Monday, July 23, 2012

Travels to the west

M and I have just returned from a few days in Worcestershire. We enjoyed Worcester and spent considerable time looking at the stained glass in the cathedral: particularly impressive was the west window, depicting creation and the fall; this picture doesn't do it justice.

We also spent an afternoon in Stratford on Avon and attended an evening performance of The Comedy of Errors at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre - a really superb production.

On the way home, we were also able to stop at Fibrex and I know have a beautiful collection of ferns in my garden ... more details to follow.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Travels to the East ...

of England, that is.

My wife and I both have relatives in Norfolk, with the result that we travel to the East of England quite regularly, however we rarely break our journey for anything other than a quick cup of tea. This time was different, though.

On our journey down we stopped at Bressingham gardens. This is an excellent garden which, although it appears quite small on the outside, turns out to be quite extensive. They have an excellent collection of ferns, with many cultivars. Osmunda spp were a particular delight, with O. regalis, O. purpurens and O. regalis grandiceps. There were also many Dryopteris spp (which are my personal favourite) and also a range of Polysticum cultivars. Well worth a visit - we didn't have time to look at the steam exhibits - you should allow several hours to really look round properly.

On the return journey we stopped at Anglesea Abbey Gardens (National Trust). A very well laid-out set of gardens within very extensive grounds. M was a bit disappointed that there were lots of hedges and not enough flowers, but again the ferns were very fine. It's a large estate and although we walked for about two hours, we ran out of time before we'd seen half of it.


I'd love to be able to include pictures, but I just can't seem to get into the habit of taking a camera with me!