We've been busy pottering both in and out of the garden. We went to the local garden centre yesterday to buy potting compost, grit and bird food. This was after going into the town centre to Boots to pop empty blister packs from medications into the recycling bin. I was glad to find out about the recycling project there as I was loath to put the empty packs into the ordinary waste.
On Wednesday we visited Biddulph Grange Gardens for a walk around. There was lots of work being done to resurface the entrance way and also the cleaning of stone edging in the Dahlia Walk.
The Woodland Walk is now called the Wellbeing Walk and many grassy areas had been roped off to allow for re-growth and re-seeding.
The Chinese Garden was looking wonderful in the sunshine.
The Stumpery has recently been made larger with funding from the Blue Diamond Garden Centres Group.
It is supposed to be the oldest Stumpery in the UK and it is now as large as the original one created by James Bateman in the early 1800s.
At home in the garden the Tulips are flowering.
Right, time to think about lunch. All for now.
Thank you for the beautiful photos of Biddulph Grange Garden.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I had the opportunity to see many of England's beautiful gardens last summer... it's a dream :-))
My first!!! tulip is blooming in my garden, and the wood anemones are blooming in the woods... the wild garlic isn't blooming here yet. Last night we had frost, and today it was only 4 degrees Celsius (plus 7 degrees Fahrenheit)... even though we already had an unusual 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) one day. The sun is shining brightly, though.
Best wishes to you from Viola
Thank you Viola. It does sound a lot colder where you are, we are unseasonably warm here at the moment, no rain for at least a week which is nice for us but not the gardens. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit to gardens over here, I hope you will be able to return to look at more:)
DeleteBiddulph Grange gardens is another lovely NT place that we enjoy visiting as it is not too far away for us. I'm sure that all the hard work that is being put into the gardens will make them even more appealing to visitors. The Chinese garden looks particularly wonderful reflected in the water. Shame that the badgers got to some of your tulips but at least they didn't destroy all of them. Happy rhubarb pickings and enjoy the Amelanchier blossom. Have a great week ahead with plenty of sunshine.
ReplyDeleteThank you Beverley. The garden was looking lovely in 'China' and also the little lookout along the 'great wall.' 'Scotland' was very lush too. I'm glad you are able to visit, the only area we didn't get to was the kitchen garden. We had protected the tulips all Winter and early Spring but took the pea sticks away to use elsewhere which was a mistake and the badgers were straight into the pot. We are popping the ones that are left into the greenhouse each evening:)
DeleteBiddulph Grange Gardens look like wonderful places to walk. That Stumpery is amazing! I've thought that I would love to create one, but we don't really have room for one.
ReplyDeleteTulips are not blooming here quite yet, but there are other flowers. I find that the squirrels here rummage in the pots and steal the bulbs. I've taken to putting netting over the pots when I plant them, but there is always one that the creatures seem to be able to find their way through. Such is life.
I hope you have a sunshine-filled week.
Thank you Lorrie. The Stumpery is the largest I've seen so far and it is impressive to walk through on the way to the Chinese garden. Our other local garden at Trentham has a stumpery but much smaller, covered in Wood Anemone at the moment and then it will have Foxgloves growing. We once lost all our Crocus to squirrels so don't plant them anymore which is a shame as I like them in early Spring. It is hard to keep a tidy garden and encourage wildlife too:)
DeleteBiddulph Grange looks beautiful, especially the Chinese Garden.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame about your tulips. They're one of my favourite flowers, and yet I don't have any in my garden - I might need to do something about that next year. Xx
Thank you Jules. The Chinese part of the gardens always looks impressive, I've seen it in snow which was wonderful. I love tulips both in the garden and to buy for home, they last such a long time. Perhaps you will plant some bulbs in the Autumn for next year?:)
DeleteBiddulph Grange is looking lovely and it is great news they have extended the stumpery. The Spirea Bridal Wreath and Amelanchier look gorgeous - we have those too and the latter seems to be flowering more profusely than ever this year. Sorry about the tulips - we have that problem with squirrels here and at the caravan something has dug up the bluebell bulbs!
ReplyDeleteThank you Caroline. Biddulph was lovely last week, the stumpery is now well over head height in places. The Amelanchier is looking wonderful at the moment straight in front of our bedroom window so I see it each morning as I open the curtains. It was a nuisance about the tulips, they were those feathery ones, I hope those we have rescued will flower. What a shame about the bluebell bulbs:)
DeleteWhat a charming garden! I so wish there were places like that near me, but there is nothing that is not well over 100 miles away.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the badger damage. I did not know they would get into flowers like that. Somewhat like our deer, I guess? So frustrating.
Thank you Granny Sue, it is a lovely garden with lots of separate areas like 'Egypt' 'China' 'Scotland' and many other walks which make it seem larger than it is. We have to put wire around the raised beds as the badgers will dig up root vegetables too, especially potatoes. Yes, I guess deer would take many crops too. We also have foxes in the garden but they are not as destructive as the badgers:)
DeleteI do love a Japanese garden. The wooden structures are always so beautiful. What a shame about your tulips. We had a similar problem a few years ago but in our case rats. I gather rose prunings help to protect the pots according to Monty! B x
ReplyDeleteThank you B. Everything was looking wonderful and the colours were standing out in the sunshine. I saw Monty and his rose prunings covering the pots. We had put chicken wire over the pot that was okay and pea sticks all around the other pot but had taken them out thinking that the flowers were large enough not to attract the badgers - lesson learned:)
DeleteOh no what naughty badgers! At least they left the other pot to flower for you. Biddulph Grange is a lovely garden and it certainly looks great in the sunshine in your photos. It's good to hear about Boots and the blister packs, Superdrug are doing it around here. They must get huge sacks full of them. 😊,
ReplyDeleteThank you CK. Yes, indeed very naughty badgers, they are into everything. I was pleased to find out about the Boots recycling and there is another box for old toiletry containers, tubes, pots etc which is also good. Good to hear Superdrug are doing the same. Apparently the blister packs left at Boots are used to make playground equipment. Amazing!:)
DeleteThe Chinese garden is a wonderful sight in the sunshine. I love that pop of red! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Simone, the red really stands out doesn't it?:)
DeleteLovely post as you come into Spring. Your tulips and white flowered shrubs all look great. Take care & hugs.
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan, the tulips that remain are lovely and some of the saved ones are flowering now, thank goodness:)
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