Three Gardens In One Day

On Monday I took a trip up to Malvern to see Patient Gardener for a good old natter and to do a little garden visiting together. Naturally my first garden visit was Helen's own hallowed plot. Goodness knows why I left my camera in the car whilst I got the full tour. You'll have to take my word that her garden's looking on top form at the moment and it made a great start to the day. Next time, I promise you lots of photos...



Our first port of call was Hampton Court Gardens. No, not that Hampton Court, the Herefordshire one! Both Helen and Anna at Green Tapestry have enthused about this garden previously, so I leapt at the chance to see for my myself when Helen suggested it. Our first sight of this property was a most romantic castle, which predates Hampton Court Palace by about 80 years. The walled garden dates from Victorian times and we started our tour in the marvellous kitchen garden. This has lots of veggie beds edged with Lavender or Nepeta and the bees were in overdrive in spite of the dullness of the day. Trained fruit trees and supporting arches for beans and squashes were also in evidence. There's also a proper orchard with lots of heritage fruit trees plus a wildflower meadow. I was most envious of the greenhouses with their racks of onions set out to dry. There were quirky touches too: Lobelias interspersed with onions, plus large raised baskets in which the pumpkins were revelling. The produce supplies the onsite shop and organic restaurant :)


The flower gardens are mostly formal in nature using box edging plus lots of yew to give height. I was interested to see yew pillars were also used in the double border instead of the more usual structures with climbers. There's plenty of water too in the form of pools and rills. Beyond the maze - which we didn't tackle - is a rather tatty looking large pond, but the little thatched 'cottage' gives a more picturesque view of this area. Large pots are also used to lead the eye to some of the garden's main focal points. I was particularly taken with the ones shown in the lower right picture housing enormous Agapanthus. I'd also like to return in May to see the enormous Wisteria tunnel in full throttle. There's also a 1,000 acres of estate to explore - we just managed a tiny little bit of this area by finding a bench under a large tree for us to have our lunch. Definitely a garden to return to.


Keeping within Herefordshire, it was Hergest Croft's turn next, a short drive away and another garden which has been on my list for a while. I wasn't disappointed. Here, the influence is Arts and Crafts - the house is dated 1906 - and I loved the conservatory which served as both a welcoming entrance and to house a large collection of potted Fuchsia and Pelargoniums. The display of Cacti which reminded me of an Auricula theatre also made me smile. The house is set within lots of trees - over 5,000 - which gave it quite a different feel to Hampton Court. It would be best to visit in the spring to do these justice as there is an Azalea Garden and Maple Grove to explore.

A sharp shower sent us scurrying from one of the shrub areas back to the house for a well deserved drink and gooey cake. We were able to sit on the open verandah with views over the croquet lawn and beyond. A most delightful spot! We then decided to focus our attention on the kitchen garden and herbaceous border areas which are a little way from the house. It was well worth the effort: I was seriously coveting the many rhubarb forcers and the cold frame. Unlike Hampton Court, the kitchen garden was designed along more traditional productive lines, but no less beautiful in my eyes. Lots of flowers were incorporated into the veggie areas, plus the proximity of the herbaceous borders meant the bees were very busy in this garden too. Helen and I joked at the time how similar some of our photos would turn out, so I'm asking you to compare Helen's photo of the double border - my middle right photo in the above collage - and guess on which side of her I was standing at the time ;)

Three fabulous gardens in one day, in the best of company. Thanks Helen, for suggesting our itinerary and I'm already looking forward to the next time :)

Comments

  1. Aunt Debbi/kurts mom14 August 2009 at 04:24

    Wow, that is a lot of gardens in one outing. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. emmat14 August 2009 at 09:33

    I WANT BIGGER PICTURES

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carrie14 August 2009 at 10:46

    Sounds like a lovely day. Nope, not jealous at all, ggrrrrr!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Elizabeth Musgrave14 August 2009 at 12:37

    Long to go to Hergest Croft! Must make it happen. it is just too far away for a day trip and I walked past it frustratingly when I walked the Offa's Dyke path. It was just closing and we were off again the following day so I didn't get in. Your pictures have really whetted my appetite.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Monica the Garden Faerie14 August 2009 at 12:45

    Ooh, I love the Arts and Crafts style (and stupidly thought it was an American style) and greenhouses. Looks like you had a grand day out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Helen/patientgardener14 August 2009 at 14:53

    Good post and not too many photos the same! I will try and dig out a link for that place over your way that I want to visit plus I also fancy Rosemary Verey's place but I think I have missed all the open days this year.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 3c14 August 2009 at 15:31

    As someone who isn't a great 'clicker', I'd second Emma's request for bigger pictures.

    A thousand acres, five thousand acres - how can anywhere be that big!

    How many staff do they need to manage it? Do you know?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Compostwoman14 August 2009 at 23:28

    Oh! You were SO near to me!

    I wish I had known....and you could have had the offer of refreshments with us and a tour of the garden and wood.....

    ah well maybe next time..

    ReplyDelete
  9. VP15 August 2009 at 10:15

    Aunt Debbi - I have a new found respect for The Galloping Gardener, she regularly does 3 visits in one day!

    Emmat - they're usually clickable to enlarge, but for some reason Blogger's decided not to load them that way this time around :(

    Carrie - we had a fab time - just rubbing it in ;)

    Elizabethm - I think you'd love it there. You must treat yourself to a visit as a reward for successfully completing your walk. I enjoyed your account of it too :)

    Monica - I'm not quite sure where it originated from. Your comment's given me an incentive to find out some more...

    PG - thanks for emailing the link. I think that's the germ of another great day out for us!

    3c - I've tried reloading the pictures so they're clickable, but Blogger doesn't want to play :( Staff were strangely absent at Hampton Court, so it looked like the garden fairies must look after it. Though I suspect they were just lost in that 1,000 acres. In contrast we saw 3 people hard at work at Hergest Croft. A lot of these gardens rely on volunteers as much as paid staff these days.

    Compostwoman - now that really is a shame, I would have especially liked to meet your chickens :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anna15 August 2009 at 22:41

    0h what a great day you must have had :) Have added Hergest Croft to my list. The wisteria arch was just on the point of opening when we visited Hampton Court before the Malvern Show so return I must. I want bigger photos too !

    ReplyDelete
  11. VP16 August 2009 at 09:38

    Anna - I want to give you bigger photos too! I've tried reloading them, but I suspect Blogger doesn't like multiple collages in one post, so isn't making them clickable :(

    Try the links I've put in the post to the gardens' websites instead. They have some stunning images as well as giving lots of extra information.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Juliet16 August 2009 at 15:07

    Just catching up ...

    I love Hampton Court, it's one of my favourite gardens - I was so impressed with how they keep the kitchen garden looking so fabulous when they are entirely organic. If they can do it that successfully, I feel there's no excuse for anyone to use chemicals!

    I was disappointed with Hergest Croft - we went in September and - although it advertises itself as "a garden for all seasons" it was very much over for the year. We didn't think it was worth the money - though I suspect it is lovely in spring, when all the azaleas and things are out.

    If you are over that way again, The Weir is well worth a visit.

    ReplyDelete
  13. VP17 August 2009 at 22:08

    Juliet - that's a shame. Are you sure you saw all of the garden. What was lacking was a plan to help you go round everything and the lady was so vague about where everything was I realised when I got home and started the research for this post, we'd missed an entire section! I think Autumn there would be pretty spectacular too, so perhaps you were a bit too early for that.

    Thanks for the link - looks good and I'll see if PG's up for a visit :)

    ReplyDelete

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