Monday 19 May 2014

A Day Out

One good thing I hadn't thought about being a "stay at home" is that sometimes you get taken on days out. My mum did just that last week and took me and the girls out to a local open garden that's not too far away.
Mum with my two girls and a great picnic!
She packed us an amazing picnic (freshly made carrot cake anyone?) And it was a garden she knew I'd enjoy as it's a walled garden with trained fruit and veg gardens as well as the formal flower gardens.
Wisteria arch way just coming into bloom

Herb garden

Lettuces and other salads in a decorative pattern (although I always wonder what they look like when you start eating them!)

Glasshouses

Obelisks for peas made from birch 

Beautiful coloured flowers on the heritage broad beans

Trained Fruit trees

Raised beds for the main vegetable garden

The veg garden and orchard from above

One of the most difficult mazes I've ever done - but maybe that's just because we were doing it with a tired two year old and a 7 month old! We almost didn't get out!
The garden was Hampton Court Castle Gardens and we were really impressed by them, it made a great afternoon out and the girls seemed to enjoy it as well, although they were both very tired by the end - mind you so was I!
Has anyone else been to a good garden lately?

16 comments:

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    1. It was a good day out and nice for mum to treat me!

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  2. It looks a fantastic place, I havent been to any gardens recently, but last summer on one of my trips to Wales I popped along to the Botanical Gardens, but unfortunatly I picked the hottest day of the year to visit and couldnt spend much time outside admiring there gardens.

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    1. I'd rather look round the gardens at these big houses rather than inside the houses these days! The temperature was just right nice and sunny but with plenty of shade.

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  3. Looks fabulous! I love Wisteria mine is still yet to flower as I've been told they can take a few years. May have a party when it finally does lol

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    1. Wisteria is lovely but I've got no where for it to climb up at the moment.

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  4. I wonder what the broad beans were as they look more interesting than plain white.
    The gardens look good- I love mazes, haven't been in one for years

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    1. We tried to buy some seeds as we spoke to one of the gardeners there but they'd stopped selling them this year. I'm going to find out and I'll tell you what they are! Something for next year maybe!

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  5. Looks like a great place for a day out (and picnic).Did you have the place to yourself?
    Jane x

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    1. there was a few there but as the gardens were so big it felt like we were on our own for most of the time (saves anyone moaning about Ev ask "what's that?" every two seconds!)

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  6. Did you see any old ladies stealing cuttings, Kev? Have you read The Garden In The Clouds: Antony Woodward ? The book mentions such ladies and it's a brilliant book. I love large formal estate gardens especially with walled kitchen gardens.

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    1. No but I was tempted as they've got some interesting varieties of apple there! I'll look out for that book sounds up my street.

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  7. Wow! What a fabulous and inspiring garden, although, of course, it would have to be on a much smaller scale. Kev, did you enquire how marauding rabbits were dealt with? I would love to know how to deal with these cute, but not welcome critters here in our patch in Australia. Introduced to this country a long time ago and, well, breeding like rabbits, now in plague proportions :-(

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  8. I do love to visit house that have good veggie plots so that I can steal some ideas, or just walk round saying 'I do that' over and over :-)

    What a lovely day out.

    Oh, and the last time I was in a maze it was a bit overgrown and much, much taller than me and I confess to having a little panic and turning round after only a few minutes to head back to the entrance. My son thought I was a total wimp!!

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  9. What a great day out - I like the veggie plots best they have a good one at Eggleston Hall in County Durham http://www.egglestonhallgardens.co.uk We went last year for the first time and I can't wait to go again. I believe Hampton Court is an old maze and it is good that they manage to maintain it as so many places have had to remove them because they do not have many staff now. I do think that there is a move generally towards installing new mazes as they are quite an attraction especially the 'pop up' maize mazes.

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  10. It is so nice to get to spend such a lovely day out with your mum and little girls. That sure is a well kept garden, very neat and pretty. My girls used to love running through mazes when they were little :)

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