Weir Garden , Swainshill. Feb 22

[lugg]

The Weir Garden , Herefordshire

I had thought I had previously posted a report about this garden from when I last visited a couple of years ago but if I did, I cannot find it now.
The gardens cover about 10 acres and are now owned and managed by the National Trust- (NT) . They are very informal and hug the bank of the River Wye, Herefordshire’s main river) in the main, with the walled garden and glasshouse lying slightly separately in what was a riverside meadow .

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/the-weir-garden

A little history …A Weir Estate is recorded from the reign of Henry VII in the late 15th century, but the Romans were there over 1000 years earlier; more about that later. The Weir Garden as we know it today, was originally laid out at the end of the 18th century, with the help of Humphrey Repton …

www.greatbritishgardens.co.uk/humphrey-repton.html.


In the 1920’s the new owner , Roger Parr, refreshed the gardens and added some new features .
Today the NT manages the gardens as naturally as possible to encourage wildlife, so it is not a manicured garden by any stretch of the imagination. It is quite lovely, I think, especially from February to May when all the bulbs are flowering.
The garden paths extend along various levels of the river banks. We started out by walking along the upper path towards the house and then returned along the lower paths. Map of the garden ; hopefully you will be able to enlarge it.

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51877404294_28af39549a_o.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875907364_119e90cd52_c.jpg

Here the paths are fairly close but the top path climbs steeply and soon just glimpses of the river below can be seen through the trees.

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875589421_4d8c89da87_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874626527_20782f06e5_c.jpg

One of the things that I especially enjoy is looking at the variety of magnificent trees – I am not sure what this is but it is so interesting,here is one but more to follow later,

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876231940_3daa5b1c24_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875906944_c376578621_c.jpg

From the top there are good views over West Herefordshire towards Hay Bluff and the Welsh Mountains,

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876231350_6d60a823c0_c.jpg

The crocus are flowering and some of the daffodils are starting to make an appearance ,

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874626677_f88b74df0a_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875887609_722298859b_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875647603_6f0b387317_c.jpg

We walked along past the shelter which was one of Parr’s additions,

From below, taken later

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875649908_55c5842c34_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875889654_73c49e7415_c.jpg

The rustic hut was built by Roger Parr in the 1950s. It was designed as a fisherman’s hut, a sheltered place to sit and enjoy the spectacular views in bad weather. All the materials were locally sourced or from the estate itself, and the hut was designed to blend in with the surroundings. The floor is made up of river cobbles, white quartz and horses’ teeth, the latter being used to form a letter ‘P’ for Parr. The walls are made from rough elm timbers and the seat has been decorated with split Birch to give it a truly rustic appearance.


live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875873264_f71435f350_c.jpg

A glimpse of one of the main reasons for visiting at this time of year

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875905379_a2c5bd90e2_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875587331_b5268698f1_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874592722_6db02fcded_c.jpg

Passing above the rockery , another addition made by Parr,( a closer look later)

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874626132_5243a23e0c_c.jpg
And the house –.

The mansion built in 1784 is now a private nursing home but the views from the top path take in the broad Wye Valley as it meanders from west to east across rural Herefordshire.


live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875586811_8dd53c8219_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875900574_d91b3ca6f3_c.jpg

And now the carpet of snowdrops we had come to see is revealed , so many different types …

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876227430_4e61ba0450_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875554116_3542f0e6ac_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875584501_65dc897e38_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876194705_108c747901_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875584311_6373334e9f_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875582526_ff7e8fe8d4_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874620662_88520b1095_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875659428_62ccbb67a8_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875577201_1e691aca06_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875548911_391cc91c87_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875868724_d2ba36f5f4_c.jpg

One last snowdrop pic and then time to move on to other parts of the garden,

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875870549_07db3508db_b.jpg

More to follow …

[fumobici]

Love his latest report, so beautiful for late winter. My snowdrops are just showing the first blooms. Not a spot on that show however.

[bixaorellana]

So beautiful, Lugg. The snowdrops are astounding. I love that picture with the lady in the red coat surrounded by a sea of snowdrops. But most of all I love the photograph directly after the one of the mansion. The light, the saturated yet subtle colors, but most of all your brilliant composition make it a contemplative masterpiece.

[htmb]

Really lovely!

[lugg]

Thanks guys.

Feb 13, 2022 1:28:55 GMT fumobici said:

My snowdrops are just showing the first blooms.

For some reason mine are not doing so well this year and not spreading as much as I had hoped at all. Would love to see a photo of your Fumobici.

The lady in the red coat is my sis - she's in lots of the pics I take but I dont usually post them but I did like that one. It does look as if the garden was fairly empty but in fact it was the busiest I have ever seen it. We were all of a certain age - I guess NT property on a Friday accounts for that !

[kerouac2]

I consider gardens in winter to be (almost) as interesting as in the warm seasons. You get to notice a lot more details, and the more discreet plants like the snowdrops take on much greater importance. Nobody would even notice them if they had to compete with other flowers, even the daffodils and jonquils which are next up on the list.

Your sister looks a lot like you.  

[lugg]

Thank you K2

Re my sis and I looking alike


We do .... and more so as we have aged

[lugg]

Some of the trees and bushes… most still in their Winter persona,
Butcher’s Broom

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875586501_5abfbb0aef_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875664188_9f8f4481de_c.jpg

Not particularly PC signage

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876226380_f3cbb8250e_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875901904_37ef58cf7b_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875901514_9e1f338168_c.jpg

There are several London Plane trees
live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874620322_09c30e81bc_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875866694_df7b2f459c_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874586462_45ea0d3ff6_c.jpg

This one is maybe more magnificent , although not as interesting,

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875537911_c56ce8d38c_c.jpg

I am not sure what tree this is below but it appears to be wanting to grow legs and move,

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875568436_f264b4b782_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875865909_b97400ce62_c.jpg

American oaks
live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874608932_35c13c8fc3_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874608792_58195679e9_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875667733_69cbf677fc_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876218810_e7601df1b8_c.jpg

Sacred Bamboo

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875891019_804c49f0f3_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874610802_a9e9b3fed9_c.jpg

We headed back along the river initially, towards the small rockery. The Wye is a salmon river – I have seen them before but none today the river was swollen and muddy. The fisherman’s ancient path was submerged below the water. The river wall is reinforced here to slow down erosion of the bank.

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876220245_167517d684_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876192700_4640decf99_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875657773_e9ba7048d9_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875897284_4c63eaaccd_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876221115_f4507a2809_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875578246_8cf96764c6_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875865689_fa7576e99d_c.jpg

We passed a few early flowers such as primrose, Cyclamen, Wood Anemones and various other wildflowers

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875663733_f52ded860c_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875575756_a94637927c_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874611722_2b89dd18ae_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876210545_958f8ef609_c.jpg

A pollinator was out and about on the helitrope

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875655533_de9bb3cf5a_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876187750_680793631b_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875577481_fc7ab8e153_c.jpg

The rockery ( another 1920s addition to the garden) was a little sad but had a few splashes of colour One of the Acers has died since I was last here – nice to see the twisted trunk retained within the rockery.
Highly fashionable during the twenties, rockeries were alternative and attractive features for the garden. Many exotic trees were planted around the small pools and the mossy rocks still provide a cool, damp setting for watching nature today.

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875572351_ac73d234bd_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874614017_9325dd372b_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875650623_fd224f0c6c_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876217635_6de2f2dcbf_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875892794_edb2307713_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874582067_25a25bd70a_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875652198_d22b98fafe_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875891599_37b7dbb4d2_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874611127_01ea327707_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874581542_ce4310e5ef_c.jpg

A short distance from the rockery is the Boathouse.

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875621708_5e0170e064_c.jpg

Built in 1920 and commissioned by Roger Parr, the boathouse is hugely significant at The Weir being one of only few to remain alongside the Wye-side today. Typical of the twenties era, the boathouse is constructed from reinforced concrete and was cast in situ. Parr also commissioned the build of the concrete wall, around the same time on the riverside to deter further erosion. Years of erosion and flooding began taking its toll on the boathouse and the Trust made the decision to pin it, stabilising it for the future.


live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875620383_ae4f6e6957_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875541636_287600a1e4_c.jpg


The bricks and rocks below on the edge of the bank might look quite unremarkable but they are hugely significant, as this was the sight of a Roman Villa /Shrine.
The site now occupied by The Weir has been in use for at least 2000 years. Excavations by ITV's Time Team in 2003 uncovered the fascinating remains of a large building established by the Romans, possibly by an official from nearby Kenchester town. The excavations revealed a pair of buttresses jutting out into the river which would have supported a terrace. Remains of a mosaic floor were also discovered.
Kenchester was the Roman town of Magna and is about 1km from the garden. There was also a Roman Road about half a km away. Springs arise close to the river bank and a little further up stream too.

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875889119_4d1b5beb0e_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875571606_e3629e94b8_b.jpg

Further along is a cistern, from what I have read there appears to be uncertainty whether this is Roman or Medieval.
Discovery of a cistern, 1891
The spring supplying the hydraulic ram of New Weir had dried up, and a trench was excavated parallel to the river bank to seek a fresh supply. A spring was found and in following its course workmen found their work obstructed by enormous stones at a depth of between 4 and 9ft (1.2-2.7m). The stones were broken and moved until it was noticed that the stones were carefully carved and dressed and the remainder were excavated with more care.

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874607062_f9af779b8d_b.jpg

Time to wrap up the report.

We moved on to have a quick look at the walled garden and glasshouse. Unfortunately the glasshouse was closed for repair of the floor. The three-sided walled garden dates back to the eighteenth century ; in the Summer the produce is sold to visitors to the garden.. At this time of year the walled garden was almost bare as you would expect.
The crown of our restored walled garden is the 1920s ‘Foster & Pearson’ glasshouse commissioned by Roger Parr. Prior to the nineteenth century, glasshouses were a thing of rare beauty, only attainable to the very wealthy. The combination of both window tax and glass tax made even the smallest conservatory extremely expensive.
The repeal of both window and glass tax in the late eighteen hundreds as well as new wealth brought in by the industrial revolution, glasshouses became extremely popular by the Victorian age, Queen Victoria herself commissioned several Foster & Pearson greenhouses to be built for her kitchen gardens at Windsor. Innovations in the machine tool industry, improved shipping and the reduced cost of wrought and cast iron meant small glasshouses were popping up in many middle class homes.
Parr’s restoration of the walled garden at The Weir was no exception and he spared no expense in using the same reputable company as the late Queen Victoria. After being sympathetically restored by the National Trust after years of neglect after Parr’s death in the forties, you are still able to see this wonderful feature when you visit.

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875644803_ac0257470c_c.jpg


live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875858509_137baeda18_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875644018_b49326f7ac_c.jpg

Rhubarb was sprouting

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876183035_a22bc3aba0_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875643278_28bc361030_c.jpg

A quick peek into the glasshouse

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51874577957_ee0a5a06a0_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875539006_5015864f75_c.jpg

....and had a nose into the boiler room and store rooms at the back of the walled garden ,


live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875881999_14f38cc771_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875642063_1b1c75d673_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875565206_c4264a80c7_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875564081_4881e37bf4_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875641543_d0061ca213_c.jpg


It looks as if there are plans to replace the Acer in the rockery as there were several in the quarantine area,

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875882419_1ee4d694e7_c.jpg

That’s all for now; we headed back to the car, passed some gorgeous seed heads and a once fine specimen of a tree

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875641133_d3fe38b92f_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51875538251_6e5a5f252f_c.jpg

live.staticflickr.com/65535/51876180545_fbd7523668_c.jpg


I will endeavour to return later in the year to show a different side.

[kerouac2]

Fantastic additions, and you have proven that the rest of us need to get out more and take more photos.

I really like the stump-tree. I can really imagine all of the things living in it.

[bixaorellana]

Absolutely wonderful, Lugg! You have shown beyond question that a winter garden is full of its own special and distinct delights.

(comments not necessarily in order of the pictures)
The tree portraits are out of this world.
The butcher's broom information about the fact that it has been proved to have anti-bacterial properties is really something. I guess way back in history, people managed to deduce that from observation.
To see all the small jewels after the noble trees was lovely, and what a great job of capturing them photographically on your part.
I was surprised to learn that nandina berries are poisonous to birds. It's an extremely popular -- some would say too popular plant in Louisiana, a place that is full of birds.
Your river shots are moodily artistic -- I just love them.
But the rockery -- wow! I guess the reason they're less common now is because so many of us lack vast acreage, tragically. But if I had a good-sized yard, I would really want to incorporate a rockery.
The winter heliotrope is new to me -- a lovely plant. Those irises are gorgeous and so early!
It's great how the boathouse has mossily become part of the landscape, sort of standing in for whatever is gone from Roman times. I cringed at the initial mistreatment of that cistern.
How many of us had deep flashes of envy for that glasshouse?

Well, I have babbled on enough even without mentioning everything that I enjoyed in this quite beautiful and informative report. Looking forward to the next chapter -- thank you!

[bjd]

It's great that you have a place to visit that not only has all kinds of plants, but lots of interesting historical things. How many people over the years would have known that those stones were originally part of a Roman house?

[cheerypeabrain]

Lovely. I admit to drooling becomingly over the glasshouse and walled garden...looks like spring has arrived there...Not much is happening here yet.

[lugg]

Thank you all

I wondered about Nandina berries and found this article ; it seems that they are particularly toxic when eaten in quantity and even a small amount can make birdfs and other animals ill.

ar.audubon.org/news/nandina-berries-kill-birds#:~:text=Nandina%20berries%20contain%20cyanide%20and,extremely%20poisonous%20to%20all%20animals.&text=Hydrogen%20cyanide%20is%20a%20painful,cats%2C%20and%20many%20other%20animals.

[fumobici]

More late-winter loveliness! And thank you for including the signage, it really adds a lot for me.

[lugg]

Thank you Fumobici - How are your snowdrops doing ?

[fumobici]

Feb 23, 2022 18:28:54 GMT lugg said:

Thank you Fumobici - How are your snowdrops doing ?

Can't see them, they are buried in snow 

[lugg]

Oh no - hopefully it will melt soon and you will see them in all their glory .