Great Dixter house and gardens

  If I was a garden I would be Great Dixter,

the family home of the late Christopher Lloyd.

Christopher's gardening style was an anything goes approach.

This garden will seriously blow your mind.

Do not expect meticulous lawns or tasteful bedding.

Do expect wild abandonment and experimental planting!

This year I left some long grass in my lawn

and yes

I WANT some topiary yew amongst it!!

I left Great Dixter feeling refreshed

and with a changed attitude toward my own wild garden.

I already like my way of gardening

but to have the style confirmed in a beloved garden

is a freeing experience.

I just wish I lived closer so I could volunteer!

Christopher Lloyds vision is superbly continued 

by head gardener Fergus Garrett.

Great Dixter can be found in Northiam East Sussex

more info here

I really love Great Dixter.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden

 Part of my Birthday celebrations were visits to 

some of those gardens you're always hearing about.

This one is Sissinghurst, home to the writer Vita Sackville West. 

I will let the images do the talking.

More info below.

 

The infamous 'white garden'

as seen from the tower.

 Sissinghurst in Kent is now run by the National Trust,

you will find it open on most days.

The garden is open at 11, 

though you can get there earlier.

You will need at least 2 to 3 hours to fully enjoy all the gardens,

however you can pop in and out with your ticket

for refreshments or to sit on the lawn and soak it all in!

We climbed the stairs in the tower first to help

us get our bearings...and to locate the white garden!

I would suggest going in June to enjoy the white garden at its best,

as the rose on the centre pergola was already over.

 I really enjoyed Sissinghurst.....

but not as much as Great Dixter..

next up!

just me and the bees...

I feel like I need to clear some things up regarding an anonymous (genuine not spam) comment I received today on my joining instagram.

Now that everyman and his dog seems to be blogging

it's all too easy to forget that generally 'we' the bloggers are 

real people with feelings.

The term blog is short for web log

which is short for an online diary.

I am a childless/petless 39er 

who is more often than not in a melancholic state of mind.

I'm not selling anything
I dont make money from blogging

I'm not asking for anything other than your friendship

 (and sometimes your fabric)

so please think before you leave comments

because it will gnaw away at me.

Also please don't tell me to 'not to take it personally'

duh if this was a paper diary you just wrote all over it,

how can I not.

At the end of the day I understand that I am open to your words,

but it is my life

If and when I choose to stop blogging

it will be my choice.

ps. 

Don't hate on me 

I am not a Kardashian 

I'm just me.

Life is far from perfect....just to prove it.

 here's a big heap of weeds

 broad bean plants that should have been planted months ago

reason #badback

 just a small arrangement of the vast amount of plants I raise from seed.

Lets leave this post on a lighter note.

I planted this rambling rose last year.

Its called Veilchenblau

and has an exquisite fragrance

and the bees seem to love it too.

Yay for single open flowering roses!

*other rose is young lycidas

ps. Thankyou all so much for your lovely comments
I'm really not that upset anymore,
sometimes a good vent is whats needed.
I did realise that the comment in question was
someone else venting,
it just didnt need to be aimed at me.

In an effort to move on I have now closed comments on this post xx

my chelsea garden

I've been watching the Chelsea Flower show all week.

They've been requesting pictures of your own Chelsea garden

so here are mine.

I know I share similar things every year

it's a good way to keep track of how things are developing

for me as well as you.

I think this garden will always be my biggest WIP

(Work in Progress).

*clematis ville de lyon

spring break

It seems that a natural break from blogging has commenced.

I highly recommend these breaks from time to time...

it does wonders for your creativity.

I'll leave you then with my latest creation;

remember how I wanted to recreate that magazine feature here?

Not bad for the first year.

ps. I often find that flowers can be wrongly labelled

leading to undesirable results...

I think however in this case

I like the tulip mistake.

pps Audrey your gift is now a wip!

See you all soon 

Clare

xoxo
*did anyone spot the levitating blackbird?