Stunning Cuba!

Cuba is stunning!  Arrived here last week ... it's hot, very hot ... but fascinating! Wonderful cars like the one above; incredible trees and plants; vibrant music; good food and lovely people. We saw this amazing car near the Botanical Garden in Havana and I thought the colour was appropriate for a brief blog entry today, as I put up just a few pictures of the Japanese garden.

Havana is an incredibly vibrant city - everywhere you go there are musicians playing in restaurants and bars. The Botanical Garden is a half-hour drive from the city centre and covers several hundred acres, divided into geographical regions and with many fine specimen trees, including more than 200 different types of palm.  

The Japanese Garden (above) is the only structured garden area, with its lakes and water features, but it's all worth making a special trip to see. As the internet connection here is a little slow, I wanted to give readers a taster, and I'll write more when I have the opportunity. I'm now heading east to see another great garden near Cienfuegos, so more later .... 

Special Cornish gardens for September ...

It's almost the end of August and what better time to go to Cornwall to visit some of the great gardens there? The school holidays are nearly over so the crowds are gone and you'll find many wonderful places to stay once the kids are back at school. One of my favourites is Trebah (above) - one of several really wonderful gardens near Helston, where you'll find all one of the best hydrangea displays in the country right now.

Trebah was purchased by Major Tony Hibbert and his wife Eira in 1981 and they've spent nearly 30 years making this garden what it is today.  The 25-acre site is perched on the edge of a ravine that heads down towards Polgwiddon Cove on the Helford Estuary and you'll be treated to spectacular views of the sea as you wander through this magical landscape, and enjoy a walk on the beach if you feel so inclined. You'll find many rare trees here including the tallest Chusan palms in the country and wonderful swathes of gunnera that are reminiscent of Jurassic Park. Open all year from 10.30-5.00 (or dusk if earlier in deep mid-winter).

Combine this a trip to nearby Bonython (above), which is open Tuesday to Friday and you'll see another very different garden, that has only been under development since 1999. This is another magnificent garden, with a large walled area (above) adjacent to the main house; many unusual South African and Mediterranean plants; and great swathes of ornamental grasses around the lakes (below).

The new owners have been hard at work since they moved here 10 years ago and the planting throughout the garden is really striking - there's always something in bloom - but what will impress you is the bold plant combinations. The walled garden is glorious throughout the season and is filled with flowers and bumper-sized vegetables. Then there are the lakes at the bottom of the garden which lead into a woodland dell. There's also a wonderful water garden adjacent to the 18th century house.

Other notable gardens locally include Glendurgan (above) with its maze - also located on the edge of a ravine, although it should be said that this is more of a spring garden. And of course, if you're in this part of the country, you'll be able to treat yourself to a Cornish cream tea!
I'm off to Cuba this week, where I hear there are some fantastic gardens, but I'm also told that internet connections can be slow, so if you don't see any posts for a couple of weeks, you'll know why!

What to do when it rains .... can I have your feedback?

No garden visits this week because the rain hasn't stopped, so I've been at home editing photographs and organising my garden reviews so that I can eventually offer you full information on what to see and when's best to go in my Galloping Gardener Directory. I know that some of you use it when planning garden visits and I'd really appreciate your input on what you want to see there, so now's your chance to let me know what you need to know to get the most out of a directory!

All photographs today are taken before, during or after rain and were taken at different times at year in gardens around the world. The only common theme is rain or damp, or sunlight before or after a rainstorm, but it goes to show that even wet or changeable weather makes interesting pictures!

But back to what you'd like to see in a comprehensive (and growing) Garden Directory - is it special features; best time of year to visit; proximity to other gardens; what plants you'll see there; or just general descriptions that interest you? Do the pictures make a difference ... and for those of you who've used the guide, did the garden live up to your expectations?

I also appreciate that many of the gardens on the list are currently in the southern part of England, but the reason for this is simple - it's where I'm based, and it's not that easy for me to spend days away from home visiting gardens further afield. I plan to cover new areas each year, when the weather is good, and this year I managed to get to Gloucestershire and see some of the great Cotswold gardens. 

Information on opening times is more difficult, since many gardens change their opening days and times with little notice. That's why I often put a link straight to the garden in question, so you can check for yourself before visiting. However, when two great gardens are close together like Hidcote and Kiftsgate in Gloucestershire, I do flag up opening days wherever possible. 

So please let me know what would be helpful for you in terms of reviews - what you'd like to see and what persuades you whether to visit a garden that you've read about.  And on that note, I'll leave you because the sun is coming out for the first time in over a week .... so perhaps I will get to review some new gardens over the weekend.

Another walled wonder - Loseley Park

I found another glorious walled garden yesterday ... in between the rain showers ... Loseley Park in Surrey. I've visited before, but in springtime a couple of years ago, so was really delighted to see that it has something for all seasons and I think that with its summer colours, it's just as spectacular at this time of year as it was in the spring.

The first time I visited was in May a couple of years ago - the walled garden looked glorious then (see left) and what struck me about this garden was the absolutely abundant planting. It's like a wonderful fantasy land! So it was a pleasant surprise to find even more colour in August, after many months of heat and little rain.

  
The walled garden here dates back to the 16th century, but  was revamped nearly a century ago and based on a Gertrude Jekyll design and divided into "rooms", to include a herb garden, rose garden, white garden and flower and vegetable gardens. The rose garden, which is still in bloom and giving off glorious scents, was renovated in some 15 years ago and although I've yet to see it in full splendour in June or July, it's still a wonderful sensory delight at this time of year.

The Elizabethan house was built for Sir William More in 1562 and sits in glorious parkland near Guildford, so is easily accessible from London. It is home to the More-Molyneux family today and they have spent the last 15 years improving the walled garden and making it what is is today. The central avenue of trees (below) makes a wonderful backdrop for crocosmias, dahlias, daylilies and ornamental grasses in high summer.

But it's the white garden (below) that won my heart on this visit - with its central pond overlooked by glorious, ebullient borders, with white flowers swaying in the breeze. I could have sat here for hours if it hadn't rained! The hydrangeas are glorious ...

Patrick Taylor, the UK garden visit guru says that this garden is "not of startling originality, but it is skilfully planted and excellently maintained". I have to say I disagree - I think the garden is both "startling" and "original" and I for one will be visiting again! Loseley remains open until mid-September, so do get there if you can - opening times are 11.00-17.00 daily, except Mondays, but open this weekend for the Bank Holiday.
Another excellent walled garden can be found at Titsey Place, also in Surrey, but if you're looking for gardens close by, don't miss RHS Wisley.

Charismatic Claydon - one to watch!

The garden at Claydon House in Buckinghamshire is definitely one to watch - it's one of the most vibrant I've visited this year, with much work in progress, but is quite charming - filled with nooks and crannies, roses and borders and some very unusual features, including a new Florence Nightingale garden. And there's a wonderful restaurant on site too - The Carriage House - where I enjoyed one of the best lunches that I remember. All food is cooked to order and on the day I visited, the sun was shining, so I was able to sit outside in the courtyard. 

Claydon House has been home to the Verney family since 1620 - it's a fine Georgian house with Rococo interiors - operated by the National Trust and publicised as one of its key corporate and wedding venues. But the gardens are private and open from Saturday through to Wednesday (12.00-5.00 March - end of October)  and are definitely worth making a detour for if you're in the area. Set as it is in the heart of fine countryside, this is a great place to walk once you've toured the garden.

Highlights of Claydon include a wonderful two-acre walled kitchen garden, which supplies most of the produce for the restaurant; the new Florence Nightingale garden (above) which is currently under development, but promises to be a major feature in years to come; a rose garden created by the current Lady Verney; and a charming pool garden overlooked by a 19th century greenhouse. Walls and pergolas have been used to best advantage throughout the gardens to give shelter to plants and provide stunning colour displays like the one below.

But there are also lovely borders, abundant blooms and a sense of excitement here that's hard to explain - this feels like a very new garden, even though it's been here for hundreds of years - and has a terrific sense of colour and style that makes it quite different to other properties I've visited in the last few months. Definitely a garden to put on your "Wish List" and worth making a special visit to if you're planning to have lunch out with a friend. Ascott is just half an hour away (approximately 17 miles), so you could easily combine the two for a day to remember!

Small secret gardens in Sussex

Today I'm featuring three charming small gardens, that rarely feature in garden guides, but worth visiting if you're in the area. First is the Wellingham Herb Garden (above) near Lewes - only open at weekends, but within sight of the South Downs and near enough to other gardens (Monk's House and Charleston) to stop at en route - filled to bursting with lavender and other herbs (of course) and in the heart of the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of traffic and it's FREE! It's a fragrant garden and nursery laid out inside a walled kitchen garden, with a glorious lion statue in the middle. Quite charming!

And then there's the secret walled garden at Preston Manor in Brighton (above) - an absolute haven at the edge of Preston Park and looking greatly refreshed after all the recent rain. Can't believe I've never been here before as it's right on my doorstep, but I never found the way in before last week! A great place to stop and pause if you're doing the sights of Brighton, and you can access it from Preston Park or the manor house. You can also do a tour of the manor, which is reputed to be haunted!

And another charming small garden I visited en route to Titsey Place earlier this week is The Priest House at West Hoathly, on the edge of the Ashdown Forest. This is a cottage garden surrounding an ancient timber-framed house (above), in a sleepy English village, complete with manor house and church. You won't stay long here, but it's the quintessential cottage garden, worth sneaking a peak at if you're in the area and you can always stop at the village pub for lunch.

Where there's a wall there's a way!

I was supposed to go to Birmingham, but it was raining too hard and I didn't go! So when today dawned grey but dry I went to visit several gardens that have very limited openings - Wednesdays and Sundays only throughout the season - but well worth it if you can get there.  First stop was Titsey Place in Surrey, which I first wrote about when I started blogging (above picture taken on first visit, not today) - and I'm glad I made it there because it has one of the finest walled gardens I've seen this year.

The gardens extend to 18-acres and have lovely views over the North Downs, but it is the walled garden that is the jewel in the crown here, with its wonderful displays of cutting flowers, fruit and vegetables, from all over the world. You'll see exotic and native here, displayed to full advantage and it's a real pleasure to amble through this area en route to the main garden adjacent to the house. 

You'll find immaculately trained fruit trees (above) and displays of vegetables here that rival any flower border! And then there's the glass houses with their colourful displays of exotic and tender plants; and tomatoes, peaches and nectarines. It really is a joy to wander through this walled area and see everything growing here, because it's more like an exhibition than a garden - so do make the effort to get there on a Wednesday or Sunday between 1.00 and 5.00 ... you won't be disappointed!

If you're in the area, you can combine this with Squerryes Court (below), just a couple of miles away and also open Wednesdays and Sundays (11.30-16.30). I've been trying to get here for years, but never been in the right place on the right day. The house is filled with wonderful antiques, tapestries and pictures, but the garden is also worth a quick tour. Both properties belong to the Historic Houses Association, so if you're a member, entry is free. Another of my favourite local gardens is Charts Edge, which opens on Fridays and Sundays during the season.