off the top. Then a good rub with a lemon so the cut places don't turn color. I soak them in ice water for at least an hour before I steam them. Like all vegetables that have been cut from a stem, I think they need to be re-hydrated, especially if you buy them at a grocery store. It makes a big difference to the taste broccoli and sprouts also.
I would love to try Damsons. :-) They are gorgeous!
Thanks for the tips on cooking artichokes Catherine.
DeleteJust glorious.
ReplyDeleteThat word sums it up Jessica
DeleteYour posting was a delight with fabulous photography! I wanted to reach right in and help myself to one of those lovely artichokes or a handful of the swiss chard.
ReplyDeletebest, teaorwine
teaorwine.blogspot.com
Thank you for visiting and for leaving such a kind comment
DeleteNo autumn in sight here either, but I love it :-) Beautiful photos , wonderful display of mature flowers . Ahhh, the damson's....the best !
ReplyDeleteThank you Jane - Damsons seem to be getting rarer and rarer so we jump on them when we find them.
DeleteDear Rosemary,
ReplyDeletethank you for sharing these beautiful and inspiring garden pictures! Amazing how the garden looks as if it were still summer. Here in Vienna leaves have already been falling from the trees and it looks autumnal.
Kind regards,
Lisa
Lovely to hear from you Lisa - the trees are beginning to turn here too but Avebury garden seemed as if time had stopped, it felt like mid summer wandering through the garden.
DeleteDearest Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteWhat a joy for visiting on a sunny day in the fall.
Flowers do pick us up and make for happiness.
The sculptures were adding to the overall feast of colors and too bad that there was no pea pod for you.
Sending you hugs,
Mariette
Dear Mariette - I am very tempted to get in touch with the ceramicist and see if she can make me one - it was a lovely garden to wander around in the sunshine
DeleteA wonderful garden, Rosemary, thank you! The sweet peas caught my eye instantly, as the cornflowers and the damson (can't get them here - once tried to make Damson Cheese).
ReplyDeleteI have made several jars of Damson conserve Britta so I will have plenty to spare for making the ice cream - Damsons really do have a uniquely lovely flavour don't they?
DeleteDear Rosemary, I love all these beautiful gems you show us and my list of must-se-places is getting longer and longer. Your pictures are as always pure magic and it's such a joy to scroll up and down to watch them over and over. I believe this is a place I could walk around for hours and just enjoy. Beautiful. :)
ReplyDeleteTake care sweet Rosemary and have a lovely weekend.♥
Charlie
xx
Dear Charlie - it was a lovely day, and in the end we were reluctant to leave the flowers and the sunshine and return home, but having visited the ancient standing stones first and then the inside the manor we were both quite tired.
DeleteI am sure that you would love it too, hope that you can visit one day.
Hope that you are having a happy weekend with your family around you♡
Beautiful. Like looking at the tropics from up here in the frozen north. 18 degrees of difference recently between us so can't say the same about autumn. More like winter in my garden yesterday and shivered watching TV last night thinking about putting the heating on :o(
ReplyDeleteI am always surprised myself at the great differences in our weather not only between the north and south but also the east and the west.
DeleteI get a bit despondent when I see beautiful gardens like this and compare them to my thin borders. My sweet peas hardly flowered this year. I need to borrow a gardener or two.
ReplyDeleteI think that this garden must have very good soil that has been well nutured over the hundreds of years - there is certainly much to envy in the garden.
DeleteOne word...WOW! Lovely place and pictures!
ReplyDeleteLove from Titti
The garden does have the WOW factor Titti
DeleteHello, Rosemary! Lovely architectures and walls, nice paths, beautiful flowers, and interesting sculptures, Avebury Manor Gardens have them all at this time. Summer has lasted long this year in my part of the world, too, but with almost no blue skies. I long for the brightness in your photos. Damson is another new fruit to me and I saw the most delicious ice cream in the world.
ReplyDeleteYoko
Hello Yoko - glad you saw the most delicious ice cream in the world, just wish I could share some with you.
Deleteenchanting like always ,your collection is wonderful ,liked the seed pot and statue of lady with closed eyes ,let me tell you that you have very beautiful blog where nature and artistic displaying is amazing
ReplyDeleteThank you Baili for your very kind comment
DeleteThere's no mistaking English architecture of that era. Just love it and beautiful gardens.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you are enjoying some warm days atill.
Thank you Betty - we have been enjoying an Indian Summer
DeleteI have seen this garden in blogs at other times of the year. It does look wonderful in September with still so much in flower! The sculptures add an element of fun. I'm sure you enjoyed your homemade ice cream, that was an extra bonus to discover those damsons for sale! Sarah x
ReplyDeleteWe usually scrump our damsons from a wild tree that we know of but this year the branches were bare and we were feeling bereft so pounched on the damsons at Avebury as soon as we saw them. I have already made and we have eaten one litre of ice cream and will make another batch tomorrow.
DeleteWhat a lovely garden !!
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