Many, many years ago, I visited a garden in the next village, along with lots of other members of the organisation Plant Heritage or NCCPG as it was known then. (The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens, thank goodness they changed their name!).
I remember that we had a wonderful time there and we were very impressed with the beautiful garden and the keen elderly gardener, she was probably as old as I am now!
We now have to scroll forward about 20 yrs when I went to a coffee morning in the home of one of the members of the village Women’s Institute. As soon as I saw the garden, I knew I had been before and I asked if they had bought the house from an old lady who was a keen gardener. Yes, I was right, I had been before, I wasn’t imagining it.
A couple of weeks ago it was time for another coffee morning, we all went prepared for a very wet morning, with our macs and boots, but the sun shone and the garden looked really beautiful. This blue azalea was the favourite with most of the visitors.
I found an Acer griseum growing between the azaleas.
There were hundreds, if not thousands of English bluebells fronting most of the beds.
I spied a beautiful tree peony.
There were so many wonderful rhododendrons, I think this one might be Sappho. I know a lot of people aren’t fussy on rhododendrons,…….
……..but I think that even they would have been impressed by the wonderful selection that are in this garden.
Lovely streamside planting, their Lysichiton leaves are huge compared to mine!
Everywhere we turned there were more beautiful Azaleas to admire, it was all so colourful.
Maybe I need this one for my Sunset Border, what a fantastic colour!
On turning a corner, we suddenly caught sight of a wonderful Wisteria on the back of the house, it was a magnificent specimen.
The Wisteria on the house is a layer from this standard one by the steps.
Absolutely magnificent!
The garden was almost like a National Trust garden, obviously laid out by a very keen gardener, with lots of unusual trees and shrubs.
The perfume from Rhododendron luteum filled the garden, it was intoxicating!
One of two ponds in the garden. Our stroll round the garden was finished, it was then time to go inside for our coffee and chat about all the wonderful shrubs and plants that we had seen.
I don’t think the old lady would have anything to worry about, her garden is in safe hands. Liz said that they have learnt a lot from their garden and visitors over the years have been able to identify lots of the special shrubs and trees for them. The garden is beautiful and it’s a credit to Liz and her husband, that they realised what a gem they had inherited and that they were determined should continue into the future. The coffee was good too and I’ll look forward to the next coffee morning!
Must have been fun for you to visit here again Pauline. Always nice to see when a garden has passed on to people who will take care of it. The long views are spectacular and I admire that blue azalea.
I love visiting beautiful gardens Susie, and this one is certainly beautiful. You can’t help but hope that our gardens will continue after all the effort we have put into them, but it doesn’t always happen unfortunately. In this case though, the garden is safe for quite a while to come.
It’s my mission to visit a garden from the NGS this year. I hope to find one just as beautiful in our locale. What a lovely post.
Hope you find a beautiful garden to visit Hayley, we used to open for the NGS many years ago and it was lovely seeing so many lovely people! I must suggest to Liz that she might like to open for them.
How wonderful to hear of such a marvellous garden finding the right owners to appreciate and care for it. Your beautiful photos are testimony to the horticultural dedication that went into its creation. Lovely sunset colours in that rhododendron, it would be a fine addition to your border ….
It is wonderful Kate when a good garden carries on with new owners, it’s what we would like for all our gardens, I’m sure. The azalea would be just the colour for my sunset border, but I’ve run out of space!
You can’ t beat rhoddies and azaleas for May time colour. I can’ t grow them here but I do grow’ Luteum’ in a pot. As you say the scent is intoxicating.
Great to see a garden being taken care of when the original gardeners have moved on.
I love them Chloris, mine are only just coming into flower, I think Liz’s garden is more sheltered than mine. I have R. Luteum and I think Persil and the perfume by the swinging seat is divine!
That is lovely that the latest owners of the garden are caring for it so well. The wisteria is glorious. The wisteria we planted to grow over our house looks better very year but I think it’ll be while before it looks as impressive as the one you saw here!
The Wisteria was absolutely magnificent Wendy and the perfume so wonderful, a real joy. The garden is obviously loved by the present owners and will be for a long time to come.
If only all attractive gardens could fall into such hands! It looks like wonderful place and that wisteria is amazing.
I agree Alain, it deserves to be looked after simply because it is so beautiful.
A beautiful garden, you are right that so often when a property is sold the garden often suffers a decline, the garden is lucky it found such open minded people who were willing to become gardeners to tend it.
Yes, Christina, all we can hope for is that someone will try to continue along the same theme and keep the garden going. Too many are being sold off here for building, which is a worry, but at least mine should be protected from that because of its “Dormouse Habitat” category!
A really lovely garden Pauline and such good photos you took. The wisteria is magnificent – not hardy enough for here unfortunately!
The perfume from the Wisteria was absolutely divine Denise, such a beautiful perfume. The garden is beautiful, it was such a pleasure wandering around and so colourful with all the rhododendrons.
Hi Pauline, the garden is so wonderful! The wisteria is amazing!!
The Wisteria had a perfume to match Sandra, it was wonderful !
Gosh, everything is absolutely gorgeous. What an memory you have to recall having been there before. I just loved that blue azalia, I really must look out for one!xxx
The blue Azalea was really stunning, such an unusual colour Dina, we all wanted one!
that sunset azalea has definitely got your name on it!
Yes, Diana, it has, but I’ve run out of room in my sunset border, such a shame!
I had to smile when you referred to the previous owner as the ‘old lady’, having suggested you would have been around the same age when you first visited… 😉 So many of us reading your post harbour the hope that our own gardens benefit from a similar fate – this garden has clearly been loved and cared for by its new owner. There is so much to delight and your photographs are wonderful – thanks for sharing
No Cathy, I think I’m the age now, as I think the old lady was when we first visited! It’s strange how other people see us isn’t it, I don’t feel I’m an old lady, but to people 20 yrs younger that’s probably how they see me. This garden has certainly been looked after and that is all we can hope for our gardens in the future.
What a funny surprise and what an amazing garden. It feels so spacious and packed full of treasures, and it’s great that the new owners have jumped right in and made it their own yet kept so much of the original character.
I love the azaleas. Often the plantings I see are a little too harsh in their contrasts and this one seems much more subtle. The blue one is something!
I think the blue Azalea was everyone’s favourite Frank, at least it was while I was wandering round the garden. I’m looking here, trying to find if I have space for it and the one with flowers the shades of a sunset!
Wow, incredible selection of Azaleas – and that blue! I am quite envious of the Wisteria as well.
The blue Azalea is wonderful isn’t it Jason, such an amazing colour, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that colour before.
How marvelous to see the garden again after all these years! It truly is wonderful, and I would have been remarking over those blue azaleas, too!
It was lovely Deb, to find that the garden was being looked after by the present owners, I’m sure it’s what we all hope for after we move on from gardens that we’ve created. That blue azalea seems to be a hit with everyone!
A wonderful treat to see the garden again, especially since it’s in such good hands. So many gardens don’t outlive their gardeners so this is very sweet.
It was lovely seeing it again Peter and to find that it was being so well looked after, It is what we would all like for our own gardens.