|
Post by breeze on Jul 5, 2016 19:04:43 GMT
bixa, the tv series is called Sissinghurst. 8 parts, BBC4. It's not on Netflix, unfortunately, and the BBC seems to have blocked it.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 6, 2016 7:05:40 GMT
Beau-ti-ful!! I must go back to Britain one day. It looks as if it doesn't rain all the time, after all. Thank you, Amboseli! Everyone talked about the excessive rain that England had before I got there, but I can't believe my luck in getting such good weather for that tour. The very last garden visit had rain threatening, but we finished right before it hit. Really, there is something to be said for the soft light of cloudy days. Breeze, thanks for that. I looked it up and can't even find it for sale anywhere. But at least I know the name now & can keep trying. www.imdb.com/title/tt1380646/combinedLet's continue on through Great Dixter ~
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2016 15:47:16 GMT
I'm just now catching up on this. I am alarmed by the amount of vermin in some of the flowers in reply #23. That is probably not good for them. The flowers themselves are lovely of course.
I have to admit at risk of being stoned that I had never heard of either of these places due to the fact that I have never taken much interest in gardens as such. If a certain amount of burgeoning interest can be perceived in my posts as the years go by, it is thanks to our numerous Anyport gardening fans (although I have almost given up hope of ever seeing casimira's garden which always sounds absolutely fantastic even if it isn't a 'public' garden). I know that certain places around the world are considered to be gardening paradises, but England seems to top them all, at least during the (northern) summer months.
And I am continuing to appreciate the architecture in these photos just as much as the plants.
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 6, 2016 19:31:19 GMT
I LOVE this thread....I adore Sissinghurst and have visited it a couple of times. Never been to Great Dixter but have a few of Christopher Lloyd's books that I drool over on a regular basis. I'm so glad that you liked them Bixa X next time you visit I can give you a private tour of my grounds >snort< (as in tiny back yard)
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jul 6, 2016 21:18:37 GMT
Your photos are quite stunning, Bixa!
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 6, 2016 21:34:01 GMT
Kerouac, the "vermin" are put there as ornamentation, rather like jet beads against a crepe blouse. Since you've never had the opportunity to garden in a plot of dirt, you've missed all those books and magazines that introduce those of us with grubby fingernails and great expectations to the world of gardening on a grand scale. More architecture coming up, but no interiors. Pictures were not allowed inside Great Dixter manor, although the docent let me sneak one out of the upstairs window. The ceiling of the great hall is 40' high. Check this out. Cheery thank you!! It would be the highest privilege and pleasure to have a tour of the Cheeryhurst manor grounds.. I still cannot believe my luck in getting to see these places and somehow completely missing bad weather. In which seasons did you visit Sissinghurst?
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 6, 2016 21:54:46 GMT
Thank you so much, Htmb! And now for some ~ architecture ~
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2016 22:06:10 GMT
That building is crooked.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 6, 2016 22:07:10 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mich64 on Jul 7, 2016 0:53:05 GMT
Well, I am now relaxed from taking the time to go through picture by picture. I can appreciate how amazing this place must have been for you Bixa!
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Jul 7, 2016 12:57:38 GMT
I have never been on a 'Garden Tour' as such but have visited many public gardens in England. I am so pleased to go along on this tour with you Bixa! The garden at Sissinghurst is magnificent and you captured those poppies to perfection. In reply #23, the third photo of some strange green discs with darker green blotches has me puzzled. I would dearly love to know what plant they are. Were you in a tour group?
Great Dixter seemed the nicer garden as far as groupings of flowers went - only judged by your excellent snaps Bixa! Far for colour and I liked the buildings better. I bet you never felt 'seen one garden, seen them all - ?
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Jul 8, 2016 1:11:41 GMT
More exquisite English gardening magic. This is what my yard might look like if I had an unlimited budget. Thank you bixa for sharing these beautiful photos.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jul 8, 2016 5:56:52 GMT
Tod, those "green blotches with seeds visible" are Lunaria: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LunariaI have seen them in France used as dry flowers for decorative purposes. The French call them "monnaie du pape".
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Jul 8, 2016 13:54:56 GMT
You're a star bjd! I will see if I can get some here or maybe in Paris during our holiday.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 8, 2016 23:05:15 GMT
Mich, thank you so much! Yes, it truly was everything I'd hoped for and more besides. Thank you dear Tod. So true that each garden held different charms. It would be almost impossible to pick a favorite, but certainly each one had favorite aspects for me. I'm glad Bjd IDed the plant for you, since it took me so long to answer here. I saw a purple version of it somewhere else, too. Yes, it was a garden coach tour and I could not have been more pleased with it. I've never done anything like that before, but would definitely sign up to do another with that company. We were given several hours at each garden and did not go around in a clump -- each person wandered on her/his own. Our guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable and our accommodations were lovely. I'll be happy to send you the information, if you'd like. Thank you for your appreciation, Fumobici. I'm sure any garden you create is gorgeous. Thanks for the ID, Bjd. I've always heard them called either by their true name or "money plant". They're pretty and silvery when dry.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2016 0:32:43 GMT
They do seem to cheat a bit with the flower pots. There must be a huge storage area somewhere.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Jul 9, 2016 6:29:03 GMT
Aah, you noticed that too Kerouac. I didn't think of it as cheating so much but as more of a demonstration to gardeners with teeny places to grow things that this is an alternative to what one can achieve.
Bixa - thanks for the answer about your tour. I would very much like some details in a PM if you like or here.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 9, 2016 14:08:28 GMT
Kerouac, I was waiting for someone to mention that. Tod mentioned one reason for using pots that way, but really, the possibilities are endless. Almost every good gardener I've ever known utilizes pots in addition to growing things in the soil. You can actually make what I jokingly call "fake gardens" with groups of pots, either because the plants need special conditions or because you want to expand &/or modify the contours of your garden areas. You can see that in the first picture in ##36, where the pot groupings expand, soften, and enrich the shrubbery planted at either side of the front door. There are quite a few other examples shown throughout the thread. Re: storage area -- yes, although I only show minimal parts of it in #31. There a are greenhouses and raised beds with things started in them. Tod, I'll send you the details and answer any questions I can. One of the ladies on the tour, a retired professional gardener, has used the company multiple times -- in fact was already booked on another of their tours to Orkney. It is a Scottish company called Brightwater Holidays.
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Jul 9, 2016 19:18:46 GMT
That money plant has always been called "honesty" here.
I am so pleased to see how thrilled you are by these gardens, I am no gardener as you know. I simply did as I was directed by my "better half", so without her i am lost, that is why my garden is a wilderness. And laziness of course.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 16, 2016 17:50:45 GMT
Apologies for the late answer, Mossie. Thanks for the "honesty". I know that name too, but couldn't think of it for the life of me. " Thanks so much for getting how happy seeing the gardens made me. As for your "wilderness", you should know from my respyonses to your garden pictures how much of a fan I am of your garden's continuing evolution.
|
|
|
Post by breeze on Jul 27, 2016 10:49:08 GMT
More to come from your garden tour, I hope?
This reminded me of the trip I took with my mother to see English gardens one May. We saw 32 gardens in 16 days. By the end of the trip my mother was sick of gardens and I'm pretty sure she was sick of me. I thought of it as a well-planned trip, but we never knew where we'd be spending the night so it may have been a little iffy for Mom.
Mossie and you other modest gardeners, we people who love gardens don't find fault with any gardens but our own.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 27, 2016 12:57:16 GMT
More to come, you ask? Ha ha ha ~ yes indeedy-doo! I have been fighting with OneDrive for the last couple of days, but I think I now have access to my frighteningly large number of pictures. I'm all set to show Kew, although that was one I saw on my own, not on the tour.
Breeze, you managed to plan an English garden tour of 32 gardens in 16 days?!! I am awash in admiration! I can kind of understand how your mother felt, as trekking to each site along with the overwhelming of the senses in each garden plus getting to a hotel each evening is a bunch to take in. Still, once in England it's impossible not to be greedy for as much garden as one can get.
|
|
|
Post by lugg on Jul 27, 2016 20:32:02 GMT
Just caught up with the second half of this post Bixa - it is so wonderful I have never been to either garden but would love to of course . I agree how you might describe great Dixter as messy - (eg No 2 of post 23 really had me puzzled .. I kept looking at it from every angle to try to understand the planting)but its so on trend at the moment , not that that matters. my current love is the everlasting pea and I was trying to work out if some in both gardens were of that type rather than the annual sweet pea?? I am with Mossie re the usual English name of Honesty Often seen here in the wild, flower -usually purple flowers at first - then to that green translucence shown in your photos Bixa and finally to the silver decorative dried flower. Its a proper Victorian flower and reminds me of my Grandma and Great Grandma who always had some of the dried variety in vases. I think I spotted some of the white variety at Sissinghurst . Going to revisit this thread often - a joy - thank you.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Aug 8, 2016 19:54:04 GMT
Terribly late reply to your generous comments, Lugg -- apologies!
I wish I'd known about your interest in the everlasting pea, as I could have asked someone what types were grown in each garden. I think I've only grown sweet peas once and that was years ago, although I do love them.
So true what you say about the old fashioned flowers being a constant source of pleasure and nostalgia. Every hydrangea I saw in Europe made me think about my grandmother and how I wished she could have seen them. The only one of my great-grandmothers whom I knew was renowned for her irises. Maybe that's why I took such a psychotic number of iris pictures in Wakehurst. Those will be foisted upon you all in the near future.
Again, thank you for the greatly appreciated feedback.
|
|