Tuesday's Walk

Yesterday's walk  at Trentham Gardens was all about Lambs and Swans with a few other birds heard up in the woodland.  It was a beautiful morning so fresh and green after the rain the day before.

We brought the Merlin bird song identifier into use and along the paths up at the top of the estate we heard Jackdaw, Robin, Blackbird, Wren, Chiff Chaff, Blackcap and Jay.  Later down near the lake we heard Greylag geese, Blue tits, Coots, and Common Reed Warblers.  Up in the trees a woodpecker was tip-tapping but for some reason,  this didn't seem to register on the App.

It was lambing time on the Estate and we saw quite a few lambs.

The sheep are brought into the lambing area from the field when lambs are due.

There are a mixture of Jacob and Herdwicks.

Back down by the lake there were lots of swans.  

Quite a gathering in fact.

Whilst in the formal garden the tulips were looking wonderful.

I love all the different colours together

Such a cheerful sight.

In the Garden

 In the garden we've been pleased to see blossom on the small plum tree.  We planted this one after we had to take down the old plum tree at the top of the garden because it was diseased and was becoming unstable.

The new tree has grown from a plum stone taken from the fruit of the old tree that we had planted in a small pot a few years ago.  

It was planted in the garden before the old tree was taken down.

A few days later (below)

A couple of blog posts ago I mentioned that a badger or badgers - we have more than one visit - dug up some Tulip bulbs and ate some of them.  We rescued the rest and put them in smaller pots.  They have to be moved into the greenhouse each evening and out again in the morning but it's been worth it as they are now flowering.

The flowers in the smaller pots were originally all in the big black pot you can see at the top of the photo.

Tulips, Blossom and a few Eggs

 It's Tulip time at Trentham Gardens.  

In beds and in pots all over the formal garden.

So many colours and varieties

Trentham Parish church in the background

These were so bright and cheerful in the sunshine

Although the oranges and yellows are so cheerful I think my favourites were the pink and purple ones.

Blossom time too. 

It was a gorgeous Spring day.

Walking around we spotted eggs from the Easter weekend.  I'm sure we didn't see them all.  Below are the ones we found.

I think there was a trail for children to follow with an Easter Egg prize at the end.

As we left the gardens I spotted the display above and took a photo.  A delighted member of staff came towards me and said that she was so glad I'd stopped as she had only just put the display out and really appreciated that someone had noticed and liked them.  I may try this at home later in the year with flowers from our garden.

To the Gardens

I know I said that my next post would be about our walk at Westport Lake on Monday but I felt I had to share photos taken on Wednesday when we visited Trentham Gardens and Lake for the first time in months.  We walked around the lake spotting many young waterbirds and other wildlife too.  We stopped at the cafe at the end of the lake for a coffee and then walked back towards the formal gardens.

                                                 The Lakeside Walk

View across the lake

Grey Squirrel - it was quite happy to pose.

Greylag Goose family

 Black Swan - there were five last year two parents and three young.  We only saw three this time but the others could have been hidden from view somewhere around the lake.

Wild  Rabbit on the banks of the River Trent which runs through the gardens.  We could see signs of a warren on the other side of the river.

 Male Mandarin Duck - there were three male ducks and one female perhaps others were on nests,  I think these ducks nest in nearby trees.

The little tents or garden gazebos can be hired along with a picnic or afternoon tea for a socially distanced party. 

The many tulips, which are part of the Spring Flower Festival, were absolutely gorgeous, so many colours and varieties.  It was too hard to choose a favourite.  Although the cream coloured ones below were beautiful, as were the purple and pink ones.

The colour combinations were wonderful.

Apologies for the picture overload.  

 

Have a good weekend.