Very very busy at the moment but it was too good an opportunity to miss when Nic suggested we nip out to another garden for a couple of hours this afternoon. My pangs of guilt quickly faded as we drove through the Cheshire countryside, air-con and sunglasses on and dog in the boot. I had selected Stonyford Cottage Gardens from the Cheshire Gardens of Distinction leaflet, as it was only a few miles away and quite small (in comparison to, say, Tatton Gardens). We had driven past the brown tourist sign pointing off the A556 many times but had never realised what a beautiful garden lay hidden down a quite unremarkable lane.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Danger - crocodiles!
Monday, 10 May 2010
Jodrell Bank Arboretum
I was taken aback several times as I turned to look at the view behind me, back towards the entrance and the Lovell Radio Telescope (the dish!) dwarfed even the tallest of poplars. In the photograph at the top you can get a sense of scale from the wooden bench in the middle towards the bottom.
A visit just to Jodrell Bank Visitors Centre and the awesome telescope is a fascinating day out, but the Arboretum really finishes the day off. It’s an opportunity to get some fresh air and exercise as you walk through woodland, across grassy meadows, always surrounded by the colours, sounds and fragrances of nature. Children will love the Environmental Discovery Centre at the start of the trail, which tells them about the trees and wildlife they can expect to find. They can also become mini space explorers as they discover the planets in our solar system which are laid out in their correct positions along the Planet Path that starts by the telescope. If that isn’t enough to wear them out, they can swing like monkeys on the play area whilst the grownups take a break at the picnic tables (in warm sunshine like we did yesterday – hard to believe when I had to get hat and gloves on to walk the dog today!).
My one small gripe is that dogs weren’t allowed in the Arboretum. I completely support no dog policies in gardens where there are carefully tended flower beds and perfectly manicured lawns, but Daisy would have loved the woodland paths and the open spaces. We are responsible dog owners and would have kept her on a lead and picked up after her. I have to wonder what harm it could do to allow four legged friends to enjoy the Arboretum as well. We had to tie her up outside the car (it was slightly too warm at times to leave her inside) and then worry about her when she barked occasionally. However, that said, we all really enjoyed our visit and I look forward to returning again, perhaps in the Autumn (minus dog).
My one small gripe is that dogs weren’t allowed in the Arboretum. I completely support no dog policies in gardens where there are carefully tended flower beds and perfectly manicured lawns, but Daisy would have loved the woodland paths and the open spaces. We are responsible dog owners and would have kept her on a lead and picked up after her. I have to wonder what harm it could do to allow four legged friends to enjoy the Arboretum as well. We had to tie her up outside the car (it was slightly too warm at times to leave her inside) and then worry about her when she barked occasionally. However, that said, we all really enjoyed our visit and I look forward to returning again, perhaps in the Autumn (minus dog).
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Bluebell Cottage Gardens
I have to profess a strong bias towards this garden as I've got to know the owner, Sue Beesley, quite well and some of my photographs are on display in the tea rooms. I've taken lots of pictures over the last three years but I won't cheat - it will be treated just like all the other gardens and photographed this Summer once again. Today's visit was purely to the bluebell woods adjacent to Sue's garden. The bluebells have flowered late this year and I wanted to get them at their best. With the weather looking like it all goes down hill after today I thought I would make the most of a postponed job and some lovely Spring sunshine (typical that it wasn't like this during yesterday's bank holiday).
The bluebell wood is accessed by a path across a field by the carpark. This field becomes a wild flower meadow in early Summer and there are already signs of the pleasures to come, with little yellow buds visible through the grass. The garden and nursery are closed on Monday and Tuesday so I was completely alone in the woods, apart from the sound of boat owners calling to each other as they drifted along the nearby canal. I could just see their heads over the hedges as they floated past - I wonder what they made of me lying face down amongst the bluebells!
It's not that easy to get good pictures of bluebells, well I don't think so anyway. Wide angle shots of the woodland carpeted with blue can tend to look a bit messy, as bluebells grow in the wild and all sorts of other plants, weeds, branches and broken twigs litter the ground, unlike a carefully tended flower bed. I decided to select something else of interest in the landscape and show how the clumps of bluebells contrasted and complimented it. The wood has several spectacular fallen tree trunks, which have lain there for some time and have become part of the woodland floor, overgrown with moss. I also had a little play with my lens baby - this mimics the effect of a tilt and shift lens - keeps an area in focus whilst bending and blurring other areas. A bit like squinting your eyes and seeing the world a bit differently!
I really enjoyed my hour of escapism and can highly recommend a stroll through the woods at this time of year, with or without a camera. Bluebell Cottage Gardens is hosting a bluebell painting workshop tomorrow - be interesting to see the outcome of that.
Bluebell Cottage Gardens
The bluebell wood is accessed by a path across a field by the carpark. This field becomes a wild flower meadow in early Summer and there are already signs of the pleasures to come, with little yellow buds visible through the grass. The garden and nursery are closed on Monday and Tuesday so I was completely alone in the woods, apart from the sound of boat owners calling to each other as they drifted along the nearby canal. I could just see their heads over the hedges as they floated past - I wonder what they made of me lying face down amongst the bluebells!
I find it much easier to shoot close ups of flowers, experimenting with different depths of field and playing around with the shapes, patterns and colours of the fore and backgrounds.
Bluebell Cottage Gardens
Monday, 3 May 2010
"Aren't trees great, mummy!"
As promised we visited the Quinta Arboretum at Swettenham today. It took us a while to find it - DO NOT follow the SatNav - the guide book should definitely carry this warning. For the first time ever I saw a sign reading "SATNAV warning" at the entrance to the narrow, unadopted and, most importantly, dead end lane I was being directed down. Just head for Swettenham and the (eventually) well signposted Swettenham Arms. The Arboretum is equally discreetly signposted but unless you arrive early in the day like us, the steady trickle of visitors would give you a clue as to where to go. Payment is on a trust basis, which is really refreshing and it's very good value at just £2.50 per adult.
This informal approach is evident throughout the garden. There are no signposts to guide you, you just meander around, going wherever the fancy takes you and you're fairly sure to see everything. A map at the beginning would help - there were useful information points about the flora and fauna at key points and a map of the whole garden would ensure that you take everything in. We picked up a booklet about walks in the area in the pub afterwards and its map of the Quinta Arboretum revealed that we had missed out the "39 steps" and the Cockpit at the far reaches of the garden. I probably would have reached them had I been exploring on my own, but Sam's camera battery and his attention span had run out and we turned back just before this part.
The pond itself was a real surprise - perhaps it's nice not to see a map beforehand! It was a treat to suddenly come across this tranquil water edged by tall slender trees which were reflected in rippled lines on the surface of the pond. The sun was in and out of clouds today and the light changed dramatically from one moment to the next. I still haven't decided which shot of the lake I prefer. Both the same but with and without sunlight.
Sometimes I find it hard to step back and view a landscape - my personal photographic style is up close and I have to remind myself to step back and look at the whole picture. This was easy at the viewpoint at the far end of the garden, a wonderful view of the Dane Valley. I like to crop out sky if I can, unless it really adds something to the image, and I found myself drawn to the way the trees overlapped each other, colours and shapes contrasting and complementing each other, when viewed as a vista rather than as individual elements. Another very eyecatching vista was created by the thousands of dandelion flowers in the plantation. Some might say that these "weeds" have no place in a garden, but I personally loved the carpet of yellow heads stretching as far as the eye could see.
As we left the garden a blaze of vivid blue caught my eye - well you'd be hard pressed to miss it. It was a rhodendron augustini and was staggeringly gorgeous.
Our visit to the garden ended predictably in the pub - almost certainly like the majority of visitors - with a glass of wine, a huge plateful of triple decker sandwiches dripping with prawns and marie rose sauce - and a lively discussion about who had taken the best shot. Perfect!
Our visit to the garden ended predictably in the pub - almost certainly like the majority of visitors - with a glass of wine, a huge plateful of triple decker sandwiches dripping with prawns and marie rose sauce - and a lively discussion about who had taken the best shot. Perfect!
Sunday, 2 May 2010
No time like the present
Well there's no time like the present! Having made this promise to myself and got support from my other half I think we should make a start straight away. I've flipped through the guidebook to Cheshire's Gardens and have picked out the Quinta Arboretum for tomorrow morning as it's nearby, not too large, promises a bluebell bank and is next to a pub! We can only allocate a few hours to this project tomorrow as Nic is breaking all the sacred rules of bank holidays and going off to catch a plane in the afternoon. As penance he has agreed to go with me and keep the kids under control whilst I take pictures. To be fair they enjoy our garden explorations but their patience wears a bit thin with me, as I kneel down yet again to get "just one last shot".
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