August 25th Bake Off. Three generations of my family have entered various classes of the village show over the years. From the website “The Village Show has been running since August 1862, when the first Hanley Castle Horticultural and Flower Show was organised by the gentry of Hanley Castle Parish. The aim was “to encourage … Continue reading Journal. From Bake Off to Tulips.
This year has been challenging for the garden open days, both due to personal reasons and unpredictable weather. Family and friends have been very supportive, resulting in a record amount raised for the National Garden Scheme charity. Building on this success, the open dates for next year are booked, with the local British Legion charity … Continue reading Capturing Autumn: A Garden Photo Collection
Summer house and greenhouse tidy up. April 19th. The summer house had it’s spring clean today ready for all the open garden dates when it becomes a ticket office. Also tidied up the Pelargonium Greenhouse Going potty. April 23rd Potted up the tall Cephalaria gigantea ( Giant Scabious ), Tagetes cinnabar, Bronze fennel, Dill and … Continue reading Journal. Preparing Our Garden@19 for an NGS Open Day.
I have decided to try and keep a journal about the Life of Brian in Our Garden@19. Depending on how busy I am will dictate how often it is published, when I do, I hope you enjoy reading my ramblings about life in the garden. Thyme walk. 25th March. I have thought for sometime about … Continue reading Gardening Journal: Life of Brian in Our Garden
A tour around the garden enjoying the autumn sunshine and some late flowering plants. One of my favourite plants at this time of year is the Michaelmas Daisy/Aster or Symphyotrichum as many of them have been renamed. I think it partly stems from the huge beautiful clumps we had in our garden where I grew … Continue reading Autumn Garden Jewels: A Tour of Late Blooming Plants.
Following our National Garden Scheme open weekend now is an opportunity to relax and enjoy what are our June garden stars. In the sunny front garden is Dierama pulcherrimum. I am pleased to see this flowering I grew it from seeds I chose from the HPS member's seed scheme. https://hardy-plant.org.uk Dierama thrives in sunny positions … Continue reading June Garden Stars: Dierama pulcherrimum, Dahlias, and More
The open garden season is now getting into its stride here in the Uk. We are opening again this year along with other gardens within the village for the Church on April 29th, 30th and May 1st and for The National Garden Scheme on the 10th and 11th of June. This movie will take you … Continue reading Open Gardens & The Four Seasons Video of Our Garden@19.
We recently visited a group of gardens in Worcester who were opening for the National Garden Scheme, I don't think many of the visitors would have expected to find such a wonderful Bonsai collection in Worcester. From the NGS website, "The garden has been 14 years in the making. It was designed around a collection … Continue reading Bonsai in Worcester.
On June the 4th and 5th six gardens in the village of Hanley Swan opened in aid of the National Garden scheme. Thank you to all the supporters who baked cakes, helped with serving the teas and selling plants in support of Saint Richards Hospice, especially the garden owners who put a lot of work … Continue reading Thank you.
This bank holiday we joined in with 16 others in the village for the Open Gardens and Flower Festival. Some of the tulips had gone over however the Camassia leichtlinii ‘Blue Heaven’ were just beginning to open. Their true beauty can be really appreciated when photographed up close. I created a short video of the … Continue reading Open Gardens and Flower Festival.
Following my post 'Peace and Tranquility' I thought it would be interesting to post some pictures, as slide shows, of Japanese gardens we have visited here in the UK. Tatton Park. From their website: "The Japanese Garden was almost certainly the result of Alan de Tatton’s visit to the Anglo-Japanese Exhibition at the White City … Continue reading Japanese Gardens.
NGS Visit. Broughton Grange featured on the BBC Gardeners World this week, if you have not seen the programme I would recommend watching on catchup for an up to date view of this outstanding garden. We visited in July 2016 when it was open for the National Garden Scheme. It was on my must see … Continue reading Broughton Grange.
We visited Ravelin on Sunday, one of their National Garden Scheme open days. It is situated in the next village to us, Hanley castle. The description is from their NGS page. "A ½ acre mature yet ever changing garden with a wide range of unusual plants full of colour and texture. Of interest to plant … Continue reading Ravelin.
Along with many garden owners, we originally decided not to open our garden this year due to the pandemic. However, with the improving situation, we have now held popup openings in June and September supporting the charity National garden Scheme. ngs.org.uk During these days we have also sold plants for St Richards Hospice and at … Continue reading Thank You.
Aston Pottery Garden. Having read some impressive reviews about the garden at Aston Pottery, Aston, Oxfordshire, we visited in August 2016. On this occasion, they were open in aid of the National Gardens Scheme charity. Created by the owners since 2009 and set around Aston Pottery's Gift Shop and Cafe, borders flower from June until … Continue reading Garden visiting…..remember that?
This weekend six gardens in the village of Hanley Swan should have been opening in aid of the NGS nursing charities. Due to the Covid-19, this has been cancelled, so together with the other garden openers, we have created a video tour of the gardens. Please make yourself a cup of tea or any beverage … Continue reading The Six NGS Gardens of Hanley Swan.
Our garden@19, in May, was cloaked in the joy of May flowers, starting with the Wisteria floribunda 'Alba' ... Clematis 'Nelly Moser' Allium ‘Beau Regard’ Allium Mount Everest with White Honesty. The Blue Border with Allium ‘Purple Sensation ‘. Iris ‘Alcazar’. Hesperis matronalis 'White' Prunus ‘serrula’ our mug tree. These pictures were taken just before … Continue reading May Joy.
We visited the first National Garden Scheme, http://ngs.org.uk open garden in Worcestershire on Sunday. The garden, Brockamin, includes Plant Heritage National Collections of Asters and some hardy Geraniums. It opens for Snowdrops in February, Daffodils in March and Asters in September. The 1.5 acre informal garden contains mixed borders planted with hardy perennials and shrubs, … Continue reading Snowdrop Temptation.
On Saturday the Black Pear Gardening Club visited Blackmore Grange, owned by Doug and Anne Robertson. A total of £206 was raised and donated to St. Richards Hospice, Worcester. The Hospice has recently launched a fundraising drive to support its £5.3m expansion plan. You can find out more via this Link 41 members visited on a … Continue reading Blackmore Grange July 2018.
On Wednesday we replaced our Hats, Gloves, Scarves and Muddy Boots with our 'Wednesday Best' to attend the Worcestershire County National Garden Scheme AGM and lunch. ( This being a charity, garden owners have to pay for their lunch). With the Chief Executive, George Plumptre, of the NGS in attendance, Our County Chairman, David Morgan … Continue reading Hats, Gloves, Scarves & Muddy Boots.
In May we had an enjoyable holiday in Cornwall, which I wrote about: here. One of the gardens we visited, that left a lasting impression on us was the Moyclare Garden, near Liskard. This is the introduction to the garden from their website. “The garden at Moyclare was established in 1927, and hosts a fine variety … Continue reading Moyclare Gardens.
brimfields.com 