A Magical Garden

Hello Lovelies,

do make yourselves comfy, this is a rather long post :0)

Last Thursday I decided not to walk with the group, but to take advantage of the hot and sunny weather forecast to have a little day trip with mum. At this time of year I always get a sense of " it's now or never....or at least now or next year" about certain visiting places that are on my list. Especially gardens.

We set off late morning  and stopped briefly on the way to admire the late summer landscape.........

For several years mum and I have intended to visit Easton Walled Gardens. Just the name of it sounds romantic don't you think...or is that just me :0)

After paying to get in, the first plants we saw were these beautifully displayed Cyclamen and scented geraniums........

Things were looking promising and the entrance to the actual gardens was delightful too.......

We walked through the shadows and a dark archway, and emerged into bright sunshine......

Oh sigh....this is called the velvet border ( eek), and even though it's getting late in the gardening season it was still looking lovely.........

Easton's gardens have been here in some form for over 400 years. Sadly the hall that stood here till the 1950's was demolished after it was used by the army in world war two and became badly damaged. You can read a little of it's history HERE.

Mum and I stood for a while and tried to figure out how it might have looked, where it actually stood.......

With the aid of a map which outlined to site of the lost hall in red we surmised that the spot the above photo was taken was about where the number 3 was on the map.............

the velvet border is number 2

It was so tempting to explore further straight away, but we were also feeling rather peckish. So we followed to map as it directed us past pretty buildings.........

To the Tea room.........

And we sat outside in the sunshine to enjoy a cream tea............

Oh, how I loved the mugs with their bird illustrations....especially the delightful Blue Tit.......

Feeling refreshed and revived we headed towards the next area of the gardens. The Pickery......

Love that name too. In this case it means a cut flower garden....some where to pick flowers.

Easton is famous for it's sweet peas. Here they had all finished flowering and one of the gardeners was carefully collecting the seed..........

It might not have been a good time to see the sweet peas, but happily there were still loads of beautiful flowers in bloom.

The Dahlias were simply stunning........

And the Zinnias, and many others I don't know the names of.........

The alpine bed was a complete contrast and looked bare in comparison, but how I loved this beautiful Houseleek.........

Here I also spotted some steps that seemed a little too tempting to resist...........

They gave a great view across the pickery.........

Next we headed off to explore the cottage garden, the greenhouses and the vegetable garden........

They were so attractive , with flowers spilling from every available space.
And Easton seemed to have so many unusual varieties. These amazing saucer shaped Cosmos caught our eye.........

After a little ( ok quiet a bit ) of googling I've discovered this is a new variety called Cupcakes:0)

As well as pretty flowers there were lots of delightful buildings and features..........

The old looking greenhouses were so attractive too. This one had Tomatoes grown with Marigolds.
And a huge geranium.........It's size reminded me of those you see in the Mediterranean......

and it's white edged petals were so pretty.........

I think this photo gives you an impression of the secluded valley that this garden sits in......

The warm sunshine and the gentle September light made every corner look wonderful......

Here we admired the tidy and productive vegetable garden..........

And on the canes of largely dead Sweet Peas there was even the odd, beautiful example, still flowering......

By now mum was getting a bit tired and we headed off to find her somewhere to sit and sketch.

Passing the formal gardens I tried to resist taking a good look...no save that bit for later Jacquie :0)

Mum found a suitable spot and I headed off to explore further. I loved this impressive Cedar tree.....

The shade it gave and the view of the Gatehouse from here......

It even had a lovely swing with an inscription I didn't recognise....but sort of guessed it would be Shakespeare........

But Then there was a star danced, and under that I was born. 

Behind the tree I found a mum with her baby, like you do :0)..........

Aren't these giraffes adorable, they looked perfect in the setting and the dappled shadows here were so pretty........

Easton also has a little cabin you can hire for the day.....

another lovely idea.

Heading back towards the house, the gardens became more formal.......

And I said hello to mum as I passed..........

 Now it was time to explore the terraces and the actual walled garden.

Having done a little research on the gardens on-line before our visit I had seen this view in many reviews....and I hadn't really grabbed me.

But standing here I was transported to another time. As I walked down the steps my imagination was turning me into a cross between Cinderella and Elizabeth Bennett :0)..........

For the sake of reality here I am , plain old Jacquie maybe , but feeling the magic of a special place on a perfect sunny day seeping into my soul...........

I was so happy it was quiet here, only a chap in a sun hat sat reading his paper in the distance....

 Or was he nodding in the warm afternoon sun?

Here a beautiful bridge crosses the river Whitham.........

and on the other side I walked along the crunchy gravel path.......

Admiring the Rudbeckias........

and Michaelmas Daisies...........

Here a ancestor of the Cholmeley family, who still own the gardens, has their Initials in the wrought iron gate.........

And then I was walking in the walled gardens. I loved the French looking buildings here.......

and the pale stone walls added to the continental feel.........

The flowers looked very happy here, especially on such a beautiful day.........

Up the centre of the garden there was a shady yew walk, such a contrast to the brightness of the rest of the garden.........

I didn't stay in there for long, preferring the greenness and the views of the rest of the space.
 Fruit trees have been planted in parts. Though they are still small.........

The roses dispersed throughout a meadow area were more established..........

And mown paths through the long grass made a perfect, secluded spot to lie on the grass a while.....

and gaze up at the tiniest of clouds constantly changing shape in the bright blue sky.......

I could hear crickets in the grass and the hum of traffic on the nearby busy A1 . Yes, this is not the most silent spot, but for me the background noise was not too intrusive. In fact I hardly registered it most of the time.

Back on the gravel path I was once more attracted to the flowers........

As were the bees and butterflies..........

Perfect late summer colours.........

and towering sunflowers..........

Back across the bridge and a look at the stream sized river............

So much work has been done here to welcome wildlife as  much a as people. It's not about manicured lawns and formal beds these days, more about helping nature and rediscovering features that were lost when the garden lay neglected for over 50 years.

Much of it turned into dense woodland and some of this has been left untouched. With just small paths through the trees............

and hides..........

to observe wild birds on feeders. Lots of Blue tits were visiting the perches...along with Nuthatches...sorry it's a rubbish photo..........

and lots of Finches on the ground.............

Aware I had been wandering happily for some time I decided it was time to climb back up the hill. The amount of Rose hips here was amazing.........

Ooooh, just time for another quick wander through the pickery :0).........

Past the tearoom........



and a very quick visit to the history room.

Here you can see how the hall looked in the early 20th century in the top photo.......

 And then how the garden looked from the same viewpoint in 2002!

The transformation in just over a decade is certainly impressive.

Back up near the gatehouse mum was just adding the finishing touches to her watercolour sketch........

Just time to admire a few more flowers, like this gorgeous purple Clematis.........

and have another look at the Velvet border.........

I loved the Fennel plants here. This is a rubbish photo too, but I loved their umbrellifer shape and their amazing scent which reminded me of a mixture of aniseed and liquorice........

I do hope the next time I smell that scent I will be momentarily be transported back to a warm September day , and the delights of Easton Walled gardens.

It certainly was the perfect day for our first visit. By 3pm the light was getting even better and as mum said, having to leave was like having to leave the beach on a warm day, before the tide was all the way in :0)

Here's the view from mums deck chair......

and Here's her sunny sketch of the scene.........

Apparently U.S. president Franklin D Roosevelt spent part of his honeymoon here and described the garden as it was then as " A dream of Nirvana....almost too good to be true" . 

Mum and I were both thoroughly enchanted by the place and I do hope we can revisit it in future. 

Jacquie x