I had a day out with a friend yesterday at Packwood House Gardens. The new restaurant there isn't yet open so we stopped off on the way at NT Baddesley Clinton for lunch. There was a slight glitch in the proceedings when my friend discovered she had forgotten her membership card but the staff were so helpful and rang the NT to confirm she was a member and even gave her a note for when we arrived at Packwood. Excellent service from the National Trust :) Great lunch too - egg and cress sandwiches and a delicious raspberry and white chocolate muffin - both highly recommended!
One of the many sundials to be found at Packwood
We had a look round the Vegetable Garden first
A number of champagne/wine bottles containing plants had been hung from one the trees - what a great idea!
Another great idea - recycling wellies as plant containers!
Yet another great way to use up flower pots and fir cones - a bug house?
Another Bug House
It may not that clear from the photo but this part of the Kitchen Garden had been planted, in association with a local school, in the form of a clock. It was absolutely delightful!
The Carolean (walled) Garden which has evolved over the years since being planted in the seventeenth century
This herbaceous border is known as the Yellow Border and is crammed full of perennials in a combination of colours - pink, yellow, lavender, carmine and scarlet. I don't think I have ever seen it look so lovely.
The Sunken Garden installed by Baron Ash in the 1930's.
These rose bays contain the red Rosa "Lilli Marlene", Rosa "Bright Smile" and the wall roses alternate between the Red R. "Dortmund" and the yellow R. "Leverkusen"
Views of the House and Garden from the Terrace Walk
The Raised Terrace
This is the famous Yew Garden said to represent "The Sermon on the Mount" - some trees ("The Master" and "The Apostles") date back to the 1650's. During the mid nineteenth century the present yew "Multitude" was planted to replace an earlier orchard.
The walled garden was a bit of a sun trap and it was so hot we sat in one of the gazebos at the end of the Raised Terrace and just looked out over the Terrace Walk and Gardens.
More borders in the Carolean Garden
I haven't been in the house itself for years and years but one day soon, when its cooler!!!, I'll return and look round the house interior.
Out of interest (I did a post on this last summer) Edith Holden who wrote "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" and "Nature Notes" often walked through Packwood House Gardens and parkland.
Many thanks to J for sharing such a lovely afternoon.
I love herbacious borders like this-they are so beautiful. Lovely garden, I like the way it's full of interesting things like the old wooden door, unusual plant containers and scarecrows. Yes, you can see the clock once the images have been enlarged. The pine cones in the pots is a lovely idea..I think I'll give that a go as I collect them from a couple of trees on a walk back from the marina.
ReplyDeleteSeagullSuzie -Thank you. the National Trust does seem to "do" herbaceous borders particularly well :) Glad you could see the clock! I loved the pine cone idea too - in fact, there were several things I saw that you could adapt to your own garden :)
ReplyDeleteThat place is to die for! Another fabulous walled garden and really beautiful colourful planting. I'm not massively keen on scarecrows outside of fields- they seem to be on the rise though :-(
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos. It looks a lovely garden. The Yellow Border is stunning and I love the creative ideas for planting and the flower pot/fir cone bug house. The Yew Garden is fascinating, too.
ReplyDeleteThat yellow border is spectacular. Another great day out with you sitting in my chair - thank you! I don't feel like doing anything other than getting into cool water at the moment.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous garden and I adore that Yellow Border, it has given me some ideas for next year (though obviously on a somewhat smaller scale). Those bug houses are interesting and as someone has already said the pine-cones in plant pots is a simple yet brilliant idea :-)
ReplyDeleteCountryside Tales - Thank you - glad you liked the garden. Lots of scarecrows in NT gardens round here! and several scarecrow festivals in villages too!
ReplyDeleteWendy - Many thanks. Glad you enjoyed the garden. There is a lot to see there but it was just too hot to walk round as much as I usually do.
Em Parkinson - Thank you - so glad you enjoyed sharing so much :) We just flaked out in the summer house after the Kitchen and Walled Garden! Much cooler today though :)
David Turner - Many thanks - glad you liked the Yellow Border so much - one of my favourites :) NT herbaceous borders do give some great ideas to copy at home on smaller scale and I thought some of the ideas in Kitchen great to copy too :)
only ever been to Packwood once. it is lovely and thanks for the reminder
ReplyDeletePete - Thanks so much - glad post brought back memories :) Well worth a return visit if you are in the area and I'll meet up with you this time for that cup of tea and cake :) New restaurant opening there this November :)
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