Explore #114

This shot is from yesterday, on the way back to Victoria station and I took a few fence shots. Today I went to the OSGB meeting near Victoria again and guess how many! 9 different fence shots! Be warned! There will be lots more of fence shots coming soon!!!!! Please do not bored!!!!!

Explore No.220 : #302

Brindle Heath, Salford on the Glasgow Manchester train about 1pm, usually, this was at OSGB SD 802 015 the film was 3M, sorry about the graininess, it letter made me a kodak K25 addict

St Nectan’s Glen Waterfalls, Cornwall, UK

Although my main interest is in gardens, the waterfalls in this set of photos represent nature’s garden at its best. Mosses, ferns and lichens grow in profusion in the ideal micro-climate of the permanently damp surroundings near the waterfalls.

Details: Many regard the dramatic waterfalls at Saint Nectan’s Glen (Saint Nectan’s Kieve) as a special, sacred place. This mystical waterfall is said to be one of the top spiritual sites in the UK. A place where the presence of the earth Goddess (Gaia, divine mother, or female aspect of nature), is greatly enlivened.

St Nectan’s falls have been a place of interest to both Pagans and Christians for hundreds of years and many people still place votive offerings around the waterfalls. There is a hermit’s cell at the top of the waterfall associated with the 6th century saint and hermit, St. Nectan. On account of their proximity to Tintagel, the falls are also linked to the legend of King Arthur. The falls are also quite near to an ancient labyrinth rock carving – located further down the valley and supposedly dating back to 1600 B.C.

It is difficult to believe that this waterfall is in a corner of England – it somehow seems too exotic and more ‘at home’ in a tropical rainforest. These falls are a sparkling natural gem in a hidden and secret valley – a quiet and secluded place in which to meditate and be in the presence of natural beauty.

The waterfalls are in a steep wooded valley and the sun reaches the bottom of the falls for a very limited time each day.

Location: The Hermitage, Trethevy, Cornwall, PL34 0BE, UK. The waterfalls, on the Trevillet River, at St Nectan’s Glen are not really on the main ‘tourist trail’ in Cornwall – they are usually reached via a walk through a beautiful, steep sided and wooded green valley (off the B3263 - the Boscastle to Tintagel road). Visitors are advised to consult an OS map before visiting. The nearest village is Trethevy.

UK OSGB Map Reference: SX080885

Latitude: 50.664435N: Longitude: 4.718162W

Visitors should note that St Nectan’s falls are located on private land and there was a small entrance charge. As the land owners moved in the summer of 2011, future visitors are advised to check the web for latest information regarding access to the falls.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Scotney Castle Landscape Gardens (National Trust), Kent, UK

Scotney Castle Gardens are centred on the romantic ruins of a moated, 14th century medieval English castle. An Elizabethan wing was added to the ruins in the 15th century. Together they give a delightful focal point to the gardens.

In Spring, an old quarry in the gardens contains an amazing, colorful display of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and purple acers, often under-planted with bluebells. The ruins of the old castle and surrounding, water filled moat can be seen in the distance from a viewpoint overlooking this stunning floral display.

This photo, taken from the bridge, shows a view of the ancient castle tower and Elizabethan ruins reflected in the moat.

Details: The National Trust gardens at Scotney Castle are a renowned example of a specific 18th century English gardening style called the ’Picturesque’ . This particular style was part of the larger Romantic Movement which greatly influenced artists of the period. It evolved from the aesthetic ideas of William Gilpin and was applied to gardens by the highly influential English garden designer, Humphrey Repton.

Within this particular style, artists and designers were seeking qualities in a painting or landscape that essentially transcended mere beauty and almost conveyed the viewer to a blissful state of higher consciousness because of its ‘pure perfection’. As far as I understand it, these ‘Picturesque’ garden designs were more ‘rugged and natural’ than previous landscape garden designs (e.g. those of Capability Brown) and often incorporated romantic ruins and follies. Well, that at least is the theory.

From my own experience, Scotney Castle is certainly a very beautiful garden. However, it also has unique qualities, hard to put into words and define, that makes it very special indeed. Other people must feel this too, as it is an extremely popular garden with visitors.

Location: Located near the village of Lamberhurst in the valley of the river Bewl in Kent, England. Postcode: TN3 8JN. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ688353

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Scotney Castle Landscape Gardens (National Trust), Kent, UK

Scotney Castle Gardens are centred on the romantic ruins of a moated, 14th century medieval English castle. An Elizabethan wing was added to the ruins in the 15th century. Together they give a delightful focal point to the gardens.

In Spring, an old quarry in the gardens contains an amazing, colorful display of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and purple acers, often under-planted with bluebells. The ruins of the old castle and surrounding, water filled moat can be seen in the distance from a viewpoint overlooking this stunning floral display.

This photo shows a view of the old, decaying boathouse reflected in the still surface of the lake.

Details: The National Trust gardens at Scotney Castle are a renowned example of a specific 18th century English gardening style called the ’Picturesque’ . This particular style was part of the larger Romantic Movement which greatly influenced artists of the period. It evolved from the aesthetic ideas of William Gilpin and was applied to gardens by the highly influential English garden designer, Humphrey Repton.

Within this particular style, artists and designers were seeking qualities in a painting or landscape that essentially transcended mere beauty and almost conveyed the viewer to a blissful state of higher consciousness because of its ‘pure perfection’. As far as I understand it, these ‘Picturesque’ garden designs were more ‘rugged and natural’ than previous landscape garden designs (e.g. those of Capability Brown) and often incorporated romantic ruins and follies. Well, that at least is the theory.

From my own experience, Scotney Castle is certainly a very beautiful garden. However, it also has unique qualities, hard to put into words and define, that makes it very special indeed. Other people must feel this too, as it is an extremely popular garden with visitors.

Location: Located near the village of Lamberhurst in the valley of the river Bewl in Kent, England. Postcode: TN3 8JN. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ688353

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

St Nectan’s Glen Waterfalls, Cornwall, UK

Although my main interest is in gardens, the waterfalls in this set of photos represent nature’s garden at its best. Mosses, ferns and lichens grow in profusion in the ideal micro-climate of the permanently damp surroundings near the waterfalls.

Details: Many regard the dramatic waterfalls at Saint Nectan’s Glen (Saint Nectan’s Kieve) as a special, sacred place. This mystical waterfall is said to be one of the top spiritual sites in the UK. A place where the presence of the earth Goddess (Gaia, divine mother, or female aspect of nature), is greatly enlivened.

St Nectan’s falls have been a place of interest to both Pagans and Christians for hundreds of years and many people still place votive offerings around the waterfalls. There is a hermit’s cell at the top of the waterfall associated with the 6th century saint and hermit, St. Nectan. On account of their proximity to Tintagel, the falls are also linked to the legend of King Arthur. The falls are also quite near to an ancient labyrinth rock carving – located further down the valley and supposedly dating back to 1600 B.C.

It is difficult to believe that this waterfall is in a corner of England – it somehow seems too exotic and more ‘at home’ in a tropical rainforest. These falls are a sparkling natural gem in a hidden and secret valley – a quiet and secluded place in which to meditate and be in the presence of natural beauty.

The waterfalls are in a steep wooded valley and the sun reaches the bottom of the falls for a very limited time each day.

Location: The Hermitage, Trethevy, Cornwall, PL34 0BE, UK. The waterfalls, on the Trevillet River, at St Nectan’s Glen are not really on the main ‘tourist trail’ in Cornwall – they are usually reached via a walk through a beautiful, steep sided and wooded green valley (off the B3263 - the Boscastle to Tintagel road). Visitors are advised to consult an OS map before visiting. The nearest village is Trethevy.

UK OSGB Map Reference: SX080885

Latitude: 50.664435N: Longitude: 4.718162W

Visitors should note that St Nectan’s falls are located on private land and there was a small entrance charge. As the land owners moved in the summer of 2011, future visitors are advised to check the web for latest information regarding access to the falls.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Thanks for asking me if I am fine.

I am and I am just very busy preparing for an exhibition in Tokyo with other work now.

I try to make a new painting, but maybe because I feel I should hurry, my painting gets worse and worse :-((( I have just started the same one again yesterday. I hope this time it works and otherwise I might give up exhibiting this painting in Tokyo.

Apart from it, I went to the RHS London Orchid show on Friday and Saturday. The show includes botanical art exhibition and because the standard was so high, it was actually both encouraging and discouraging.

I took photos there of course, but there were not many acceptable shots either. I have to work hard in many ways. I uploaded one of few so-so shots here. This is Paphiopedilum malipoense.

Happy Birthday!

Scotney Castle Landscape Gardens (National Trust), Kent, UK

Scotney Castle Gardens are centred on the romantic ruins of a moated, 14th century medieval English castle. An Elizabethan wing was added to the ruins in the 15th century. Together they give a delightful focal point to the gardens.

In Spring, an old quarry in the gardens contains an amazing, colorful display of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and purple acers, often under-planted with bluebells. The ruins of the old castle and surrounding, water filled moat can be seen in the distance from a viewpoint overlooking this stunning floral display.

This was one of my first photos of this magical place - taken in late afternoon on color negative film; hence the slight grain.

Details: The National Trust gardens at Scotney Castle are a renowned example of a specific 18th century English gardening style called the ’Picturesque’ . This particular style was part of the larger Romantic Movement which greatly influenced artists of the period. It evolved from the aesthetic ideas of William Gilpin and was applied to gardens by the highly influential English garden designer, Humphrey Repton.

Within this particular style, artists and designers were seeking qualities in a painting or landscape that essentially transcended mere beauty and almost conveyed the viewer to a blissful state of higher consciousness because of its ‘pure perfection’. As far as I understand it, these ‘Picturesque’ garden designs were more ‘rugged and natural’ than previous landscape garden designs (e.g. those of Capability Brown) and often incorporated romantic ruins and follies. Well, that at least is the theory.

From my own experience, Scotney Castle is certainly a very beautiful garden. However, it also has unique qualities, hard to put into words and define, that makes it very special indeed. Other people must feel this too, as it is an extremely popular garden with visitors.

Location: Located near the village of Lamberhurst in the valley of the river Bewl in Kent, England. Postcode: TN3 8JN. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ688353

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Scotney Castle Landscape Gardens (National Trust), Kent, UK

Scotney Castle Gardens are centred on the romantic ruins of a moated, 14th century medieval English castle. An Elizabethan wing was added to the ruins in the 15th century. Together they give a delightful focal point to the gardens.

In Spring, an old quarry in the gardens contains an amazing, colorful display of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and purple acers, often under-planted with bluebells. The ruins of the old castle and surrounding, water filled moat can be seen in the distance from a viewpoint overlooking this stunning floral display.

This photo shows the ruins of the old castle reflected in a small lake - which acts as the castle moat.

Details: The National Trust gardens at Scotney Castle are a renowned example of a specific 18th century English gardening style called the ’Picturesque’ . This particular style was part of the larger Romantic Movement which greatly influenced artists of the period. It evolved from the aesthetic ideas of William Gilpin and was applied to gardens by the highly influential English garden designer, Humphrey Repton.

Within this particular style, artists and designers were seeking qualities in a painting or landscape that essentially transcended mere beauty and almost conveyed the viewer to a blissful state of higher consciousness because of its ‘pure perfection’. As far as I understand it, these ‘Picturesque’ garden designs were more ‘rugged and natural’ than previous landscape garden designs (e.g. those of Capability Brown) and often incorporated romantic ruins and follies. Well, that at least is the theory.

From my own experience, Scotney Castle is certainly a very beautiful garden. However, it also has unique qualities, hard to put into words and define, that makes it very special indeed. Other people must feel this too, as it is an extremely popular garden with visitors.

Location: Located near the village of Lamberhurst in the valley of the river Bewl in Kent, England. Postcode: TN3 8JN. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ688353

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, Wales, UK: Bodnant is an outstanding historic garden with spectacular views across the Conwy Valley towards the Snowdonia mountain range. Covering a landscape area of 32 hectares (80 acres), it was created and developed by five generations of the same family. The first work began in the 1790’s and some of the trees in the garden are now over 200 years old.

This picture shows the awesome Laburnum Arch in full flower – a mass of yellow blooms. This iconic image is the signature planting of Bodnant Gardens. Although usually in flower for a couple of weeks, it is at its best, as shown in this photo, for only a few days each year.

Details: Famous for its botanical collections, it contains a wooded valley (the Dell Garden) with the awesome colors of massed azaleas and rhododendron blooms in spring. There are a number of delightful streams running into the valley - bordered by hostas, candelabra primulas, ferns and evergreen azaleas. The garden also has large ponds, together with Italianate terraces with plantings of stunning colors. The gardens were acquired by the UK’s National Trust in 1949. They contain a wide range of plants gathered from China, Japan, Europe and North America.

A key feature of the gardens is the world famous, 180 foot (55m) long laburnum arch, through which visitors can walk. This laburnum pergola is an amazing spectacle of pure yellow when in full flower – usually in late May. The laburnum tunnel, which was planted in 1875, attracts large numbers of visitors from across the world.

Links: More details about Bodnant Gardens are available from both the National Trust and the Bodnant Gardens websites.

Location: Bodnant Garden, Tal-y-Cafn, Nr Colwyn Bay, Conwy, LL28 5RE, Wales, UK.

UK OSGB Map Tile Ref: SH87SW04

UK OSGB Grid reference: SH8001972173: SH800721

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

West Burton Waterfalls, (Cauldron Falls), Yorkshire, UK

Although my main interest is in gardens, the waterfalls in this set of photos represents nature’s garden at its best. Mosses, ferns and lichens all grow in profusion in the ideal micro-climate of the permanently damp surroundings near the falls.

As a gardener I love the bright green, moss covered boulders near the fall and the over hanging leaves and branches. There always seems to be a lot of energy, life force and prana in the moist atmosphere around these falls.

Location: Located at one end of the village of West Burton, Yorkshire, DL8 4JP, UK; with very easy access via a short walk up a small lane. The falls are on the River Ure.

Latitude: 54.276269N Longitude: 1.972410W

OSGB Grid Ref: SE 0189586735

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Winkworth Arboretum, in Surrey, England, is best known for its displays of stunning autumn foliage. Managed by the UK’s National Trust, this 110 acre site contains over 1000 different species of shrubs and trees, many of which erupt into fiery displays of intense red, gold and yellow in autumn.

Details: The many types of Acers at Winkworth Arboretum produce amazingly intense autumnal foliage displays set against a natural valley landscape. Azaleas, Liquidambars and Nyssa’s also take on spectacular, vibrant autumnal colours. However, vivid autumn colours can be very fleeting in the UK. The displays are often only at their peak for a few days before the first of the autumn storms rolls in and the trees are stripped bare. If you have the opportunity to visit Winkworth at its peak I would advise you to take it!

The Arboretum was started in 1937 by Dr. W. Fox, an enthusiastic amateur gardener and botanist who established an extensive collection of trees and shrubs, some of these are quite rare. Many of the trees are now mature and produce impressive displays of autumn foliage.

Location: Winkworth Arboretum is located at Hascomb Road, Godalming , Surrey, GU8 4AD, England, UK.

UK Map reference: OSGB 169/170/186:SU990412

Links: More details about Winkworth Arboretum are available from the National Trust website.

© 2013 ukgardenphotos

Scotney Castle Landscape Gardens (National Trust), Kent, UK

Scotney Castle Gardens are centred on the romantic ruins of a moated, 14th century medieval English castle. An Elizabethan wing was added to the ruins in the 15th century. Together they give a delightful focal point to the gardens.

In Spring, an old quarry in the gardens contains an amazing, colorful display of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and purple acers, often under-planted with bluebells. The ruins of the old castle and surrounding, water filled moat can be seen in the distance from a viewpoint overlooking this stunning floral display.

This photo shows part of the quarry garden with a delightful planting of English bluebells and flowering azaleas lining steps through the garden in springtime.

Details: The National Trust gardens at Scotney Castle are a renowned example of a specific 18th century English gardening style called the ’Picturesque’ . This particular style was part of the larger Romantic Movement which greatly influenced artists of the period. It evolved from the aesthetic ideas of William Gilpin and was applied to gardens by the highly influential English garden designer, Humphrey Repton.

Within this particular style, artists and designers were seeking qualities in a painting or landscape that essentially transcended mere beauty and almost conveyed the viewer to a blissful state of higher consciousness because of its ‘pure perfection’. As far as I understand it, these ‘Picturesque’ garden designs were more ‘rugged and natural’ than previous landscape garden designs (e.g. those of Capability Brown) and often incorporated romantic ruins and follies. Well, that at least is the theory.

From my own experience, Scotney Castle is certainly a very beautiful garden. However, it also has unique qualities, hard to put into words and define, that makes it very special indeed. Other people must feel this too, as it is an extremely popular garden with visitors.

Location: Located near the village of Lamberhurst in the valley of the river Bewl in Kent, England. Postcode: TN3 8JN. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ688353

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Scotney Castle Landscape Gardens (National Trust), Kent, UK

Scotney Castle Gardens are centred on the romantic ruins of a moated, 14th century medieval English castle. An Elizabethan wing was added to the ruins in the 15th century. Together they give a delightful focal point to the gardens.

In Spring, an old quarry in the gardens contains an amazing, colorful display of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and purple acers, often under-planted with bluebells. The ruins of the old castle and surrounding, water filled moat can be seen in the distance from a viewpoint overlooking this stunning floral display.

Taken on a still day, this photo reflects the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere of these gardens. One of my favorite views.

Details: The National Trust gardens at Scotney Castle are a renowned example of a specific 18th century English gardening style called the ’Picturesque’ . This particular style was part of the larger Romantic Movement which greatly influenced artists of the period. It evolved from the aesthetic ideas of William Gilpin and was applied to gardens by the highly influential English garden designer, Humphrey Repton.

Within this particular style, artists and designers were seeking qualities in a painting or landscape that essentially transcended mere beauty and almost conveyed the viewer to a blissful state of higher consciousness because of its ‘pure perfection’. As far as I understand it, these ‘Picturesque’ garden designs were more ‘rugged and natural’ than previous landscape garden designs (e.g. those of Capability Brown) and often incorporated romantic ruins and follies. Well, that at least is the theory.

From my own experience, Scotney Castle is certainly a very beautiful garden. However, it also has unique qualities, hard to put into words and define, that makes it very special indeed. Other people must feel this too, as it is an extremely popular garden with visitors.

Location: Located near the village of Lamberhurst in the valley of the river Bewl in Kent, England. Postcode: TN3 8JN. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ688353

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Ascott House Gardens, Buckinghamshire, UK: The attractive gardens at Ascott House, a UK National Trust property in Buckinghamshire, England have an extensive mixture of formal, informal and natural garden features.

A visit to Ascott House provides a lot of variety and different types of garden environment. It is particularly impressive in spring time with massed plantings of spring bulbs as far as the eye can see. The wide herbaceous borders in summer are excellent too and all year interest is provided by the land art in the Lynn garden.

This photo is a view of a formal garden with clipped box hedging. Sadly visitors will no longer see this view as shortly after the photograph was taken a virus which affects box hedging (box blight) destroyed the plants which have not been restored.

Details Features range from fields of daffodils, narcissi and fritillaries beneath mature trees in spring; flowering meadows of tulips and spring bulbs; traditional English herbaceous borders with stunning planting in high summer; colorful bedding plant schemes surrounding impressive and grand fountains (such as the Venus and Cupid / Eros fountains by the famous American sculptor Thomas Waldo Story); a picturesque lily pond and thatched summerhouse; neatly clipped yew hedges and even a topiary sundial.

A relatively new feature of the garden is an innovative area devoted to ‘land art’ or ‘earth sculpture’ where mounds of earth and ditches (echoing the earth works of Iron Age Britain on the nearby Chiltern Hills) are planted with grasses, ornamental trees and combined with tasteful water features. The many shades of green are soothing to the eye and give this part of the garden (called the Lynn Garden) a very tranquil atmosphere.

Location: Ascot House, Wing, near Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire, LU7 0PS, UK

UK OSGB Map Reference: OS165:SP891230

Links: A brief description of the house and gardens, together with opening details, is given on the National Trust, Ascott House website.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Winkworth Arboretum, in Surrey, England, is best known for its displays of stunning autumn foliage. Managed by the UK’s National Trust, this 110 acre site contains over 1000 different species of shrubs and trees, many of which erupt into fiery displays of intense red, gold and yellow in autumn.

Details: The many types of Acers at Winkworth Arboretum produce amazingly intense autumnal foliage displays set against a natural valley landscape. Azaleas, Liquidambars and Nyssa’s also take on spectacular, vibrant autumnal colours. However, vivid autumn colours can be very fleeting in the UK. The displays are often only at their peak for a few days before the first of the autumn storms rolls in and the trees are stripped bare. If you have the opportunity to visit Winkworth at its peak I would advise you to take it!

The Arboretum was started in 1937 by Dr. W. Fox, an enthusiastic amateur gardener and botanist who established an extensive collection of trees and shrubs, some of these are quite rare. Many of the trees are now mature and produce impressive displays of autumn foliage.

Location: Winkworth Arboretum is located at Hascomb Road, Godalming , Surrey, GU8 4AD, England, UK.

UK Map reference: OSGB 169/170/186:SU990412

Links: More details about Winkworth Arboretum are available from the National Trust website.

© 2013 ukgardenphotos

Scotney Castle Landscape Gardens (National Trust), Kent, UK

Scotney Castle Gardens are centred on the romantic ruins of a moated, 14th century medieval English castle. An Elizabethan wing was added to the ruins in the 15th century. Together they give a delightful focal point to the gardens.

In Spring, an old quarry in the gardens contains an amazing, colorful display of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and purple acers, often under-planted with bluebells. The ruins of the old castle and surrounding, water filled moat can be seen in the distance from a viewpoint overlooking this stunning floral display.

This photo was taken in the quarry garden and shows a colorful display of red, yellow and white flowering azaleas, green ferns and purple acers bordering a path through the garden.

Details: The National Trust gardens at Scotney Castle are a renowned example of a specific 18th century English gardening style called the ’Picturesque’ . This particular style was part of the larger Romantic Movement which greatly influenced artists of the period. It evolved from the aesthetic ideas of William Gilpin and was applied to gardens by the highly influential English garden designer, Humphrey Repton.

Within this particular style, artists and designers were seeking qualities in a painting or landscape that essentially transcended mere beauty and almost conveyed the viewer to a blissful state of higher consciousness because of its ‘pure perfection’. As far as I understand it, these ‘Picturesque’ garden designs were more ‘rugged and natural’ than previous landscape garden designs (e.g. those of Capability Brown) and often incorporated romantic ruins and follies. Well, that at least is the theory.

From my own experience, Scotney Castle is certainly a very beautiful garden. However, it also has unique qualities, hard to put into words and define, that makes it very special indeed. Other people must feel this too, as it is an extremely popular garden with visitors.

Location: Located near the village of Lamberhurst in the valley of the river Bewl in Kent, England. Postcode: TN3 8JN. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ688353

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Great Dixter Gardens, East Sussex, UK: These historic Grade 1 gardens, which surround a medieval manor house, are truly inspirational. They have the most amazing, vibrant, and imaginative planting schemes I have ever seen in a garden anywhere! The level of visual detail and ‘complexity’ in the planting schemes is awesome: with so many different plants all contributing to the overall picture. I often stand for many minutes in this garden just ‘taking in the scene’. The more I look, the more I see and the more I appreciate the level of planning and effort that has gone into creating this visually dynamic country garden.

Although all the plants look very natural growing together, as though they have almost planted themselves in their growing positions, to get a garden looking this good with such exuberant colors and dense planting requires a very high level of maintenance indeed.

The attention to planting detail at Great Dixter even goes down to the superb arrangements of plants in containers located at strategic points throughout the garden. These are a fantastic combination of plant varieties, forms, colours, textures - and with brilliant use of foliage too.

Considering the gardens are built around a medieval English manor house (parts of which date back to the 15th century), the visitor could assume Great Dixter was just another conventional English garden. Whilst the garden structure (much of which was originally designed by the celebrated architect Edwin Lutyens ) has many conventional elements such as topiary, box and yew hedging, garden rooms, etc., the planting schemes developed by the late Christopher Lloyd are far more dynamic than the Gertrude Jekyl ‘muted palette harmonious approach’. In fact, some of the colour combinations in this highly influential and innovative garden are quite shocking, but most of the time they work really well and bring a great energy, vibrancy and life to the garden.

Photo Details: This photo shows a view of the Long Border in August. I love the use of some taller plants near the front of the border and the giant candelabra verbascums and thistle like cardoons.

Location: Dixter Road, Northiam, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 6PH, UK.

The gardens are situated near the village of Northiam, about ten miles north of the coastal town of Hastings and to the north-west of the picturesque ancient town of Rye.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ821251

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Sand of Wideford, Orkney mainland

OSGB: HY 4746 0876

EDOBID: e21191

A formidable remaining defence consisting of three rows of various anti-tank defences. The feature is primarily made up of 'dragons teeth' or concrete pyramids, but other designs such as can concrete oil drums and anti-tank rails can also be seen.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Gardens, Hyde Hall, Essex: This windswept garden, which is maintained to the highest standard by the RHS, displays a wide variety of horticultural styles. These range from naturalistic planting of grasses and perennials, an acclaimed dry garden built on this most challenging of sites, wide herbaceous borders, a small lake with surrounding planting, a moist dell garden and formal rose beds.

Details: Although the main cultivated part of this 360 acre garden is perched on a windswept mound overlooking agricultural land in the East Anglia area of the UK with very low rain fall (e.g. 24 inches or 600 mm in a typical year), by choosing suitable windbreaks and the ‘right plant for the right place’ the RHS has produced an expertly maintained garden with a long season of interest and with plants that do very well in each of the micro-climates present on the site.

The photos in this set represent some of the horticultural styles present in the garden and show what can be achieved even on a dry, windswept site.

Location: Rettendendon, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 8AT, UK. Located seven miles south-east of Chelmsford and signposted from the A130

UK Map reference: OSGB TQ 782995

Links: More details about RHS Gardens Hyde Hall are available from the RHS website .

© 2013 ukgardenphotos

Winkworth Arboretum, in Surrey, England, is best known for its displays of stunning autumn foliage. Managed by the UK’s National Trust, this 110 acre site contains over 1000 different species of shrubs and trees, many of which erupt into fiery displays of intense red, gold and yellow in autumn.

Details: The many types of Acers at Winkworth Arboretum produce amazingly intense autumnal foliage displays set against a natural valley landscape. Azaleas, Liquidambars and Nyssa’s also take on spectacular, vibrant autumnal colours. However, vivid autumn colours can be very fleeting in the UK. The displays are often only at their peak for a few days before the first of the autumn storms rolls in and the trees are stripped bare. If you have the opportunity to visit Winkworth at its peak I would advise you to take it!

The Arboretum was started in 1937 by Dr. W. Fox, an enthusiastic amateur gardener and botanist who established an extensive collection of trees and shrubs, some of these are quite rare. Many of the trees are now mature and produce impressive displays of autumn foliage.

Location: Winkworth Arboretum is located at Hascomb Road, Godalming , Surrey, GU8 4AD, England, UK.

UK Map reference: OSGB 169/170/186:SU990412

Links: More details about Winkworth Arboretum are available from the National Trust website.

© 2013 ukgardenphotos

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Gardens, Hyde Hall, Essex: This windswept garden, which is maintained to the highest standard by the RHS, displays a wide variety of horticultural styles. These range from naturalistic planting of grasses and perennials, an acclaimed dry garden built on this most challenging of sites, wide herbaceous borders, a small lake with surrounding planting, a moist dell garden and formal rose beds.

Details: The photos in this set represent some of the horticultural styles present in the garden and show what can be achieved even on a dry, windswept site. This photo shows giant alliums and candelabra verbascums (Mulliens) in the foreground with yuccas in the background.

Although the main cultivated part of this 360 acre garden is perched on a windswept mound overlooking agricultural land in the East Anglia area of the UK with very low rain fall (e.g. 24 inches or 600 mm in a typical year), by choosing suitable windbreaks and the ‘right plant for the right place’ the RHS has produced an expertly maintained garden with a long season of interest and with plants that do very well in each of the micro-climates present on the site.

Location: Rettendendon, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 8AT, UK. Located seven miles south-east of Chelmsford and signposted from the A130

UK Map reference: OSGB TQ 782995

Links: More details about RHS Gardens Hyde Hall are available from the RHS website .

© 2013 ukgardenphotos

West Burton Waterfalls, (Cauldron Falls), Yorkshire, UK

Although my main interest is in gardens, the waterfalls in this set of photos represents nature’s garden at its best. Mosses, ferns and lichens all grow in profusion in the ideal micro-climate of the permanently damp surroundings near the falls.

As a gardener I love the bright green, moss covered boulders near the fall and the over hanging leaves and branches. There always seems to be a lot of energy, life force and prana in the moist atmosphere around these falls.

This picture was taken down-stream of the falls, looking back at them through a narrow stone bridge.

Location: Located at one end of the village of West Burton, Yorkshire, DL8 4JP, UK; with very easy access via a short walk up a small lane. The falls are on the River Ure.

Latitude: 54.276269N Longitude: 1.972410W

OSGB Grid Ref: SE 0189586735

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Great Dixter Gardens, East Sussex, UK: These historic Grade 1 gardens, which surround a medieval manor house, are truly inspirational. They have the most amazing, vibrant, and imaginative planting schemes I have ever seen in a garden anywhere! The level of visual detail and ‘complexity’ in the planting schemes is awesome: with so many different plants all contributing to the overall picture. I often stand for many minutes in this garden just ‘taking in the scene’. The more I look, the more I see and the more I appreciate the level of planning and effort that has gone into creating this visually dynamic country garden.

Although all the plants look very natural growing together, as though they have almost planted themselves in their growing positions, to get a garden looking this good with such exuberant colors and dense planting requires a very high level of maintenance indeed.

The attention to planting detail at Great Dixter even goes down to the superb arrangements of plants in containers located at strategic points throughout the garden. These are a fantastic combination of plant varieties, forms, colours, textures - and with brilliant use of foliage too.

Considering the gardens are built around a medieval English manor house (parts of which date back to the 15th century), the visitor could assume Great Dixter was just another conventional English garden. Whilst the garden structure (much of which was originally designed by the celebrated architect Edwin Lutyens ) has many conventional elements such as topiary, box and yew hedging, garden rooms, etc., the planting schemes developed by the late Christopher Lloyd are far more dynamic than the Gertrude Jekyl ‘muted palette harmonious approach’. In fact, some of the colour combinations in this highly influential and innovative garden are quite shocking, but most of the time they work really well and bring a great energy, vibrancy and life to the garden.

Photo Details: This photo shows an attractive arrangement of container plants lining steps in a quiet corner of the garden.

Location: Dixter Road, Northiam, East Sussex, TN31 6PH, UK.

The gardens are situated near the village of Northiam, about ten miles north of the coastal town of Hastings and to the north-west of the picturesque ancient town of Rye.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ821251

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Waddesdon Manor Gardens, Buckinghamshire, England:

This immaculate Victorian garden, surrounding a Renaissance style chateau, is considered to be one of the finest in England. The gardens are home to outstanding seasonal displays of bedding plants - which were much loved by the Victorians.

Waddesdon has been described as ‘The Jewel in the Crown of the National Trust’. The formal gardens contain the highest quality bedding plant displays I have ever seen, anywhere! There is a splendid parterre, grand fountains, statuary surrounded by flowers and an ornate Victorian aviary (beautifully restored a few years ago) in the grounds.

Details

There are also quite extraordinary displays of carpet bedding at Waddesdon. This planting technique uses large numbers of small colourful plants and succulents to weave intricate patterns as in a woven carpet or tapestry. This process requires a great deal of time and expertise to design, plant and maintain. In Victorian times it used to be common in municipal parks and gardens - when labour cost far less than today! There are now few people left in the UK with the requisite skills, but it obviously survives here where it has been used to create a 'living statue' of a bird - situated near the aviary!

Location:

Waddesdon, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP18 0JH, UK

UK OSGB Map Reference: OS165:SP740169

Links: A brief description of the house and gardens, together with opening details, are given on the National Trust, Waddesdon Manor website.

© 2013 ukgardenphotos

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Gardens, Hyde Hall, Essex: This windswept garden, which is maintained to the highest standard by the RHS, displays a wide variety of horticultural styles. These range from naturalistic planting of grasses and perennials, an acclaimed dry garden built on this most challenging of sites, wide herbaceous borders, a small lake with surrounding planting, a moist dell garden and formal rose beds.

Details: Although the main cultivated part of this 360 acre garden is perched on a windswept mound overlooking agricultural land in the East Anglia area of the UK with very low rain fall (e.g. 24 inches or 600 mm in a typical year - but can be as low as 18 inches), by choosing suitable windbreaks and the ‘right plant for the right place’ the RHS has produced an expertly maintained garden with a long season of interest and with plants that do very well in each of the micro-climates present on the site.

This photo is a view across the dry rock garden - impresively planted with giant silver verbascums, perennial grasses, bronze fennel, purple alliums and californian poppies (Eschscholzia californica). Later in the year, when the flowers are over the seed heads and grasses still give a great display.

The photos in this set represent some of the horticultural styles present in the garden and show what can be achieved even on a dry, windswept site.

Location: Rettendendon, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 8AT, UK. Located seven miles south-east of Chelmsford and signposted from the A130

UK Map reference: OSGB TQ 782995

Links: More details about RHS Gardens Hyde Hall are available from the RHS website .

© 2013 ukgardenphotos

Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckinghamshire, England, are an amazing mixture of classical temples, bridges, monuments and architectural features set against the backdrop of one of the largest and best landscaped gardens in the country.

The juxtaposition of classical architecture (with over 40 temples and listed historic monuments) and idyllic English landscape offer visitors a visual treat. It is also an eye opener into the immense wealth of the family who created the gardens in Georgian England.

Although there are no flowers or flowering shrubs to speak of at Stowe, it is one of my favourite gardens. I have spent many happy summer hours wandering through its vast 750 acres and admiring the ‘ancient’ temples and monuments set against a ‘perfect and ideal’ English countryside. This is one of my favorite views at Stowe - the Palladian Bridge seen from the Doric Arch.

The National Trust have done a tremendous job in restoring to pristine condition many of the buildings which were showing signs of deterioration when they acquired the property in 1990. Stowe is now probably the finest example of the English Landscape Garden style in the world.

Details: The English Landscape at Stowe looks perfectly natural – however it is actually all man-made! This includes trees and woods planted, streams dammed and lakes created. This makes the immense gardens even more impressive considering the landscape was engineered in an era before mechanisation.

There is a lot of garden history at Stowe. The gardens underwent major development in the early 1700’s with the work of famous landscape designers William Kent, Charles Bridgeman and architect John Vanbrugh. The highly influential English landscape gardener ‘Capability’ Brown began his career at Stowe and later became head gardener there.

Location Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 5DQ, UK. (When new visitor centre opens in summer 2012 use code: MK18 5EQ).

OSGB map ref. SP665366

Links: A detailed history of Stowe Landscape Gardens is available on Wikipedia.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Waddesdon Manor Gardens, Buckinghamshire, UK:

This immaculate Victorian garden, surrounding a Renaissance style chateau, is considered to be one of the finest in England. The gardens are home to outstanding seasonal displays of bedding plants - which were much loved by the Victorians.

Waddesdon has been described as ‘The Jewel in the Crown of the National Trust’. In spring and summer the formal gardens contain the highest quality bedding plant displays I have ever seen, anywhere! There is a splendid parterre, grand fountains, statuary surrounded by flowers and an ornate Victorian aviary (beautifully restored a few years ago) in the grounds.

Details

This photo shows a view of the Manor in winter - there are nice walks with good views through the surrounding parkland.

Although my main interest is in gardens, the outstanding collection of furniture, fabrics, paintings and porcelain in the chateau style mansion is quite phenomenal. After spending a couple of hours in the house I usually come out into the garden with ‘visual overload’. Highly recommended!

Location:

Waddesdon, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP18 0JH, UK

UK OSGB Map Reference: OS165:SP740169

Links: A brief description of the house and gardens, together with opening details, are given on the National Trust, Waddesdon Manor website.

© 2013 ukgardenphotos

Watersmeet Waterfalls, on National Trust property, near Lynton and Lynmouth, Devon, UK

Although my main interest is in gardens, the waterfalls in this set of photos represent ‘nature’s garden’ at its best. Mosses, ferns and lichens all grow in profusion in the ideal micro-climate of the permanently damp surroundings near the falls.

Watersmeet falls are in one of England’s deepest river gorges within a steep wooded valley. The waters that meet here are Hoar Oak Water and the East Lyn River.

Location: The falls are near the National Trust’s Watersmeet House, Watersmeet Road, Lynmouth, Devon, EX35 6NT, UK. There are tea rooms at the site, situated in a fishing lodge dating back to 1832. The area is part of the Exmoor National Park.

OSGB Grid Ref: SS744486

Latitude 51.223246 Longitude -3.799815

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Scotney Castle Landscape Gardens (National Trust), Kent, UK

Scotney Castle Gardens are centred on the romantic ruins of a moated, 14th century medieval English castle. An Elizabethan wing was added to the ruins in the 15th century. Together they give a delightful focal point to the gardens.

In Spring, an old quarry in the gardens contains an amazing, colorful display of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and purple acers, often under-planted with bluebells. The ruins of the old castle and surrounding, water filled moat can be seen in the distance from a viewpoint overlooking this stunning floral display.

This photo shows a view of the castle, seen from the viewpoint and looking across the quarry garden, with parkland in the distance.

Details: The National Trust gardens at Scotney Castle are a renowned example of a specific 18th century English gardening style called the ’Picturesque’ . This particular style was part of the larger Romantic Movement which greatly influenced artists of the period. It evolved from the aesthetic ideas of William Gilpin and was applied to gardens by the highly influential English garden designer, Humphrey Repton.

Within this particular style, artists and designers were seeking qualities in a painting or landscape that essentially transcended mere beauty and almost conveyed the viewer to a blissful state of higher consciousness because of its ‘pure perfection’. As far as I understand it, these ‘Picturesque’ garden designs were more ‘rugged and natural’ than previous landscape garden designs (e.g. those of Capability Brown) and often incorporated romantic ruins and follies. Well, that at least is the theory.

From my own experience, Scotney Castle is certainly a very beautiful garden. However, it also has unique qualities, hard to put into words and define, that makes it very special indeed. Other people must feel this too, as it is an extremely popular garden with visitors.

Location: Located near the village of Lamberhurst in the valley of the river Bewl in Kent, England. Postcode: TN3 8JN. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ688353

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Janet’s Foss Waterfalls, Craven, Yorkshire, UK

Although my main interest is in gardens, the waterfalls in this set of photos represent nature’s garden at its best. Mosses, ferns and lichens all grow in profusion in the ideal micro-climate of the permanently damp surroundings near the falls.

Details: Janet’s Foss waterfalls, near Malham Tarn, Wensleydale, Yorkshire, UK are said to be named after the fairy queen Jennet of local legend that inhabited the falls. It’s easy to see why the legend grew up as the waterfalls are an enchanted place; a green oasis with a settled, calming and peaceful atmosphere that pervades the falls and surrounding area.

The tranquil waterfalls are set amongst a profusion of different shades of green from the overhanging foliage. As a gardener I love its tranquil, moist ambience. Janet’s Foss is certainly a place to sit, meditate and ‘just be’.

Location: Janet’s Foss magical waterfalls are on Gordale Beck (start of river Aire), quite near Gordale Scar, which is a popular and dramatic landscape feature in the Yorkshire Dales, Yorkshire, UK. They can easily be reached by road or by walking along a wooded valley from nearby Malham Village (Nearest Postcode BD23 4DL)

UK OSGB Map Reference: SD911633

Latitude: 54.065833N Longitude: 2.136389W

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Great Dixter Gardens, East Sussex, UK: These historic Grade 1 gardens, which surround a medieval manor house, are truly inspirational. They have the most amazing, vibrant, and imaginative planting schemes I have ever seen in a garden anywhere! The level of visual detail and ‘complexity’ in the planting schemes is awesome: with so many different plants all contributing to the overall picture. I often stand for many minutes in this garden just ‘taking in the scene’. The more I look, the more I see and the more I appreciate the level of planning and effort that has gone into creating this visually dynamic country garden.

Although all the plants look very natural growing together, as though they have almost planted themselves in their growing positions, to get a garden looking this good with such exuberant colors and dense planting requires a very high level of maintenance indeed.

The attention to planting detail at Great Dixter even goes down to the superb arrangements of plants in containers located at strategic points throughout the garden. These are a fantastic combination of plant varieties, forms, colours, textures - and with brilliant use of foliage too.

Considering the gardens are built around a medieval English manor house (parts of which date back to the 15th century), the visitor could assume Great Dixter was just another conventional English garden. Whilst the garden structure (much of which was originally designed by the celebrated architect Edwin Lutyens ) has many conventional elements such as topiary, box and yew hedging, garden rooms, etc., the planting schemes developed by the late Christopher Lloyd are far more dynamic than the Gertrude Jekyl ‘muted palette harmonious approach’. In fact, some of the colour combinations in this highly influential and innovative garden are quite shocking, but most of the time they work really well and bring a great energy, vibrancy and life to the garden.

Photo Details: This photo shows an attractive arrangement of plants in containers near the porch of the old house (the porch and buildings to the right of it are all 15th or early 16th century - the buildings to the left of it are much more recent).

Location: Dixter Road, Northiam, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 6PH, UK.

The gardens are situated near the village of Northiam, about ten miles north of the coastal town of Hastings and to the north-west of the picturesque ancient town of Rye.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ821251

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Great Dixter Gardens, East Sussex, UK: These historic Grade 1 gardens, which surround a medieval manor house, are truly inspirational. They have the most amazing, vibrant, and imaginative planting schemes I have ever seen in a garden anywhere! The level of visual detail and ‘complexity’ in the planting schemes is awesome: with so many different plants all contributing to the overall picture. I often stand for many minutes in this garden just ‘taking in the scene’. The more I look, the more I see and the more I appreciate the level of planning and effort that has gone into creating this visually dynamic country garden.

Although all the plants look very natural growing together, as though they have almost planted themselves in their growing positions, to get a garden looking this good with such exuberant colors and dense planting requires a very high level of maintenance indeed.

The attention to planting detail at Great Dixter even goes down to the superb arrangements of plants in containers located at strategic points throughout the garden. These are a fantastic combination of plant varieties, forms, colours, textures - and with brilliant use of foliage too.

Considering the gardens are built around a medieval English manor house (parts of which date back to the 15th century), the visitor could assume Great Dixter was just another conventional English garden. Whilst the garden structure (much of which was originally designed by the celebrated architect Edwin Lutyens ) has many conventional elements such as topiary, box and yew hedging, garden rooms, etc., the planting schemes developed by the late Christopher Lloyd are far more dynamic than the Gertrude Jekyl ‘muted palette harmonious approach’. In fact, some of the colour combinations in this highly influential and innovative garden are quite shocking, but most of the time they work really well and bring a great energy, vibrancy and life to the garden.

Photo Details: This photo is a view looking back towards the house from the garden and shows the use of giant Mulliens (verbascums) in the borders.

Location: Dixter Road, Northiam, East Sussex, TN31 6PH, UK.

The gardens are situated near the village of Northiam, about ten miles north of the coastal town of Hastings and to the north-west of the picturesque ancient town of Rye.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ821251

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Ascott House Gardens, Buckinghamshire, UK: The attractive gardens at Ascott House, a UK National Trust property in Buckinghamshire, England have an extensive mixture of formal, informal and natural garden features.

A visit to Ascott House provides a lot of variety and different types of garden environment. It is particularly impressive in spring time with massed plantings of spring bulbs as far as the eye can see. The wide herbaceous borders in summer are excellent too and all year interest is provided by the land art in the Lynn garden.

This photo was taken a couple of weeks after this part of the garden had been redeveloped and first opened to the public. The use of earth sculpture and water amongst the many shades of green in early spring is an attractive feature of the Lynn garden.

Details Features range from fields of daffodils, narcissi and fritillaries beneath mature trees in spring; flowering meadows of tulips and spring bulbs; traditional English herbaceous borders with stunning planting in high summer; colorful bedding plant schemes surrounding impressive and grand fountains (such as the Venus and Cupid / Eros fountains by the famous American sculptor Thomas Waldo Story); a picturesque lily pond and thatched summerhouse; neatly clipped yew hedges and even a topiary sundial.

A relatively new feature of the garden is an innovative area devoted to ‘land art’ or ‘earth sculpture’ where mounds of earth and ditches (echoing the earth works of Iron Age Britain on the nearby Chiltern Hills) are planted with grasses, ornamental trees and combined with tasteful water features. The many shades of green are soothing to the eye and give this part of the garden (called the Lynn Garden) a very tranquil atmosphere.

Location: Ascot House, Wing, near Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire, LU7 0PS, UK

UK OSGB Map Reference: OS165:SP891230

Links: A brief description of the house and gardens, together with opening details, is given on the National Trust, Ascott House website.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Ampthill Forest, Central Bedfordshire, UK: Ampthill Forest consists of a number of large, interlinked woods. These are a mixture of deciduous and conifer plantations and offer splendid views of stunning autumn foliage in the Fall.

These ancient and peaceful woodlands are located on a Greensand Ridge in central Bedfordshire. Part of the forest is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as it contains a large remnant of ancient forest. It is managed by the UK’s Forestry Commission and has good paths throughout. It’s a great place to spot wildlife too.

This photo shows an old decaying fence in the foreground, with the muted colors of autumn foliage from the beech trees in the background; it’s in a sheltered valley in Maulden Wood.

Location: Maulden woods – part of Ampthill forest. Clophill is the nearest village in Central Bedfordshire, MK45 2AE, England.

OSGB Map Reference: TL 075 390

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, Wales, UK: Bodnant is an outstanding historic garden with spectacular views across the Conwy Valley towards the Snowdonia mountain range. Covering a landscape area of 32 hectares (80 acres), it was created and developed by five generations of the same family. The first work began in the 1790’s and some of the trees in the garden are now over 200 years old.

This photo is a shaded view of the river running through the valley at Bodnant, bordered by the kaleidiscopic colors of massed azaleas.

Details: Famous for its botanical collections, it contains a wooded valley (the Dell Garden) with the awesome colors of massed azaleas and rhododendron blooms in spring. There are a number of delightful streams running into the valley - bordered by hostas, candelabra primulas, ferns and evergreen azaleas. The garden also has large ponds, together with Italianate terraces with plantings of stunning colors. The gardens were acquired by the UK’s National Trust in 1949. They contain a wide range of plants gathered from China, Japan, Europe and North America.

A key feature of the gardens is the world famous, 180 foot (55m) long laburnum arch, through which visitors can walk. This laburnum pergola is an amazing spectacle of pure yellow when in full flower – usually in late May. The laburnum tunnel, which was planted in 1875, attracts large numbers of visitors from across the world.

Links: More details about Bodnant Gardens are available from both the National Trust and the Bodnant Gardens websites.

Location: Bodnant Garden, Tal-y-Cafn, Nr Colwyn Bay, Conwy, LL28 5RE, Wales, UK.

UK OSGB Map Tile Ref: SH87SW04

UK OSGB Grid reference: SH8001972173: SH800721

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Winkworth Arboretum, in Surrey, England, is best known for its displays of stunning autumn foliage. Managed by the UK’s National Trust, this 110 acre site contains over 1000 different species of shrubs and trees, many of which erupt into fiery displays of intense red, gold and yellow in autumn.

Details: The many types of Acers at Winkworth Arboretum produce amazingly intense autumnal foliage displays set against a natural valley landscape. Azaleas, Liquidambars and Nyssa’s also take on spectacular, vibrant autumnal colours. However, vivid autumn colours can be very fleeting in the UK. The displays are often only at their peak for a few days before the first of the autumn storms rolls in and the trees are stripped bare. If you have the opportunity to visit Winkworth at its peak I would advise you to take it!

The Arboretum was started in 1937 by Dr. W. Fox, an enthusiastic amateur gardener and botanist who established an extensive collection of trees and shrubs, some of these are quite rare. Many of the trees are now mature and produce impressive displays of autumn foliage.

Location: Winkworth Arboretum is located at Hascomb Road, Godalming , Surrey, GU8 4AD, England, UK.

UK Map reference: OSGB 169/170/186:SU990412

Links: More details about Winkworth Arboretum are available from the National Trust website.

© 2013 ukgardenphotos

Ascott House Gardens, Buckinghamshire, UK: The attractive gardens at Ascott House, a UK National Trust property in Buckinghamshire, England have an extensive mixture of formal, informal and natural garden features.

A visit to Ascott House provides a lot of variety and different types of garden environment. It is particularly impressive in spring time with massed plantings of spring bulbs as far as the eye can see. The wide herbaceous borders in summer are excellent too and all year interest is provided by the land art in the Lynn garden.

This photo was taken after this part of the garden had matured for a couple of years and shows the unusual use of land art to produce a tranquil scene.

Details Features range from fields of daffodils, narcissi and fritillaries beneath mature trees in spring; flowering meadows of tulips and spring bulbs; traditional English herbaceous borders with stunning planting in high summer; colorful bedding plant schemes surrounding impressive and grand fountains (such as the Venus and Cupid / Eros fountains by the famous American sculptor Thomas Waldo Story); a picturesque lily pond and thatched summerhouse; neatly clipped yew hedges and even a topiary sundial.

A relatively new feature of the garden is an innovative area devoted to ‘land art’ or ‘earth sculpture’ where mounds of earth and ditches (echoing the earth works of Iron Age Britain on the nearby Chiltern Hills) are planted with grasses, ornamental trees and combined with tasteful water features. The many shades of green are soothing to the eye and give this part of the garden (called the Lynn Garden) a very tranquil atmosphere.

Location: Ascot House, Wing, near Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire, LU7 0PS, UK

UK OSGB Map Reference: OS165:SP891230

Links: A brief description of the house and gardens, together with opening details, is given on the National Trust, Ascott House website.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Ascott House Gardens, Buckinghamshire, UK: The attractive gardens at Ascott House, a UK National Trust property in Buckinghamshire, England have an extensive mixture of formal, informal and natural garden features.

A visit to Ascott House provides a lot of variety and different types of garden environment. It is particularly impressive in spring time with massed plantings of spring bulbs as far as the eye can see. The wide herbaceous borders in summer are excellent too and all year interest is provided by the land art in the Lynn garden.

This photo shows the Eros fountain in the Dutch garden surrounded by attractive bedding plants in spring. The planting scheme is changed each year to add interest for visitors.

Details Features range from fields of daffodils, narcissi and fritillaries beneath mature trees in spring; flowering meadows of tulips and spring bulbs; traditional English herbaceous borders with stunning planting in high summer; colorful bedding plant schemes surrounding impressive and grand fountains (such as the Venus and Cupid / Eros fountains by the famous American sculptor Thomas Waldo Story); a picturesque lily pond and thatched summerhouse; neatly clipped yew hedges and even a topiary sundial.

A relatively new feature of the garden is an innovative area devoted to ‘land art’ or ‘earth sculpture’ where mounds of earth and ditches (echoing the earth works of Iron Age Britain on the nearby Chiltern Hills) are planted with grasses, ornamental trees and combined with tasteful water features. The many shades of green are soothing to the eye and give this part of the garden (called the Lynn Garden) a very tranquil atmosphere.

Location: Ascot House, Wing, near Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire, LU7 0PS, UK

UK OSGB Map Reference: OS165:SP891230

Links: A brief description of the house and gardens, together with opening details, is given on the National Trust, Ascott House website.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Scotney Castle Landscape Gardens (National Trust), Kent, UK

Scotney Castle Gardens are centred on the romantic ruins of a moated, 14th century medieval English castle. An Elizabethan wing was added to the ruins in the 15th century. Together they give a delightful focal point to the gardens.

In Spring, an old quarry in the gardens contains an amazing, colorful display of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and purple acers, often under-planted with bluebells. The ruins of the old castle and surrounding, water filled moat can be seen in the distance from a viewpoint overlooking this stunning floral display.

Details: The National Trust gardens at Scotney Castle are a renowned example of a specific 18th century English gardening style called the ’Picturesque’ . This particular style was part of the larger Romantic Movement which greatly influenced artists of the period. It evolved from the aesthetic ideas of William Gilpin and was applied to gardens by the highly influential English garden designer, Humphrey Repton.

Within this particular style, artists and designers were seeking qualities in a painting or landscape that essentially transcended mere beauty and almost conveyed the viewer to a blissful state of higher consciousness because of its ‘pure perfection’. As far as I understand it, these ‘Picturesque’ garden designs were more ‘rugged and natural’ than previous landscape garden designs (e.g. those of Capability Brown) and often incorporated romantic ruins and follies. Well, that at least is the theory.

From my own experience, Scotney Castle is certainly a very beautiful garden. However, it also has unique qualities, hard to put into words and define, that makes it very special indeed. Other people must feel this too, as it is an extremely popular garden with visitors.

Location: Located near the village of Lamberhurst in the valley of the river Bewl in Kent, England. Postcode: TN3 8JN. The nearest large town is Tunbridge Wells.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ688353

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckinghamshire, England, are an amazing mixture of classical temples, bridges, monuments and architectural features set against the backdrop of one of the largest and best landscaped gardens in the country.

The juxtaposition of classical architecture (with over 40 temples and listed historic monuments) and idyllic English landscape offer visitors a visual treat. It is also an eye opener into the immense wealth of the family who created the gardens in Georgian England.

Although there are no flowers or flowering shrubs to speak of at Stowe, it is one of my favourite gardens. I have spent many happy summer hours wandering through its vast 750 acres and admiring the ‘ancient’ temples and monuments set against a ‘perfect and ideal’ English countryside.

The National Trust have done a tremendous job in restoring to pristine condition many of the buildings which were showing signs of deterioration when they acquired the property in 1990. Stowe is now probably the finest example of the English Landscape Garden style in the world.

Details: The English Landscape at Stowe looks perfectly natural – however it is actually all man-made! This includes trees and woods planted, streams dammed and lakes created. This makes the immense gardens even more impressive considering the landscape was engineered in an era before mechanisation.

There is a lot of garden history at Stowe. The gardens underwent major development in the early 1700’s with the work of famous landscape designers William Kent, Charles Bridgeman and architect John Vanbrugh. The highly influential English landscape gardener ‘Capability’ Brown began his career at Stowe and later became head gardener there.

Location: Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 5DQ, UK. (When new visitor centre opens in summer 2012 use code: MK18 5EQ).

OSGB map ref. SP665366

Links: A detailed history of Stowe Landscape Gardens is available on Wikipedia.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Great Dixter Gardens, East Sussex, UK: These historic Grade 1 gardens, which surround a medieval manor house, are truly inspirational. They have the most amazing, vibrant, and imaginative planting schemes I have ever seen in a garden anywhere! The level of visual detail and ‘complexity’ in the planting schemes is awesome: with so many different plants all contributing to the overall picture. I often stand for many minutes in this garden just ‘taking in the scene’. The more I look, the more I see and the more I appreciate the level of planning and effort that has gone into creating this visually dynamic country garden.

Although all the plants look very natural growing together, as though they have almost planted themselves in their growing positions, to get a garden looking this good with such exuberant colors and dense planting requires a very high level of maintenance indeed.

The attention to planting detail at Great Dixter even goes down to the superb arrangements of plants in containers located at strategic points throughout the garden. These are a fantastic combination of plant varieties, forms, colours, textures - and with brilliant use of foliage too.

Considering the gardens are built around a medieval English manor house (parts of which date back to the 15th century), the visitor could assume Great Dixter was just another conventional English garden. Whilst the garden structure (much of which was originally designed by the celebrated architect Edwin Lutyens ) has many conventional elements such as topiary, box and yew hedging, garden rooms, etc., the planting schemes developed by the late Christopher Lloyd

are far more dynamic than the Gertrude Jekyl ‘muted palette harmonious approach’. In fact, some of the colour combinations in this highly influential and innovative garden are quite shocking, but most of the time they work really well and bring a great energy, vibrancy and life to the garden.

Photo Details: This photo shows a view of the house, through tall grasses, from the Peacock Garden - so called because of the topiary birds.

Location: Dixter Road, Northiam, East Sussex, TN31 6PH, UK.

The gardens are situated near the village of Northiam, about ten miles north of the coastal town of Hastings and to the north-west of the picturesque ancient town of Rye.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ821251

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Great Dixter Gardens, East Sussex, UK: These historic Grade 1 gardens, which surround a medieval manor house, are truly inspirational. They have the most amazing, vibrant, and imaginative planting schemes I have ever seen in a garden anywhere! The level of visual detail and ‘complexity’ in the planting schemes is awesome: with so many different plants all contributing to the overall picture. I often stand for many minutes in this garden just ‘taking in the scene’. The more I look, the more I see and the more I appreciate the level of planning and effort that has gone into creating this visually dynamic country garden.

Although all the plants look very natural growing together, as though they have almost planted themselves in their growing positions, to get a garden looking this good with such exuberant colors and dense planting requires a very high level of maintenance indeed.

The attention to planting detail at Great Dixter even goes down to the superb arrangements of plants in containers located at strategic points throughout the garden. These are a fantastic combination of plant varieties, forms, colours, textures - and with brilliant use of foliage too.

Considering the gardens are built around a medieval English manor house (parts of which date back to the 15th century), the visitor could assume Great Dixter was just another conventional English garden. Whilst the garden structure (much of which was originally designed by the celebrated architect Edwin Lutyens ) has many conventional elements such as topiary, box and yew hedging, garden rooms, etc., the planting schemes developed by the late Christopher Lloyd are far more dynamic than the Gertrude Jekyl ‘muted palette harmonious approach’. In fact, some of the colour combinations in this highly influential and innovative garden are quite shocking, but most of the time they work really well and bring a great energy, vibrancy and life to the garden.

Photo Details: This photo shows part of the Exotic Garden - a great combination of banana palms, grasses, verbenas, rice paper plants and dahlias - a really unconventional grouping that works so well!

Location: Dixter Road, Northiam, East Sussex, TN31 6PH, UK.

The gardens are situated near the village of Northiam, about ten miles north of the coastal town of Hastings and to the north-west of the picturesque ancient town of Rye.

OSGB Map Reference: TQ821251

© 2012 ukgardenphotos

Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckinghamshire, England, are an amazing mixture of classical temples, bridges, monuments and architectural features set against the backdrop of one of the largest and best landscaped gardens in the country.

The juxtaposition of classical architecture (with over 40 temples and listed historic monuments) and idyllic English landscape offer visitors a visual treat. It is also an eye opener into the immense wealth of the family who created the gardens in Georgian England. This photo shows the autmn colors of the trees framing a view of the Rotondo.

Although there are no flowers or flowering shrubs to speak of at Stowe, it is one of my favourite gardens. I have spent many happy summer hours wandering through its vast 750 acres and admiring the ‘ancient’ temples and monuments set against a ‘perfect and ideal’ English countryside.

The National Trust have done a tremendous job in restoring to pristine condition many of the buildings which were showing signs of deterioration when they acquired the property in 1990. Stowe is now probably the finest example of the English Landscape Garden style in the world.

Details: The English Landscape at Stowe looks perfectly natural – however it is actually all man-made! This includes trees and woods planted, streams dammed and lakes created. This makes the immense gardens even more impressive considering the landscape was engineered in an era before mechanisation.

There is a lot of garden history at Stowe. The gardens underwent major development in the early 1700’s with the work of famous landscape designers William Kent, Charles Bridgeman and architect John Vanbrugh. The highly influential English landscape gardener ‘Capability’ Brown began his career at Stowe and later became head gardener there.

Location Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 5DQ, UK. (When new visitor centre opens in summer 2012 use code: MK18 5EQ).

OSGB map ref. SP665366

Links: A detailed history of Stowe Landscape Gardens is available on Wikipedia.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Birch Road bridge OSGB 374817,390468 and 48773 is preserved, i cannot see the yellow diagonal on the cabside.

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Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfalls, near Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Powys, Wales, UK

Although my main interest is in gardens, the waterfalls in this set of photos represent ‘nature’s garden’ at its best. Mosses, ferns and lichens all grow in profusion in the ideal micro-climate of the permanently damp surroundings near the falls.

Details: These spectacular waterfalls are an impressive sight. The total drop is over 80 meters high and the river passes through a hole in the rock on its way down. The surrounding banks are covered in lush green vegetation.

This is a beautiful, tranquil place and having made the effort to get there it is well worth spending a couple of hours to soak up the peaceful atmosphere surrounded by nature.

Location: Near Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Powys, Wales, SY10 0BZ, UK: twelve miles west of Oswestry . The falls are located at the end of a single track road about 4 miles long. There is a tearoom and also a camp site near the falls from which people can explore the surrounding Berwyn Mountains

Latitude: 52.855000N Longitude: 3.378611W

OSGB Grid Ref: SJ072295

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Ascott House Gardens, Buckinghamshire, UK: The attractive gardens at Ascott House, a UK National Trust property in Buckinghamshire, England have an extensive mixture of formal, informal and natural garden features.

A visit to Ascott House provides a lot of variety and different types of garden environment. It is particularly impressive in spring time with massed plantings of spring bulbs as far as the eye can see. The wide herbaceous borders in summer are excellent too and all year interest is provided by the land art in the Lynn garden.

This photo shows a pleasant pastoral scene viewed from the garden. A carpet of yellow daffodils leads on to lush green fields where sheep are grazing.

Details Features range from fields of daffodils, narcissi and fritillaries beneath mature trees in spring; flowering meadows of tulips and spring bulbs; traditional English herbaceous borders with stunning planting in high summer; colorful bedding plant schemes surrounding impressive and grand fountains (such as the Venus and Cupid / Eros fountains by the famous American sculptor Thomas Waldo Story); a picturesque lily pond and thatched summerhouse; neatly clipped yew hedges and even a topiary sundial.

A relatively new feature of the garden is an innovative area devoted to ‘land art’ or ‘earth sculpture’ where mounds of earth and ditches (echoing the earth works of Iron Age Britain on the nearby Chiltern Hills) are planted with grasses, ornamental trees and combined with tasteful water features. The many shades of green are soothing to the eye and give this part of the garden (called the Lynn Garden) a very tranquil atmosphere.

Location: Ascott House, Wing, near Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire, LU7 0PS, UK

UK OSGB Map Reference: OS165:SP891230

Links: A brief description of the house and gardens, together with opening details, is given on the National Trust, Ascott House website.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckinghamshire, England, are an amazing mixture of classical temples, bridges, monuments and architectural features set against the backdrop of one of the largest and best landscaped gardens in the country.

The juxtaposition of classical architecture (with over 40 temples and listed historic monuments) and idyllic English landscape offer visitors a visual treat. It is also an eye opener into the immense wealth of the family who created the gardens in Georgian England.

Although there are no flowers or flowering shrubs to speak of at Stowe, it is one of my favourite gardens. I have spent many happy summer hours wandering through its vast 750 acres and admiring the ‘ancient’ temples and monuments set against a ‘perfect and ideal’ English countryside.

The National Trust have done a tremendous job in restoring to pristine condition many of the buildings which were showing signs of deterioration when they acquired the property in 1990. Stowe is now probably the finest example of the English Landscape Garden style in the world.

Details: The English Landscape at Stowe looks perfectly natural – however it is actually all man-made! This includes trees and woods planted, streams dammed and lakes created. This makes the immense gardens even more impressive considering the landscape was engineered in an era before mechanisation.

Stowe is a historic garden. The gardens underwent major development in the early 1700’s with the work of famous landscape designers William Kent, Charles Bridgeman and architect John Vanbrugh. The highly influential English landscape gardener ‘Capability’ Brown began his career at Stowe and later became head gardener there.

Location: Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 5DQ, UK. (When new visitor centre opens in summer 2012 use code: MK18 5EQ).

OSGB map ref. SP665366

Links: A detailed history of Stowe Landscape Gardens is available on Wikipedia.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos

Ascott House Gardens, Buckinghamshire, UK: The attractive gardens at Ascott House, a UK National Trust property in Buckinghamshire, England have an extensive mixture of formal, informal and natural garden features.

A visit to Ascott House provides a lot of variety and different types of garden environment. It is particularly impressive in spring time with massed plantings of spring bulbs as far as the eye can see. The wide herbaceous borders in summer are excellent too and all year interest is provided by the land art in the Lynn garden.

This photograph was taken very late on a spring afternoon when the sun was low. It shows a thatched cottage overlooking and reflected in a small lake.

Details Features range from fields of daffodils, narcissi and fritillaries beneath mature trees in spring; flowering meadows of tulips and spring bulbs; traditional English herbaceous borders with stunning planting in high summer; colorful bedding plant schemes surrounding impressive and grand fountains (such as the Venus and Cupid / Eros fountains by the famous American sculptor Thomas Waldo Story); a picturesque lily pond and thatched summerhouse; neatly clipped yew hedges and even a topiary sundial.

A relatively new feature of the garden is an innovative area devoted to ‘land art’ or ‘earth sculpture’ where mounds of earth and ditches (echoing the earth works of Iron Age Britain on the nearby Chiltern Hills) are planted with grasses, ornamental trees and combined with tasteful water features. The many shades of green are soothing to the eye and give this part of the garden (called the Lynn Garden) a very tranquil atmosphere.

Location: Ascot House, Wing, near Leighton Buzzard, Buckinghamshire, LU7 0PS, UK

UK OSGB Map Reference: OS165:SP891230

Links: A brief description of the house and gardens, together with opening details, is given on the National Trust, Ascott House website.

© 2011 ukgardenphotos