It was the under gardener’s birthday last week and we went to Cornwall for the day looking for steam trains. After having a ride behind one we made our way to the Plume of Feathers Inn where we had a wonderful lunch. We then just happened to be in the area and stopped at the Duchy of Cornwall’s Nursery! For those outside the UK, Prince Charles is the Duke of Cornwall and profits from the nursery go to his charities.
Rhododendron
There were some lovely plants for sale, lots of these rather expensive large rhododendrons,
Rhododendron
No, these were too heavy to jump into the boot of the car!
Duchy of Cornwall nursery
Some of these did though.
Alpine plants
Everywhere was very neat and tidy and the nursery has changed a lot since we last visited, with a new shop and restaurant to tempt you to part with more money!
My choice
These are the ones that came home with me, I really mustn’t leave them sitting in their pots, I must start planting!
Slow worm
When we got home I had a wander round the garden, as one does, and when coming back out of the woodland I thought I saw a twig on the grass, but it was moving!
Slow worm
It was about 18inches long and was a slow worm, Anguis fragilis. It is actually a legless lizard, not a snake or a worm and it is quite a few years since I have seen one in the garden. It differs from a snake in that it has eyelids and ear openings.
Slow worm
I think it was pretending to be dead while I photographed it, I had the camera with its macro lens for photographing flowers, so the camera was only 2 inches from it. Of course it had slipped away while I ran into the house to get the under gardener, he had to make do with the photos! Considering everything, we both had a lovely day out.
Great photos, Pauline! We get a lot of slow worms, but I have never seen one that long. They lie on top of the compost so I jump when I open the lid until I realize what it is!
Is that a new Acer I see in your car boot? Look forward to seeing the new plants once settled in. 🙂
I haven’t seen them in the compost Cathy, one day when I lifted the lid there was a grass snake though!
It is a new Acer , yes, it has red leaves in the spring, then goes dark green for the summer, then orange/ red for the autumn. It should be a nice addition to the garden, it’s name is Acer palmatum Shindeshojo, I’m sure I will learn it eventually!
Hi Pauline, what a wonderful day – and in this nursery! I know it, baught some books and fuchsias there. This slow worm we have in our garden, the live between the stonewalls and get their babys in the compost!
Sigrun
It was a wonderful day for both of us Sigrun, and the weather was perfect too! What a coincidence that you have also been to the nursery! I would love to see the baby slow worms, so far we have just seen the adults!
What a fascinating creature! I’ve never seen one. I’ve seen plenty of snakes, and of course, probably a million worms. That’s some beautiful foliage in the back of your car.
They are rather sweet Alison, especially when you know that they can’t do you any harm!
The lovely foliage belongs to my new Acer palmatum Shindeshojo, I have just the right spot for it in my sunset border.
We are all so easily tempted aren’t we? It doesn’t seem to occur to us that one day our gardens will be so stuffed full we can’t fit another plant in!
I don’t think the garden will ever be that full Cathy! I can always find spaces where something has been seeding around too happily and needs removing, especially pulmonaria, there is far too much of it but the bees love it so is allowed to stay until something more interesting needs planting!
Great photos – I especially like the slow worm. We have a similar looking, worm-snake here in Australia, but over-here, anything that slithers is generally to be avoided at all costs 🙂
The plant selection is lovely!
We only have one poisonous snake in the UK, the adder Matt, and they wouldn’t like my garden, too shady and damp! We have had a grass snake in the garden, they are about 4 ft long, but aren’t poisonous. I can understand you avoiding them where you are, as you have so many that can harm you.
Glad you like the plants!
We have grass snakes here, but no slow worms (I think). Sometimes the grass snakes alarm me a little, but I’m getting used to them (one is absolutely huge – I’m still working on believing it’s not an adder!) Your pictures are great – and he/she is rather photogenic! Sounds like a grand day out.
I think the slow worms have rather a sweet face Cathy, unlike the grass snake which we sometimes find in the compost. Once we had a grass snake in the pond, they like to eat the tadpoles unfortunately! We have adders on the common just a mile or so from us and our dog was bitten one day and was very poorly for some time afterwards, thank goodness my garden isn’t to their liking, too shady and damp!
It was a wonderful day out, thanks!
Belated birthday greetings to the Under Gardener Pauline! It looks as if you came home with a good haul from the nursery. Is that another acer that you managed to squeeze into the boot? 🙂 I’ve never seen a slow worm and would probably scream that loud if I did that you would hear me in Devon.
Thank you Anna, for your birthday wishes! Yes, that is another Acer to add to the few I already have! It is Acer palmatum Shindeshojo, or I will try and think Cindy show Joe to help me to remember it! It promises to be beautiful in the spring with its red/pink leaves, green in the summer and red/orange in the autumn.
I think the slow worm would be more afraid of you Anna, they are only 12 to 18inches long and have a sweet little face and are totally harmless. I did let out a scream one day when I lifted the lid of the compost heap and there was a grass snake curled up! They too are harmless but it was just the shock of finding it there
Lovely grass snake. I remember catching them as a child on the old Hayling Billy railway line – well not on the line of course, on the grassy banks. They are so smooth and silky to touch.
I see you bought an Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ – always good value for money. Glad you had a lovely day out.
I’m ashamed to say that my old faithful Erysimum Bowles Mauve finally died Annette and I hadn’t taken cuttings, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again! It was a slow worm I photographed in the garden, not a grass snake, I always find the grass snakes are too quick to photograph!
Nice haul, Pauline – those maple leaves are gorgeous! Growing Rhododendrons and Azaleas over here involves a lot of (often futile) work these days, with the arrival of the Azalea lace bug – unless you grow the species ones where the underside of the leaves are covered in indumentum. It’s quite the change for Oregonians – the plants are such a garden staple here. I don’t like snakes, but miss having slow worms. When I lived in Sweden, I used to see them. Over there, we call them “kopparorm” – or copper snake.
I hadn’t heard of the Azalea lace bug Anna, it sounds dreadful, thankfully we don’t seem to have it over here.
I like your Swedish name for our slow worm, very apt when you think of its colouring.
Great treat to see your purchases from Duchy of Cornwall’s Nursery. So hard to resist a garden center and in the end, why would one? Susie
Thanks Susie, I love visiting nurseries, each one always has something different to offer. Specialist nurseries are even better, they are experts in the plants they propagate and we can always squeeze in another plant or two!
There’s nothing as wonderful as coming home with new plants! Is that an Acer palmatum In your car? Slow worm is a new creature for me. The only reptiles we have in our garden are the frogs that I brought in as tadpoles so it’s very exciting to see this!
Yes Peter, your eyesight doesn’t deceive you, it is Acer palmatum Shindeshojo which has red leaves in the spring, they turn green in the summer, then red/orange in the autumn, I just couldn’t resist it!
We also have grass snakes in the garden sometimes, not poisonous so that’s ok. although they do like to swim in the pond and eat my tadpoles, that’s not ok!
I have never seen or hear of a slow worm! Fascinating; I definitely would have thought it was a snake. It would have been safe with me, as I leave snakes in my garden alone. Your made a lovely selection of plants!
I’m glad that snakes are safe in your garden Debs, I take it these aren’t poisonous ones? We only have one poisonous snake in the UK, but it likes hot dry areas, not my garden which is moist and damp. It is quite a few years since I saw a slow worm in the garden, that time it was in the front on the gravel drive and birds were pecking at it so I lifted it up and put it in the border so that it could hide among the plants.