Sunday 17 April 2022

A UK Garden Deal

During Spring 2021 we were alerted to a special 12 month garden deal - 2 for 1 entrance to gardens up and down the whole of the British Isles which sadly finished at the beginning of April. The following pictures are from our last two trips in March as we made the most of the end of the deal.. The voucher has taken us to many gardens,  some on our doorstep but others much further away. These last two visits at the end of March included a local Victorian walled garden, and a sculpture park hidden away down narrow country lanes in the Cotswolds.

It wasn't the most fruitful period to visit a walled garden, but even so, we were surprised at what was already growing in a March garden.

As soon as we stepped inside the walls, the chill in the air was left behind, and a cloak of warmth enveloped us.

I knew that we would find some Fritillaria imperialis - Crown imperials - I could smell their distinctive aroma as soon we walked amongst the tulips.
This dramatic fritillary is native to the mountainous regions of Turkey, western Iran and eastwards to Kashmir. We saw tulips galore when we visited Kashmir during Spring a few years ago, but never spotted these beautiful flowers growing in the wild. I planted some in our garden, but although they flowered the first year, the following year they came up barren. This, apparently, is a normal occurrence, unless their growing situation is absolutely perfect they decline to flower.
A solitary bee was very busy, his pollen sacs are full, but even so he continues to forage.

Time to head off, sat nav on, and see if we can locate the illusive Sculpture Park.

After travelling along a network of very narrow country lanes we finally found the entrance situated in a woodland setting. There were over 200 sculptures being exhibited which were for sale at some very high prices. Others that were not for sale were pieces, such as the one below, made out of upcycled metal and revealing some of the dreadful detritus of our modern world.

This pair of ducks are not exactly what they seem. They are actually as tall as a 6ft man. Imagine coming across them unexpectedly in the dark, would they frighten you?
Seeing so many sculptures for sale made us realise just what a precarious life being a sculptor is. All of the design work, the costs involved in making them, and then the added costs of placing them somewhere for sale. Some of the sculptures were so large that they would have required a very big vehicle for their journey and a crane to lift them on arrival.
★★★★★★Postscript★★★★★★

I have just discovered that the offer I mentioned at the beginning of this post is available again for the coming year. It is in the May edition of the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, giving entrance to 392 gardens throughout the year from Cornwall to Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland. The offer includes places such as Kew Gardens, Leeds Castle, Bodnant Garden and Nymans. Gardens are great places to get away from the stresses and strains of our world today, especially if like me, you enjoy flowers, trees, birds, butterflies and being surrounded by beautful landscapes. There are 6 packets of seeds also included in the deal plus the monthly magazine. It is available in the shops now, but if you are interested make haste as they will probably go quickly.       

36 comments:

  1. A wonderful offer, Rosemary, and I hope that many people take advantage of it, but not too many on the days of your visits! You need a degree of peace and quiet for visits like this not a huge press of people.

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    1. We have never found that to be a problem David, but having said that, we never visit on a public holiday.

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  2. I am not surprised that the car in the tree was not for sale. Have you seen the price that Morris 1000s fetch today?

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    1. I wouldn't be surprised.
      We did wonder how secure all of these expensive items were in such a quiet and remote woodland spot.

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  3. A 2-for-1 entrance deal is always worthwhile! Glad it's being offered again. And I love a good sculpture garden/park.

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    1. We were surprised at just how much there was to see with so many different styles and approaches.

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  4. Wonderful flowers and sculptures! I've never seen a fritillary in person, and didn't know they also had a distinctive bouquet.

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    1. The small pink fritillaries that I showed previously from my own garden do not have any fragrance, but these large crown imperials have a very distinctive rather pungent smell which some people do not like.

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  5. That sounds a good deal, especially in the south where you can visit a large number of gardens and stately homes without travelling too far. I've visited all of ours in the past luckily as the Highland ones are too distant for a day trip and current petrol prices confine me to my local area. Put £15 in today and the fuel gauge needle barely moved off the bottom! It used to jump to half full with that amount in it.

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    1. You have my sympathy, I am simply grateful that we have petrol and not diesel.

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    1. We really enjoyed using the voucher last year.

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  7. Such an excellent deal, and what fun to be had using it all up. I have never been in a walled garden, and would so love to see one. I had never realised they were warmer in there, but it makes sense. The sculpture garden is wonderful, and what a huge number of pieces too. I would be terrified of a 6' duck...and I love ducks :) Happy Easter Rosemary.

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    1. It is surprising how much the ambient temperature rises within a walled garden

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  8. What a great offer to take advantage of. I've had a dream to have a walled garden. One of my friends in Ecuador had one, and I couldn't believe the difference it made to her potager. It was like a warm micro climate. Alas, my dream will be unfulfilled in my suburban environment, but I continue to admire them greatly, and enjoyed visiting a few in England.

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    1. We have a very small walled garden. One side is created by the back wall of the garage, the other side is that of the house and the other two sides were built for us by a stonewall.

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  9. fritillaries are beautiful, what a lovely place - I will get the magazine - it's a great offer and will encourage me to visit more places.

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    1. I am so pleased that you are going to get the voucher and really hope that you enjoy using it as much as we have.

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  10. Hello, Rosemary. Fritillaries in this post look so different from your fritillaries. Perhaps due to the patterns? There are so many interesting sculptures; some I like, some I feel scared. And, sure I’d be frightened to bump into such a large sculpture in the dim.

    Yoko

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    1. Hello Yoko - these fritillaries are very large compared with mine and not so delicate. I would have loved to see them growing in the wild in Kashmir.

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  11. All very beautiful Rosemary, the gardens - so English looking - and those amazing sculptures!
    (Having trouble with commenting here as the text in black is so hard to see! )
    Exquisite bee on that blossom.
    I would like the man/woman? in the moon sculpture, and the ballerina.
    Hope all is well with you and J - hugs from us.

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    1. Oh crumbs Mary! now I see what you were talking about. For some strange reason blogger seems to have removed the white background. I am amazed that you managed to write as much as you have. I have no idea how to rectify it.

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  12. The duck sculpture pair make quite a sight

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    1. I think that they could be quite frightening if you came upon unexpectedly in the dark.

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  13. The exotic fritillary have a fuschia's colouring. What a surprise! As are the ducks, and yes it would be rather a shock to come upon them, day or night!

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    1. Hello Pip - I wonder why the ducks feel rather frightening when enlarged?

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  14. This place looks wonderful Thanks for sharing.

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  15. wow, yes the ducks would startle me a little, they are very grand. The sculptures are amazing, especially the VW!

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  16. P.S. frgot to say your bee image is beautiful.

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    1. I hope that you could make out the tiny pollen sacs on the bees legs.

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  17. Oh some beautiful pictures of beautiful sculptures! I would love to have everyone in my garden :)
    Hug, Titti

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    1. It is pleasing to come across and unexpected piece of sculpture in a garden.

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  18. The walled garden looks very lovely, and already green and bright.
    Kaiserkronen (Fritillaria Imperiales) were an important plant in Gertrude Jekyll's gardens - but I never wanted them feverishly

    Wow, what a wonderful garden-visiting offer, Rosemary! I might ask some of my London friends or the one in Edinburgh to buy that - thus showing "the universe" my ardent wish to be able to go to England again. (I once had a ticket for 2 days allowing visiting private London gardens - I saw 19 in two days! )
    Thank you for your inspiring beautiful photographs and the information.

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    1. Dear Britta - you saved yourself some money by not wanting these fritillaries especially as they only flower once.
      If you can get one of your frients to get the magazine for you then you can both visit many, many gardens much cheaper. Some gardens cost more than £20 for a single ticket so for two that is a saving of over £20.
      However, do it quickly as they will all be gone before 14th May.

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