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As you step into the garden behind the walls you come upon a cacophony of plants woven into the most marvelous tapestry. Where you or I might be satisfied with one black Aenoium 'Zwartkop' (a guess), Alan and Graham prefer to corner the market.
What I adored was the detail to which they'd gone. If the topiary weren't enough, or the pathway, or the hedging, or the sit-me-down and cover-me structure....have a look at the planting:
Just when I think I've nailed the plants in the photo, my eye drifts to another I hadn't seen before.
Isn't this lovely. I overheard one of the visitors saying, "I always like seeing what they've put here year after year." True gardeners, nothing stays the same.
I thought this was a very romantic looking pot. Here's one of the doubles up close:
The garden can be a bit of a traffic jam for the first few minutes that it opens. However if you wait a moment or two as the visitors bleed into the gardens, you'll be surprised at how much you can see on your own. Same spot - 5 minutes later:
how's this for Edward Scissorhands?
Shows what you can do when you know how. I look at this and remember what Kevin did to our yews with the clippers last year. Really scary. Same garden different angle below:
All over the garden boundaries are pushed with plants that theoretically shouldn't be able to thrive.
I remember a wonderful garden I saw just outside of Quebec City filled to the brim with tropicals and succulents - the gardener and his wife's solution about what to do with the plants over winter was to put them all inside their tiny little house (once they were inside - there really wasn't room for any people) and go somewhere really warm for the duration, where they'd always coming back with yet another "house-plant".
These on the other hand I'm guessing all stay put.
I hope these two have shares in the pottery company.
And to finish off - a few shots from the California garden.
And one last shot of Kevin under a living arch.
Wonder if he's taken away some ideas for the rest of our hedges.....
6 comments:
There's nothing like visiting a garden that has a staff of gardeners~Fantastic photos and Barbara~I love your commentary! gail
Barbara:
Another garden that has inrigued me. Part One seemed very tropical-esque, and Prt Two..... topiarist's delight I would imagine. Seems we of the male gender have a way with a pair of shears, regardless of size or instructions given prior to our weilding! Gorgeous photos and commentary as always! Hard to believe we're into August already! VayK for me in two weeks!
I like the ending to your post. I am always coming home with a new batch of ideas and find myself wondering how I can get my husband on board. There is a ton of work in all those clipped shrubs!! The picture of the purple Canterbury Bells is amazingly lovely.
Barbara,
Nice blog! Love your photos :) I would like to invite you to join our new social network for gardeners, www.YourGardenShow.com I think you would really enjoy it!
Stacie
Um, is it wrong to say that Kevin has nice legs? LOL
The California garden juxtaposed with the very English yew borders certainly shows the diversity of the gardeners and their affinity for design. Very well done. I love how you shot the queue of people then the same shot without them. It certainly illustrates how people tend to steal the limelight, ha, ha. That gate is a definite gimme, gimme.
Gail - Thanks Gail. Next life, more money, more land, more gardeners - quite amazing and so unlike garden situations here.
Barry - you could spend weeks there. A&G were amazing - I would love to sit down and pick their brains for days about the whys and hows. I'm keeping all sharp objects away from Kevin. Have a wonderful VayK - and trip to Chicago!
Jennifer - the joys of having staff. I can't even imagine what it would be like to keep something like that up - wonder if with our snow fall, if it would even be possible?
Grace - I tell him all the time, if he dresses like that, people aren't going to be able to help themselves! It was like a Disney Land for gardeners - my pictures barely scratched the surface. Over and over again, I couldn't believe how much time, effort money is spent on hard surfaces, statuary, wrought iron work - in the gardens I saw, there was very little "that'll do" sort of workmanship - everything was of the highest quality.
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