Gardens Visit: High Beeches

 

The weather this summer has meant that I have not spent much time visiting gardens – instead I have been occupied with helping my own plot survive the deluge. 

I've not been 100% successful.

Although the main rhododendron season is over, there is plenty still to see at HighBeeches so I made a dash around the gardens while there was a break in the clouds.

Majestic cornus 

The wild flower meadow is still in full bloom, along with swathes of persicaria, wild orchids and late flowering rhododendrons, magnolias and azaleas.

My highlight of the garden at this time of the year, however, is the majestic cornus kousa tree which is in full bloom and just starting to turn pink at the top. It is visible from right across the garden and, even after all the rain, is still beautiful.

Garden visit: Sussex Prairies

I have just returned from a private view at a garden I didn't even know existed until a couple of weeks ago.
Sussex Prairies at Morland Farm, near Henfield, is a well kept secret - partly because it was only planted in 2008.
One of the nicest things, if you're thinking of going, is that you can enjoy a drink on the cafe terrace overlooking the entire garden - something a lot of visitor gardens are unable to offer.
Here are a few photos I took of my visit.

Gardens visit: 'My' Italian gardens

After Blogger's critical outage, I am now able to post again.
So, in true Monty Don style, I've got some pictures of Italian gardens from my recent trip to Italy.
Included is the Roman Forum in Rome - while not strictly a garden, it does contain a formal area of hedging and water features. You will also see pictures of Catania's Villa Bellini public park, the Villa Giulia public park in Palermo and the botanic gardens in both of those cities.

Gardens visit: Borde Hill

While I expect many of the National Trust gardens are full to bursting with visitors over the Easter holiday, privately owned Borde Hill was pleasantly quiet.
Here are some of the photos I took on my visit today.

Gardens visit: High Beeches

A lot of seasonal gardens have reopened this month - High Beeches in Handcross is one.
Here are some photos I took on my visit there this weekend.