There has been a garden here for hundreds of years. We recently hired a local historian to look at the house and date it. To our amazement parts of the property date back to the medieval period. During the last few months I have added plants that would have been around during that time. This is one of them, borage.
Bearded iris 'Jane Phillips'. I decided on this variety as it was one of the oldest. I am not disappointed it looks perfect in the border.
Stocks are an old cottage garden plant.
The fragrance is beautiful.
Meadow cranesbill..........what's not to like?
Milk thistle .......rabbits adore this plant. Some have survived, many have been cropped. I am hoping they will keep the rabbits away from other plantings. I have to say though, I love thistles, so will be quite happy to see a few more around.
The obelisks are slowly being covered in foliage. Another month and you will barely see them.
Planting around the pond is slightly (actually more than slightly) out of control but I like it. It is growing on me.
My chair is also carved from a felled oak. Imagine the chair upside down. The legs are carved from the trunk and the back of the chair is the root system. Again the tree was a danger to the public. Sad that it should be cut down, but sometimes there is no other answer.
This is a natural bog garden. When we moved here....I removed the turf, added heaps of compost and sand. The plantings are beautiful.....marsh mallow, large leaf hosta, native sedge, arums.......and dogwoods.
In the centre, a beautiful Gunnera. I thought I had lost this during our harsh winter. Whilst it is a shadow of it's former self....it is alive. Hopefully as summer progresses it will put on good growth.
Nella patrols this area regularly. This is where the rabbits enter the garden.
The beech hedge is now in full leaf.........
The copse is filling out.......
blue tits, wren, and blackbirds are nesting here.
The view to the house is slowly disappearing.
And finally this is what greets me when I leave the copse. Excuse any netting, cloches, etc in these photographs but when you have a rabbit problem, needs must and all that.
Hope you have all enjoyed the long weekend........I have.
28 comments:
I could walk around your garden for a few hours ! I can only grow stock here in he Winter. Beautiful garden ! thanks, Gina
When I was working at our house on the neglected garden, I was thinking about your garden and wondering what it looked like before you took over its wellbeing, but now I'm wondering what it looked like such a long time ago!
Really great to know it has been there for such a long time before!
Can you help me with a question - are there any evergreen alpines? I think alpines are the only solution for a tricky very sunny and too steep to mow area I have, but I know nothing about them!
Lovely to see Nella making an appearance.
Dan
-x-
Hi Dan....I will be absolutely truthful here. I struggled with alpines til I got the troughs.
They need a lot of drainage and hate to be wet around the roots.
Quite a few keep their foliage during the winter, but tend to look a little sad.
The evergreen varieties that spring to mind are:-
Sisyrinchium californicum Brachypus Group. Grows to around 10cm. It has dark veined yellow flowers.
The 'encrusted' saxifrages are a group of species with rosettes of evergreen leaves covered in a chalky white exudation. They sound awful but are actually quite lovely.
Sempervivums alias houseleeks. we all have those, I think.
May I suggest you plant pulsatilla vulgaris. A stunning native wildflower, that is now endangered in the wild. Worth planting, without a doubt but it is not an evergreen....it would like those conditions....
Hope that is helpful. Providing you have the drainage, it will look lovely.....
Your garden is looking great Cheryl. It appears that you can walk all through the garden and feel like you are far away. What a nice feeling. An escape yet not too far away. Yes, we have had such a nice weekend. Cheers.
Wow, Cheryl, your garden looks so lovely. And imagine parts of the house being medieval! I love borage and winter-sowed some stock, which are still only about an inch tall!
Dear Cheryl, Your garden is wonderful and I can imagine it so well. Especially, now that I've been to your part of the world~ I can see the house and garden in its context. A beautiful context! My house is all of 50 yrs old and this land was once a woodland and clearing. I love your alpine solution~They are wonderful plants and giving them drainage and safety from the rabbits is a must. The rabbits are very bad here these last few weeks...I need a Nella! gail
Cheryl,
Your garden is so beautiful. You are so lucky to have all the elements i.e bog garden ,herbaceous border, copse etc in one big space. The rabbits have been at my fennel and ornamental origanum this weekend. Nibbled to stalks... aargh!! Lesley
As always, simply a delight to visit your garden ... and such a welcome break from writing up assigments!
I agree that the iris is superb and a borage flower is always one of my favourite sights. The bees love them, too.
And the fragrance of stocks has me sighing here in a wintry landscape. Thank you for the pics!
love and light
naturewitch xx
Hi Cheryl,
Ah yes, borage, I was looking for it last year - I hear Bees love it! Never did get any, another time maybe.
Where do you have your Angelica planted? I'm trying to decide where mine ought to go, I know they like damp areas, but can they survive in brighter areas or does it have to be damp shade?
So many lovely flowers and lots of growth, some day I might have a mature garden full of lush plants.
Glad to hear you enjoyed your long weekend, have you been out much in the garden? I assume so by your comment on the jobs!
Hi Liz.....Angelica can be grown in full sun but if that is the case, they do need some moisture. I have mine growing in the sun but the soil has lots of added farm manure. It works.
The ideal place would be dappled shade and damp soil.......
Yes I did do some work around the garden.....although I was also back and forth to Mum and Dad. My daughter has a dreadful virus at the moment, so have been helping with the children.
It is drizzling today....wish it would rain a little harder but none the less grateful for at least some moisture.....
Take care
Oh Cheryl...you have done it again! What a wonderful, tranquil wander through your extraordinarily beautiful garden. You should be so proud of all you have achieved.
I missed commenting on your Sunday safari :( but thoroughly enjoyed it!
I wish I knew how you manage to keep up with gardening, blogging and all the other day to day tasks so capably , I know you are an early riser but I still cannot work out how you fit everything in...any hints gratefully received :)
Stunning garden you have there - love it.
Jane
How wonderful to find your property has such a history. When I garden, I always keep the odds and ends I dig up. Dolls heads, things made of iron, broken crockery. I'll bet you find amazing old things when you dig.
Your garden looks lovely. Fun to chose heirloom plants that would have thrived and been useful in medieval times.
Marnie
Oh, Cheryl, and I complain about my small garden area and getting things done! It amazes me all that you have done here and how you keep up with it all. But all your hard work has certainly paid off--such a beautiful garden! I like the fact that you are adding plants from the medieval period, a nice touch in keeping with the history of your home. But most of all, I can see your personal touch everywhere in your garden.
I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, Cheryl--I have almost everything planted, just in time before it rains again. Now if I can only keep from buying more plants:)
If i am the one who is amidst those gardens i might not go to work, or go elsewhere anymore. They all look so healthy and inviting, i am sure the birds, bees and butterflies are so very happy there. I can't imagine they will mostly be gone in winter, what a pity. And your labor that went with it is unquantifiable!
Wow it must be amazing living a place with so much history; in my neighborhood history starts in the 1960’s. Great photos.
Cheryl I so enjoyed this delightful garden tour! Oh my so much to take in I don't know what to comment on everything was so wonderful and unique!That owl carving is fabulous but then your felled out chair..can you image really being hugged by a tree well part of a tree...the energy that you walk away with!!!!
I too have a pond and everything around it seems to be out of control but I like that full look!
I also have a bog area along the back of our garden I must look back at your post and see what you plant as we just can't seem to keep anything alive for more than a few seasons!!I'm slowly filling in with ferns..but they too..well some don't come up in Spring! Grrr.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit today!
Hi Jan....tku so much for your kind comment.
I have got an awful lot of stamina...I am very fortunate.
I do eat very healthily and have done for years, I think that helps.
I also follow the path of alternative remedies and have done for around thirty years....I am a great believer.
I suppose I just like to look after myself. It is not for everyone, but it suits me.....tku for asking.
Hi Marnie....how charming to keep the things you find in the garden. I love that......
I have found pieces of crockery.....broken pots.....
the best thing was the bowl of a pipe. It is very ornate, and was possibly used by a lady. It is very beautiful......
Rose.....I understand. That is my biggest problem and I really do have to stop buying plants. I extended all my beds this spring.
Crazy....all that work, just to add more plants. As if I do not have enough already.
I must say the last two seasons have been tiring.....and like you said in your last post, I to wonder if I can carry on like this year after year.
Mr P suggested we get a gardener.......no thank you, I really could not bare the thought of someone messing with the garden.
Hope you are well. Is Beckie OK??
Hi Cheryl, I get such a thrill visiting with you. Your pictures are amazing and it's like reading a fine gardening magazine. I really like the Stocks, they are beautiful, I have never seen nor heard of them before. The same for the Angelica, and others you mentioned. Just stunning. I love the troughs on your deck too. That sure is amazing that parts of the property date back that far. I would be honored. I love your bug lol, it kind of looks like one of our June bugs, or some type of beetle, who knows? Nella is a cutie. I'm in love with your garden(s) and all I can say is WOW! You are truly blessed.
ooooh, I just read where you found an ornate pipe bowl. I would love for you to post a picture sometimes if you think of it :)
of course that was supposed to read "sometime" I even proofread it and I still got it wrong :O)
Sandy...you are way too kind with your comments. My gardens are not worthy of a magazine. I do not seek perfection for it does not exist for us mortal souls.
There are many untidy areas which I love as much as the landscaped area......but thank you, you are very very kind.
Yes I feel humbled knowing parts of the property are so old. I am indeed honoured to dwell here during my lifetime.
At some point I will try to remember to post the little pipe bowl......
I've just stumbled across your blog Cheryl, glad I did. the stroll around your garden was wonderful.
Thank you for the fabulous tour of your garden. Very inspiring and medieval history. Cheers..FAB.
Such a lovely stroll around your gardens, Cheryl. Thank you for taking us along. Dear little Nella looks very serious in her duties. I had to chuckle when you wrote you planted Milk Thistle for the rabbits. I do hope they are appreciative and leave all your lovely blooms alone.
You sound like every other gardener this time of year--feeling like the growth of the garden--especially the weeds have gotten away from you. Stock is a wonderfully old plant--I planted some this Spring. Borage is one I have on my wish list. I love all the old plants that my grandmother and great grandmother had. I think they give us a connection to our past. I always find I feel a connectedness to the land through the plantings and just having my hands in the soil. I feel connected to all the life I hear around me. I feel connected to the past, the present, and the future. Your home has such a rich history, I am hopeful you will share some of it as you delve into learning more about it.
-Jenny
Thank you Jenny.....the journey with the house will be a long one I am sure. We have learnt so much already. The huge oak structure that supports our house is original....the beam above our bed from acorn to now is 1000 years old. It would have been felled in ancient woodland that surrounded our house at the time. At that stage it would have been around 300-400 years old. I felt quite emotional when I found out. I have a deep connection with the trees.....
The beam above our inglenook has the remains of a dias.....that again is original. It shows great wealth, so the man who had the original house built would have been of great importance.
The historian tells us that the original house was a medieval hall house. There is much more, but I do not wish to bore you with my ramblings......
I to have a connection with the past, also old plantings etc....it is a way of life for me.
Thank you for asking......it is lovely that you have an interest.
Have a lovely week.....enjoy the dirt between your fingers, summer is so short.
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