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16th Century Cobb Cottage at Furzey Gardens

Furzey Cottage is believed to have been built in 1560 with timbers reputed to have come from the Tudor boatyards at Lymington. The beams are ancient ships’ timbers and the floorboards were once ships decking. During renovation work, lining paper on the ceilings turned out to be Mormon newsprint dated 1860 sent from Salt Lake City

 

So many people lived in such a tiny place. The cottage once housed a family of 13 children.

 

Outside, the cottage garden is tended to by staff, volunteers and students and a variety of vegetables are grown.

 

The yellow blooms in the foreground is Helenium bigelovii which is a North American perennial plant in the sunflower family, commonly known as Bigelow's sneezeweed. It grows in moist areas such as meadows, marshes, or streamsides. It is found at moderate and higher elevations (900-3,000 m) in the foothills and mountains of California and Oregon: Cascades, Coast Ranges, Klamath Mountains, Sierra Nevada, etc. Cultivars of the species are used in gardening as ornamentals.

 

Helenium bigelovii is a perennial herb sometimes as much as 130 cm tall. One plant can produce as many as 20 flower heads, either one per branch or in branching arrays. Each head has 14-20 yellow ray florets (bending backwards and with teeth at the tips) surrounding sometimes as many as 800 disc florets (yellow at first, turning brown as they get older.

 

The species is named for J.M. Bigelow, a plant collector on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey in the 1850s.

 

Furzey Gardens is a secret woodland garden nestled in the New Forest National Park. This is an informal woodland garden nestled in a tranquil New Forest setting, full of dozens of fairy doors to enchant visitors of all ages.

 

The garden is well known for its riotous spring colour and stunning autumn leaves, as well as its charming thatched tea rooms serving drinks, cakes and light snacks.

 

The peaceful 4 hectare woodland gardens includes a wildflower meadow, quirky thatched structures, dozens of fairy doors, play area with giant fairy door, lake, 16th century thatched cottage, recreated gold medal winning RHS Chelsea show garden, tea rooms and plant sales.

 

In summer there are large herbaceous plantings around the cottage garden and many other borders which carry the colour and scent on through the season, as well as a range of summer flowering shrubs.

 

The gardens are run by local charity Minstead Trust, providing training and work experience in an inspirational setting where people with learning disabilities can learn new skills in horticulture and hospitality.

 

www.minsteadtrust.org.uk/furzey-gardens/explore/16th-cent...

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helenium_bigelovii

 

www.minsteadtrust.org.uk/furzey-gardens/

 

www.thenewforest.co.uk/listing/furzey-gardens/78008101/

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Uploaded on September 1, 2023
Taken on August 27, 2014