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Gardens To See Snowdrops

January 10, 2011 By 1 Comment
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It may be cold, wet and miserable out there, but I am eagerly awaiting to welcome one of my favourite things- the magnificent snowdrop!

© Nita Joy Design

Snowdrop just a note to say © Nita Joy Design

In the run up to Christmas, when things can be a tad stressful, I think ahead to the little beauty that will soon be growing in their thousands, bravely pushing through the snow and ice, to find their beloved daylight.

This year I have been looking out of the window each day, searching for the first delicate green shoots of this pretty flower in my front garden, but due to the extreme weather we have been having, my freshly laid bulbs I planted last year, may find their first year of growth a little difficult.

If you love snowdrops or don’t know what all the fuss is about, I invite you to check out my latest blog on – Birds On The Blog looking at the lovely snowdrop, giving suggestions of gardens to visit in the UK, to admire their beauty.

You can find the post here – One Of My Favourite Things

If you love snowdrops, we have a selection of greeting cards, kitchen splashback….

If you have a favourite place that you like visiting to see snowdrops, and it isn’t mentioned in the blog post, please leave a comment, as I always love finding new places – and it’s great to share with others.

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A visit to the Royal Botanical Kew Gardens

April 20, 2010 By 2 Comments
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I visited Kew Gardens many years ago and it has been on my list of must see gardens to visit this year.

As spring is well and truly here, this is a great opportunity to visit this beautiful large garden to admire the spring bulbs, cherry blossom and magnolias.

I visited the 300 acre gardens last week, with my husband, best friend and her children, and had a fabulous day.

If you visit before the 31st April you can join a free guided walk – The darling buds of April to get the most from your visit. Pick up a guide and / or map when you enter the gardens as you will need this.

For children they have a special play area to help run off some steam, but the gardens are so large that there is plenty of space to run around in.

The children enjoyed looking at all the flowers, leaves and also the exquisite peacock!

Kew Gardens Peacock

My husband loved seeing the gardens, but particularly enjoyed the roast pork and apple roll for lunch!

There is plenty to see and do on a day visit, but in order to get the most out of your trip to the gardens, it’s best seen over a few days. It’s definitely a garden to see in each season, to truly benefit from their planting schemes.

I really wanted to visit the Treetop walk but unfortunately the lift wasn’t working, but hoping to visit another time as this looks wonderful.

Favourite areas:

One of the favourite parts of my daytrip was seeing the wonderful fritillary area which can be seen on the Princess walk. This area is fenced off to protect these wonderful delicate flowers, but you can still get a great view of them, as seen in our video clip.

You can also see these flowers alongside the river walk.

Dotted around the gardens are lovely areas of cherry blossom and magnolias. If you visit soon, you will receive a leaflet highlighting areas of the garden to see them. Japanese Garden kew Gardens

The Japanese Garden was a favourite of mine on a previous visit and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed this time. It’s a very peaceful area, with very thoughtful planting, a place to sit and contemplate.

Many of the specialist daffodils have finished for this year, but there is a wonderful area next to the palm house, full with narcissus, tulips etc… don’t miss this!

Planting outside the Palm House Kew Gardens

Due to the wide variety of planting you can see beautiful plants and be up close and personal with nature, keep an eye out for the parakeets! While we were there we had a wonderful sighting of a green woodpecker.

Because the gardens are so large, I wasn’t able to visit the  Palm House, Temperate House or Princess of Wales Conservatory , as I was focussing on spring colour. I hope to visit again soon so that I can see the areas missed.

The Temperate House is in need of funds to restore the beautiful building. If you would like to make a donation please visit -The Temperate House appeal

Kew Gardens Millennium Seed Bank also run an adopt a seed programme, helping to preserve and keep seeds that are becoming rarer. We can make a difference in raising funds for this very important inititive. If you would like to know more about their work please visit – Adopt a seed, save a species website

Have you visited Kew Gardens?  What are your favourite areas?


Prices:

Adult: £13.50

Concessions: £11:30

Children: Free.

Kew Garden offer a yearly or lifetime membership scheme

Accessibility:

Kew Gardens has a very helpful website to help you plan your visit.

If you have a disability / mobility issues, they have a fantastic service where you can hire an electric mobility scooter, which is free, but a donation would help keep this service available. The paths around the gardens are smooth and wide, so using a wheelchair should present no problems.

For more details – Kew Gardens visitor information

To help plan your visit:

Kew Gardens have an interactive map – Explore Kew , to help you decide which areas to concentrate on.

Parking:

Parking is limited, so travelling by public transport is a good idea, especially in busy holiday times.

Video taken by Matt Hunt

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Crocuses

March 1, 2010 By 2 Comments
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In the language of flowers the Crocus stands for cheerfulness!

I think this has a wonderful meaning; can you not help but smile when you see their stunning display? I can’t.

I was looking for some new areas to find the crocus treat last year. Matt (my husband) came back one day from work and took me for a surprise trip to Kinson in Bournemouth. I must admit, I wondered why Kinson was the place to be that particular day, but I was told to shut my eyes as we came to a gradual stop in the car. All of a sudden he said ‘open your eyes’ and there before me was a purely blissful sight to see. It was like a sweetshop for crocuses, in shades of lilac, blue, yellow and white.  These beautiful flowers were planted in their hundreds around a couple of trees in a urban area. I don’t know if they were planted by the council gardeners, or if a gardener planted it as a surprise for their neighbours, for whatever reason it was gorgeous and I can’t wait to make a return visit.

crocuses

Here is some information about the crocus

Crocus – plural Crocuses or Croci is a perennial flowering plant

They grow in Europe, North Africa, Asia.

There are more than 100 species!

There are three types of Crocus – Early spring, late spring and autumn flowering

crocuses

Early spring flowering Crocus flowers from February and March.

Late spring flowering Crocus flowers from March to April (these tend to be Dutch Crocuses.) crocuses

This variety tends to be larger than the early spring and autumn varieties.

Autumn Flowering Crocus called the Colchicum is also referred to as Meadow Saffron, but don’t try adding this to your cooking as it is poisonous, just admire their beauty. These flower from September through to November and quite easy to grow.

There is a wonderful display of colours found in the Crocus family. Like the Snowdrop and Bluebell they are beautiful singly, but are also amazing in large numbers grouped together.

Crocuses are wonderful planted under and around trees, lawns, borders and in containers. When you visit the garden centre around spring time, you will often see lovely displays of this lovely flower grouped together with other spring bulbs such as daffodils.

You may have also spotted in various shops gift sets including this pretty flower; you can grow them inside for a little colour too – this could be an idea for a Christmas gift!

If you want to create a natural look when planting your crocuses, gardeners often advise that you drop them carefully onto the area you wish to plant them, and plant the bulbs where they land for a less formal look.

The good news is that the Crocus doesn’t usually fall foul to disease, but they are a tasty treat for squirrels and rabbits! If squirrels and / or rabbits are nibbling your crocus bulbs, try planting the bulbs deeper in the soil.

If you want to know what the weather will be like, you can usually spot the signs displayed by your flowers. On a bright sunny day you will see the crocus shining brightly for all to see. When it is a wet dull day, they tend to close their bowl shaped petals.

To see some lovely samples of crocuses that you can buy, then please visit  - Rare Plants

Where to see the Crocus?

  • Most towns will have an area for the popular crocus, so ask around and see if someone can share their favourite places to go.
  • As with snowdrops, old church grounds are often a good place to see Crocuses
  • Broadleigh Gardens in Somerset
  • The Garden House in Devon
  • Kew Gardens in Surrey. (Have a look and see their amazing crocus carpet)
  • Any of the RHS Gardens are a good place to visit. Wisley again has the national collection, and is a must visit garden!
  • National Trust Gardens such as Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire

Why not help raise money for the Breakthrough Cancer Charity, by participating in, or organising a crocus walk. For more details please see Crocus walk

Where is your favourite place to admire crocuses?

If you love crocuses we have a crocus greeting card and crocus totebag in our online shop.

We also have a crocus print available as a mounted, framed or canvas print.

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A visit to East Lambrook Manor Gardens

February 23, 2010 By 3 Comments
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Do you like snowdrops?

If your reply was yes, then I recommend a visit to East Lambrook Manor Gardens in Somerset.

As a part of a new series looking at various gardens to visit throughout the seasons of the year, we visited this garden while we were away on holiday last week.

East Lambrook Manor has been a garden that I have wanted to visit for a long time.

Margery Fish’s garden style is seen as a true example of English cottage gardening, with many gardeners eager to learn from her experience and plant expertise, adding to their garden designs.

In her book ‘A Flower For Every Day’ first published in 1964, Graham Rice who wrote the book’s foreword in 2000, described Margery’s gardening style as -

‘She believed that even in gardens of relatively modest size and limited resources, plants should, and could, be chosen to provide flowers and a fascinating garden prospect on every day of the year.’

(Quote from A Flower For Every Day, Author Margery Fish, Foreword by Graham Rice, year 2000,  B.T Batsford)

As our gardens get smaller, we can apply these same principles in our gardens today.

This garden holds a specialist collection of snowdrops and geraniums.

There have been three new varieties of snowdrops discovered since the year 2000 with the wonderfully named –

  • Galanthus Dodo Norton in 2000,
  • Galanthus Lambrook Greensleeves in 2001
  • and last but not least the Galanthus Sir Henry B-C in 2006

Garden details:

Entry price – £4.50.  RHS Members – Free (February, March, September, October)

Opening times – 10 am – 5 pm

Everyday throughout February and May- 17th July

Tuesday – Saturday throughout March – April and 20th July – October

Please check with them before you travel

Disabled Access – It has limited disabled access as it is a small garden with small paths and has a terraced and gravel areas. The area known as the Ditch and woodland area is suitable for wheelchairs and those with limited mobility. They have a detailed disability access statement, for those wishing to know more.

There is also a unisex disabled toilet.

Plant Nursery they have a small plant shop, with a variety of plants grown in the garden.

Parking there is a free car park across a small road in front of the gardens, with some disabled spaces.

Eating facilities there is a small café that offers coffee, fruit juices and cake.

There is a wonderful pub  - The Rose and Crown which is 5 mins walk away which offers a warm, friendly service with a wonderful menu that has options for gluten free, vegetarian and vegan meals.

I had  a yummy cauliflower, broccoli and cheese bake and Matt had what he calls the best steak and kidney pie he has ever had!

Review

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the garden. We were fortunate in that the weather was also lovely after a week of rain and snow. The collection of snowdrops was wonderful to see, and to be able to learn about the many different varieties made the visit even more special.

We loved the Galanthus Nivalis Blewbury Tart

and the pretty Galanthus Primrose Walburg that had yellow ovary (The section at the top of the flower head).

If you want to learn more about snowdrops, then I highly recommend this garden.

It’s not a garden to see thousands of snowdrops, but one that shows these beautiful plants in the best light.  It’s not really a garden for young children as it is a small specialist garden, with small paths.

Due to the cold weather we have been having, snowdrops have been quite late this year, so there is still time to admire this beauty.

There was also a magnificent display of crocuses on the manor’s front lawn, so don’t miss this lovely display surrounding the tree.

As this is a specialist plants garden, this garden deserves a visit throughout the seasons of the year.

They are in the middle of restoring the gardens, so we are looking forward to seeing the changes over time.

We will be back for a return visit.

Garden address:

East Lambrook Manor Gardens,

South Petherton,

Somerset

TA13 5HH

Multi-map


I was recently given a flip video as a birthday present and I will be using it to show highlights of our garden visits.

I have put together a small video to give you a little insight into what you can expect from the garden. I apologise for the video as it’s my first attempt (I got a bit carried away with the word variety LOL, and hoping to improve the quality) but I hope it is useful to you.

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