Thursday 16 January 2014

Winter Garden

Hello Lovelies,
After I had battled around the supermarket this morning I decided , on the spur of the moment , to stop off  and enjoy the sunshine. I parked in the shade and reasoned my frozen food would survive O.K. on this chilly day.

Will you come for a wander with me, past the church and the huge old Yew trees.......


Out into the glorious sunshine that was bathing this wonderful spot in beautiful light.........


I always considered gardens to be pretty boring in winter, my own garden is not a very appealing place right now. But this garden is different. It's got so much interest all year round.
 There are beautiful ornaments in raised beds, berries and blossom........


There are interesting shapes in the evergreen shrubs..........



And without all the showy flowers the foliage really grabs your attention.........


I came to visit this garden in June and this gateway charmed me. The contrast in January is huge , but it still looks wonderful..........


In summer this area is dark and shady, but right now it's so light and airy........


I loved the long shadows and the backdrop..........


And even in the depths of winter there are the tiny shoots of snowdrops emerging.........


And simple, unassuming plants like heather , are bringing a little winter joy.........


The archway is bare but still looks lovely.........


And it frames this view.........


The bare branched  Beech walk is flooded with sunshine........



This is a memorial garden and all the trees , roses and structures are dedicated to the memory of a lost loved one. I don't focus on the little plaques, but I think it's a special way of remembering ....and adding to this gorgeous garden..........


The time was 11.40 am so the sundial was not far off in it's time keeping...........


In this sunny, south facing garden even the odd rose still blooms..........



and the buds are swelling on the glossy Camellia bush........


The structure of the bare trees is lovely..........


and the light shows off  the texture of the bark  beautifully............


The yellow Witch Hazel flowers  look stunning in close up............


And the delicate blooms of the winter flowering Cherry looked so pretty against the blue sky.........


I was awed by all the wonderful sights I enjoyed on this cold January day and really didn't want to leave.
I sat a moment to think quietly and imprint the moment in my memory............


Then it was time to head back through the archway , drive home and unload the shopping..........


It was a wonderful 20 minutes of solitude.

You can see a visit  I made to this garden in June HERE ( scroll down ).....I love to watch the changing seasons and the beautiful contrasts that the natural world displays.

Jacquie x

28 comments:

  1. What a lovely garden, winters good for us gardeners as we see the structure and make any changes. We had some lovely sunshine here this morning, I'm not yet tempted however to get in the garden! :) x

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  2. Beautiful :-) Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Beautiful post Jacquie. How wonderful that you took the time to "Smell the roses".

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  4. Wonderful to be able to see such natural beauty in the otherwise darkest months of the year - thanks Jacquie! Jane x

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  5. I love your mid week walks and this as usual was wonderful. I love the cherry blossom and how different the garden looks in it's summer finery too! Sarah x

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  6. What lovely garden, loved the walk through you did.

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  7. It looks a lovely day to have visited a lovely garden. Sunshine has been quite rare around here - although watching Matt play hockey on Tuesday was very pleasant, if a little chilly!
    My garden is looking very neglected. It has been so wet, even when the rain has stopped, I can't do anything out there - but plants are beginning to grow. I can't wait to have a couple of hours pottering around, tidying up. I hope it dries out a bit very soon. x

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  8. What a beautiful place to visit, and the gate is interesting. I could see myself sitting on the wooden bench and reading a good book or knitting.

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  9. I can't believe that you have cherry blossom! I am looking forward to seeing mine coming to life soon. Thanks for taking us on your sunny walk. It's pouring down with rain here x

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  10. Thanks so much for taking us along on your walk. This place looks absolutely gorgeous and I do hope you and your shopping will invite us along again maybe as spring emerges?

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  11. A beautiful place to take a walk and enjoyed going with you ☺

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  12. Such a beautiful garden Jacquie! I love walking around old churchyards and seeing the trees and things and then to have this garden to walk round as well must be lovely. Amazing to see the cherry blossom already coming out - that seems every early this year. xx

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  13. How absolutely beautiful, it really is such a stunning place. I love the yew trees, I have a bit of a thing for them. And camellias too, they're wonderful, and how nice to see those buds geting ready. A fantastic antidote to the supermarket!

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  14. Gorgeous :-) You've captured so much beauty in your photos

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  15. Wonderful photos, thank you for including us in your walk around the garden! I love the garden at this time of year, just before the spring buds start bursting, these are the quiet winter days when you first catch glimpses of spring stirring, buds starting to fatten, shoots peeking through soil...thank you for sharing! Chrissie x

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  16. Beautiful I really enjoyed that, so good to see the sign of Spring, the blossom was gorgeous
    Clare x

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  17. It's looking very spring like in that garden - and I'm ready for it! I hate winter xx

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  18. Wow wow wow. I love it and I can't even imagine it in spring. I wished I could come experience it. :)

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  19. Jacquie, I can easily see why you decided to park the car and linger a while in this lovely garden. Thank you for taking your camera along with you, and for sharing these beautiful green spaces with us. Roses in January!

    xo

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  20. Gorgeous, beautiful pictures. Thanks for the wonderful, sunny tour. Have a great weekend.

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  21. What a lovely place
    Julie xxxxxxx

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  22. That was a lovely walk- thanks for inviting us along! It's nice to give yourself s reward for doing the supermarket shop!

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  23. What a lovely walk. Here in beautiful downtown Australia, we've been having heatwaves in the south. It has been searingly hot. The coolness of your northern winter holds a great deal of appeal. 41C does not!

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  24. Thank you for inviting me to join you on your wonderful walk Jacquie - I have had so much pleasure from it and must just say that those beautiful gates look really enticing, like there's some magical happening about to take place in there! And is that rose Green? Really? Hugs, Joy x

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    Replies
    1. Hi Joy, thank you for your comment.
      The Rose was a very acid yellow tinged with green....unfortunately it didn't have a label so I don't know what it's called....but I expect it's name is "green something" :0)
      Jacquie x

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