I gave E a lift to Solihull today and, whilst she was meeting a friend for lunch, I had a walk round the cold, frosty and sunny gardens of nearby Packwood House. I do love Packwood. I've been visiting since I was a child and it never fails to weave its magic - with every walk round the house and gardens having something new to offer.
The house dates back to the seventeenth century and was renovated by Graham Baron Ash during the 1920's and 1930's to capture his vision of a Tudor House. He gave the house and 113 acres to the National Trust in 1941 in memory of his parents.
As I only had a couple of hours I didn't go in the House today as it was guided tours only.
The Carolean Walled Garden has evolved over the years since the Seventeenth Century. Euphorbias and Hellebores were in flower.
The Yew Garden is only open at the moment by guided tour. Some of the yew trees date back to the 1650's and the garden is said to represent "The Sermon on the Mount"
I took rather a lot of photos of frosted leaves!
The Sunken Garden seen in the foreground was installed by Baron Ash in the 1930's.
A lone Osteospermum? in flower.
Then a wander round the West and North Courts.
I think this may be a young Monkey Puzzle Tree?
I popped in the Gift Shop and resisted the temptation of buying a book or
an icecream!
Finally, (sorry, I know the post has rather a lot of photos) a walk round the newly restored Kitchen Garden
There was a little ladybird among these leaves (you might be able to see it if you click and make the photo larger). It looked a trifle exposed so hope it survives the winter.
More temptation in the form of plants and metal sculptures.
I just had time for a visit to the Garden Kitchen Cafe. These lovely tiles are everywhere echoing the delft tiles in the Ireton Bathroom in the house.
The Gingerbread Latte and Toffee Apple Crumble Muffin were both delicious. In fact, the muffin may even knock the Upton House Strawberry and Cream Sponge off the top spot of my favourite NT cake.
I'll return to Stratford and Holy Trinity Church in my next post.
16 comments:
What an interesting house which seems to have great character.
Lovely photos of the plants and gardens. Frosted leaves are always beautiful.
Dartford Warbler - Many thanks :) Both the house and gardens have a really lovely atmosphere - so glad you enjoyed :)
i do like it when you pop into these gardens. Looks like a lovely day with blue skies and sun but it must have been cold by the look of the frost on some leaves. Love your coffe and i am sure you muffin was delicious. Lovely shots
Thank you for this lovely frosty walk around the grounds of this delightful property, it certainly looks a wonderful place whatever the time of year. The hellebores were great to see, a plant which never seems to thrive in our garden, whilst the shot down the avenue of Yews is beautiful, the long shadows and winter light are wonderful.
Hope you are well :-)
Margaret Adamson - Thanks so much Margaret. It didn't feel as cold as I thought it was going to be but I was glad of my mittens when I wasn't taking photos :)
David - Thanks very much David. Yes, its a lovely property. So lucky really that its not too far away. I've planted a few Hellebores in the past and they haven't survived. But at least one of the two I planted last year has come up :) My one and only Euporbia only lasted a few years too :(
Glorious. It was lovely to see it again. Yum to the food :o) x
The muffin looks delicious and what a flavour! Packwood looks beautiful in the winter sunshine. How nice to have been visiting for many years, you get to see all the changes in the garden.
Countryside Tales - Thanks CT :) Wish I could get a recipe for those muffins!
SeagullSuzie - Thanks Suzie - the muffin was probably the best NT cake I have ever had (apart from perhaps one at Upton House!). Main charge in the gardens is I think the addition of the newly restored Vegetable Garden and I think perhaps they have planted more trees and wildflower meadows.
What a beautiful place, it looks so tranquil. I do love the metal sculptures, especially the duck. The muffin looks delicious too. :-)
Deb - Thanks so much Deb. It is very relaxing there - more so in the Winter it tends to get very busy in the Spring/Summer! I love their metal sculptures but they are expensive :(
Coffee and cake to end with - perfect. What a wonderful set of images, blue skies and frost. Love the images from the garden, especially the squash 'triangle' and the scarecrow. Not a house and garden I know sadly
The Wessex Reiver - Thanks so much Andrew. It was a lovely few hours :) If you are ever in the area Packwood is well worth a visit. The gardens are very beautiful in the summer.
How nice to spend a few hours walking round a lovely place especially in the sunshine, with frost too. Best kind of days. Always like to see the coffee and cake at the end.
Amanda xx
Amanda Peters - Thanks Amanda - was a lovely way to spend a couple of hours and completely recharged the batteries!
Smiling about the muffin at the end I'd been going to say - you can't possibly want an ice cream in that kind of weather! What a lovely looking house and the gardens have lots of interest even in the depths of winter. So nice seeing some flowers. Great photos!
Millymollymandy - Thanks so much Mandy. Definitely not icecream weather - am not much of a fan in hot weather either! Nearly returned yesterday to the cafe as I was fairly close in the Solihull area - still dream about the latte and muffin!! :)
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