Glorious Great Dixter ..

Spring Display .. Great Dixter

The Legacy of Christopher Lloyd 

Celebrated garden writer, the Dean of British Gardening passed away in 2006.

I will always remember these magnificent gardens on a tour led by CL himself.

Though I returned whenever travel to England allowed, 

it was that rainy day in May that stands out in my memory.

Springtime Array of Containers ... Maximum Visual Impact!

More to see and read on Alice's Garden Travel Buzz:

https://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/great-dixter-christopher-lloyd/

A Most Romantic Garden...

Romantic gardens abound in the English countryside...

One garden visit that remains etched in my mind's eye is the beautifully serene, lush landscape
of   Cothay Manor.

David Austin Roses New Introductions: Chelsea Flower Show

David Austin Rose Gardens

Albrighton, Wolverhampton,

England.

'Wollerton Old Hall'

A new rose named for a beautifully designed & planted Arts & Crafts-style English garden, a favorite of mine.

Do visit should you be traveling round Shropshire.

These brilliant new rose varieties were introduced by David Austin Roses at the Chelsea Flower Show 2011.

I'll admit to being more than partial to Austin's 'English Roses' .. with their lovely flower forms and heady fragrances.

'William and Catherine'

Photos: David Austin Roses

'Queen Anne'

'Fighting Temeraire'

Look for an upcoming post on the David Austin Roses' display in the Pavilion at Chelsea!

San Francisco to London: The Chelsea Flower Show

Alluring, perfectly grown Alliums & Eremurus

(I believe the display pictured to be Devine Nurseries of East Yorkshire)

It's official: I've been quoted by The Bad Tempered Gardener herself: Anne Wareham

stating, in essence, that other flower shows pale in comparison with the glorious horticulture and panache of the Chelsea Flower Show.

Home... after two weeks in England, planned around an invitation to attend Chelsea's Press Day.

There's much to share, taking in the countryside, too: All to appear in the days & weeks ahead.

You'll find a special horticultural highlight from Kevock Garden Plants 
...posted on my web site: Alice's Garden Travel Buzz ...

It's a rarity I've never before encountered.

On the Subject of Garden Seating! Westbury Court

A magnificent 400-year-old evergreen oak growing at Westbury Court Garden.

Continuing the topic of benches and garden seating... a throne-like structure

...that complements Westbury Court's formal Dutch water gardens,

rescued by The National Trust after many years of neglect.

The bench inscription reads: To remember Hugo Colchester Memyss - 1910-1974

Representing the last of his family at WESTBURY COURT.

Link to Westbury Court Garden:

A Dutch Landscape in England: Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

LONDON Calling .. Gardens Galore in the Weeks Ahead

A rare peony growing alongside the pond at Chelsea Physic Garden.

So much to share: Here, a few sights/sites to revisit.

I've returned from the U.K. with stories to tell and garden gossip. After experiencing two weeks of cold weather, the sun appeared, blazing among the aisles of London's Chelsea Physic Garden; preening with Paeonia and poppies.

A scene-stealer... the brilliant Tamarisk.

Physician, entrepreneur, plant collector: Sir Hans Sloane stands watch over the Physic Garden's amazing flora. Imagine! I returned today just as the Chelsea Flower Show was about to kick off. And though I've attended this fabulous show in previous years, I had other plans to occupy my days on this sojourn.

Detail of a rare, wonderful Echium - E. wildpretii

Along Portobello Road, cascading golden panicles of Laburnum trees draped the sidewalks.

Look for garden touring from London to Wales, continuing in the weeks ahead here on

Bay Area Tendrils

& on Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

Jet lag notwithstanding.

A Bloomsbury Bouquet - Inspired by Vanessa Bell

Interior with Table by Vanessa Bell

January 16, 2012 How time flies.... When I began blogging in 2009, the Sussex homes of the Bloomsbury Group were high on the list of places I yearned to visit. Monk's House and Charleston Farmhouse did not disappoint when at last I toured the buildings and the gardens.

 You can link to features from my first visit in 2010 on Alice's Garden Travel Buzz.

In 2011 I returned once again to Sussex! There's so much to see, and such an atmosphere to soak up that I wish it were possible to visit yearly. The original blog appears below...

Spring by Vanessa Bell

Roses and Tile by Vanessa Bell

Virginia and Vanessa Stephens

Whether designing our gardens, or creating art in other media, 

inspiration can arrive unexpectedly. 

I've been savoring the new novel by Susan Sellers, Vanessa & Virginia, a fictional rendering of the relationship between the brilliant writer, Virginia Woolf, and her sister, Vanessa Bell.

One day I'm hoping to visit Lewes in East Sussex, where the Stephens sisters lived with their husbands: Virginia and Leonard Woolf at Monk's House (now a National Trust property), and Vanessa and Clive Bell at their country place, Charleston House. 

I must be satisfied for now with the lush imagery of Seller's prose, which has me enthralled.

 My mind's eye... awash with floral bouquets in color harmonies I imagine Vanessa might have painted. 

Link to Charleston - An Artists Home and Garden

http://www.charleston.org.uk/

A Question of Style: Do You Have A Preference?

A Question of Style

Do you have a preference?

Naturalistic

Contemporary

Traditional

or....?

So many gardens.... so little time

A fitting summary of my personal approach, when I plan a garden sojourn. Mapping out a journey generally results in an itinerary that takes in gardens of every persuasion.

Lately I find the modern language of visionary, iconoclastic designers most challenging and engaging. They draw me into their process, one of reinterpreting the elements of a garden. 

Often raising the question: What is a Garden? The designer's reinvention of how such elements come together stirs me to learn this new language.

And so, I enjoy expansive spaces defined by sleek, clean lines. I also revel in an exuberantly planted cottage garden, or a serene Japanese landscape. I soak up the manicured formality of atmospheric historic settings, and seek out over-the-top urban retreats: those densely-planted, art-laden gardens created by zealous collectors.

The English garden tradition knocks my socks off. I've been totally enchanted by the intimate confines of a B&B garden, and the renowned landscapes of National Trust properties.

In all my travels, one garden stands out as having left me fairly cold. I hesitate to name it, because if statistics are correct, it may well be the most visited garden in the world. That says something about my taste in gardens, even as I've been describing my bent as being of a catholic character.

I love the idea of exchanging viewpoints, so I'm dedicating this post to Esther Montgomery. See Esther's comment on the previous post, and visit her on:

http://esthersboringgardenblog.blogspot.com/

Esther, I believe you might well be unimpressed with the modern aspects of the Alchemist's botanical garden. And the black and red gardens you might dislike, too, although they were newly installed when I photographed them.

But I have a hunch!

If you walked through the white garden in the early morning or at dusk, when no one else is around and the roses are blooming (iceberg roses bloom for months on end in Provence), I really think you'd find the unfolding panorama along the winding paths to your liking.

Waddesdon Manor - 2001

Click on the link to see an earlier post: A Garden Without Plants - A Dialogue

http://bayareatendrils.blogspot.com/search/label/Islamic%20Gardens

Chelsea Physic Garden Vignette

Lavatera arborea 'Variegata'  

Velvet tree mallow

Photographed at the Chelsea Physic Garden, London