I have missed the opening of this tiny garden for many years and so was thrilled to be able to join the many others who visited last Sunday. Little Plumstead is some 5 miles east of Norwich not far off the A47.

The team from Radio Norfolk had arrived just before me but they soon rushed off to hunt for the next clue in their Quest for Treasure.

The Garden Gate is Open and a narrow gravel path leads up to the front door packed with plants along the border.

Over to the right and in front of the house you can glimpse the path circling around a stone sundial.  Many alpine plants are growing in the gravel.

Flourishing in this sunny open position is a pearly white  Exochorda x macrantha growing  by the low fence.

This is not a garden with vistas. No tall trees to glance through, hedges to peer over or boundaries to gaze upon the borrowed view.

It is a garden to look intently down.  Study the plants on the ground; in a similar vein to this crouching photographer.

Witton Lane holds the National Collection of Muscari, the Grape Hyacinth. Richard Hobbs inherited the collection, now numbering over a hundred, from Suffolk gardener Jenny Robinson.

The herbalist John Parkinson (1567 – 1650) warned of this plant which he advised ‘will quickly choke a ground for which cause most men do cast it into some bye corner.’

Not in this garden. Here the collection is carefully controlled with the many different varieties growing amongst other interesting plants .

There are plenty of gems to see in the front, and even more in the back garden.

The colour range of the muscari is subtle:

Blue appears to be the predominant colour, either in a small shrub,

or bulbs and perennials.

Anenome makes a good match with cellandine.

Various types of Pulsatilla, the memorable pasque flower, appear in different shades and they too enjoy the gravel conditions.

While the bright primula standing before the pulmonaria, benefits from the more moist conditions in the border.

There is a small selection of  auricula on display.

In the conservatory Sally is busy selling the plants which are ‘going like hotcakes’. Richard is much in demand with enquiries. With fork at the ready, he generously fulfils a request for a plant.

Every inch of the ground is a patchwork of plants,

There is just enough room to squeeze in a greenhouse and shed.

It is a study in leaf design; baby sorrel,

and an Erythronium fighting for space with the soft silvery leaves of lamium

I forget to ask him what this is.

A type of lathyrus vernus looks delicate in the morning sunlight.

The seat at the end of the narrowing path signifies the limit of the garden;  a full stop.

By the time I publish this Richard and Sally will be guiding another walking tour through North Mallorca (http://wildlifeholiday.com/richard-hobbs/). With destinations all over the world it is little wonder that the garden is so rich and their knowledge so great.

——-22——-

The National Garden Scheme began in 1927; conceived as a living memorial to Queen Alexandra who had been patron of the Jubilee Congress of District Nursing.

Just over 600 private gardens opened their garden gates to the public. George V agreed to open Sandringham House, which had been his mother’s favourite residence and her home for the last few years of her life. Most gardens opened for just one day and charged a shilling; Sandringham opened regularly and charged just 6d.

The garden gate was firmly closed when I visited last Friday but I was fortunate to be able to accompany the head gardener on his tour of inspection before opening for the season the very next day.

Flowering gaily at the entrance was a new breed of hyacinth named Sandringham. Not yet on the market it has been grown by a local breeder, who thought Her Majesty should be the first to trial it.

Interplanted and just showing through are the leaves of white agapanthus, left over from a previous show garden at the annual Sandringham Flower Show held in July.

Nearby and sheltering next to the wall was an Azara microphylla with tiny yellow vanilla scented flowers, an evergreen shrub from Chile and Argentina.

As you walk in there is a plaque mounted on a wooden post celebrating 85 years of supporting the National Garden Scheme. I wondered what head office might be planning five years on. After all, Sandringham has supported the NGS for every year of the ninety years, without exception.

There are some 60 acres of beautifully maintained gardens at Sandringham, and a team of  8 gardeners to manage them. Martin is not a local boy but from Lincolnshire; he originally came here for a year, wishing to work in forestry. He ended up staying and has  now been here for over 30 years.

Through this semi-wild glade there is a fantastic variety of trees including 12 species of beech and over 20 kinds of oak.

The white magnolia glows through the pines and birches,

and the camellias are looking good having not suffered rain damage as in some previous years.

Much emphasis is made on winter flowering plants for the Her Majesty’s visit around Christmas. We encounter shrubs of sweet smelling Box Sarcoccoca, and Witch Hazel Hamamelis mollis, now over.  Snowdrops are much in evidence, they too have now completed their flowering duties.

The bright and translucent Viburnum betulifolium has held on to its red berries all through the winter.

We move along the paths in Martin’s buggy, his secateurs tucked into the glove compartment.  The road that we can hear runs to our right. In the early days it was so close to the house that the press were able to take photographs of the Royal Family through the gates. Understandably the road was moved away and the solid carrstone wall was built.

We pause to glimpse the house beyond the old sycamore.  Daffodils are grown to be picked for the house, and then planted out in drifts in the more informal areas.

Allium triquetrum, the three-cornered leek, named after its three-cornered shape of the flower stalk, grows under the wooded canopy.

Another type of tree providing interest on this rather grey day is Acer Nikoense, the flowers caught by the cold March wind. The tree labels are clear and helpfully give the date of planting. This was planted in November 1975

We ease away from the woodland area onto the mown lawns towards the house. This masterful statue, recently installed has pride of place watching those visitors fortunate to be invited to the house.

Behind ‘Estimate’ the winner of the Ascot Gold Cup in 2013, is a splendid Oak planted by Queen Victoria.

The paths taking us around are smooth, easy for buggies and wheelchairs. It all appears immaculate but there is still much activity today and Martin is much in demand.

The entire team of gardeners takes over a week to prune these limes Tilia platyphillos Rubra. Work begins immediately after the Her Majesty’s departure in February.

There are several lines of them; this one stretches forward to the bronze-gilded buddha, originally covered by a wooden pagoda.

The Victorian formal bedding, pictured in the NGS booklet A Nurturing Nature, was ploughed up and planted with vegetables during the war.  The garden however, remained open throughout.

Now it is neatly mown lawns, grazed in the distance by geese.

Further along Martin has carefully mown an intricate labyrinth,

echoing the shape of the parterre reproduced in an early postcard.

Water plays a large part in the garden. Here it gently meanders down from the lake. The summerhouse, The Nest seen in the distance was built for Queen Alexandra in 1913.

The Pelican was restored a few years ago. When the much anticipated time came to turn on the water everyone was rather dismayed by the dribble that came out from the beak. The Pelican was given to Queen Alexandra by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild of Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire. A letter in the archives shows that Queen Alexandra too had found the water velocity disappointing.

This photograph of the lake appeared in an NGS booklet in the early 1930s

I tried to take capture the same view as it looks today;

The lake appeared on the front cover of the 2002 ‘yellow book’, the NGS guide to open gardens.

This ancient oak which stands by the lake is over 800 years old.

I am grateful to Martin for his time and it has been such an interesting tour which we finish at the museum and tea shop. Here the display board announces the Plant of the Week as Hyacinthus ‘Sandringham’ , which we saw at the entrance.

There wasn’t enough time to visit the Walled garden which is open only by appointment. Martin suggested I returned later in the year around September when it looks at its best.

We can all be grateful to Her Majesty for continuing to open her private garden, ensuring it is so disabled-friendly, and for maintaining her support of the NGS.

——-21——-

 

Staying close by we could not miss a visit to Hardy’s Cottage Plants Nursery in the village of Freefolk, Hampshire. My husband was absolutely right in thinking that although the entrance might be free, the exit may prove to be expensive. He was absolutely right! Rows and rows of healthy and many unusual plants, Rachel was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and helpful, and it was worth every penny.

With the car full we made our way through Whitchurch to the small village of Tufton. Here the gate of a small cottage garden and nursery was open. Great to find a garden open on a Thursday.

What better way to display the disabled parking sign positioned up against the fence close to the entrance.

It was a glorious sunny day and the garden owner sat under an aged apple tree. We were amongst several visitors walking up the path taking us behind the cottage. Around the other side pots of cheerful tulips greeted us.

The small garden was neatly arranged, slightly raised with the central feature of a large terracotta pot of tulips. Paved paths lead you either side.

There are splashes of colour and plenty of features and plants.

A wonderful tank for fish and water lilies is placed at a jaunty angle.

the flowing water coming through the old hand pump in the corner.

A stone fish seemed happy to be out of the tank.

Tulips of all colours grow in a variety of pots.

A large trellis divides the garden and just beyond the opening in the thick hedge we are beckoned through to  the nursery area.

The blossom from the orchard behind lifts ones eyes from the raised stands, rows of pots and general workings of a small commercial nursery.

We pass through beds and it comes as a surprise to find a large open field; a small holding with sheep and hens.

Much work is in progress;  a pond recently dug and a group of betula jacquemontii newly planted in the grass.

The owner is sad he has not sold last season’s hay stacked up high in the barn. By the look of the verdant meadow it could be another good hay crop this year. Up in the mature deciduous tree sits an owl nesting box undisturbed by the busy road in the far distance.

Tea is served in the room at the end of the wooden hay store. Appropriately we take our delicious apple cake into the orchard.  We appear not to be alone.

Sitting on the bench and enjoying the sunshine, we decline having our photograph taken but are grateful to have been asked so politely by the photographer. He, we discover is part of the Hampshire NGS team, and will be opening his wildlife friendly garden and small holding in June.

Retracing our steps we walk back into the cottage garden and find more pots of tulips.

In the shady walk alongside the cottage, the scent of skimmia is overwhelming,

and a gnarled branch gives added interest.

The owner tells us she has opened for the NGS for three years now.  She recognises the proactive approach of their advertising and signage. A selection of plants are for sale with 10% being donated to the charity.

As we are leaving we notice on the fence outside a charming pink alpina clematis growing through the stems of a rose.

——-20——-

Tucked away down a narrow lane in the Hampshire countryside we found Beechenwood Farm open on a Wednesday.  At the gate one of the new signs with the ngs branding is displayed.

These garden owners are ngs stalwarts having opened for over 30 years. Not just for one day, they share their garden every Wednesday from March to June.

The road sign may be new, however these notices are charmingly out of date. The owners are keen to stress that the money raised goes to nursing funds. Perhaps nowadays there are too many beneficiaries listed on the posters?

As I read the information a rich scent from a Daphne floats across.

The first part of the garden by the house is a walled area. Previously a swimming pool it is now laid out as a herb garden.

Clematis armandii grows is covered in flowers above the corner bench.

There is a gentle sound of water coming from the small round pond.

Large shrubs of chaenomeles give a splash of colour.

A circle of Comfrey grows beneath the pink prunus set in the brick paving.

The urn is a giant, softened by moss growing on its shoulders.

Another clematis armandii, slightly pink, grows against the house.

And then there is a sudden burst of colour from the pots along the stepped and trellised walkway.

A gentle clematis alpina grows to the side.

Not all the pots are so bright. This one on an old cornerstone is filled with water.

In the woodland, garden paths are mown through the long grass and daffodils.

I visited a garden recently where the owner each year plants thousands of daffodils which are lovely but all the same variety. Here there is a rich medley:

Varieties of different shapes and colour.

Ornaments stand amongst the drifts, including this fine owl.

And a very happy dog?

This elegant birdbath is positioned amongst a planting of periwinkle.

There is a narrow strip of the garden which extends through trees and out on a limb. A monument signifies the end and behind is the ‘belvedere’, a raised platform reached by steps and a scaffolded ramp.

Where, on a fine day  you can look out across the countryside! Today we just have to be content to imagine a blue sky!

Heading back towards the orchard we pass this fox stealing across a meadow of fritillary.

It is good to come across a young wollemi pine; an interesting tree it dates back to the dinosaurs and there are fewer than 100 now in the wild.

The apple trees in the orchard have been skilfully kept in beautiful shape.

At the far end of the orchard is a bed where not a patch of bare earth shows through and an assortment of metal structures wait to be covered.

The greenhouse is warm, packed and very busy.

An assortment of precious rosettes:

To the right of the greenhouse are the neat and beautifully tended vegetable beds.

Nearby is a beech, its rounded shape is echoed at the raised base.

Where we find an exotic trillium poking above the celandine.

Across the lane there is more to explore. A further orchard where plums trees are coming into flower.

Such exquisite  blossom.

While the husband takes a call on his mobile,  I head for the tennis court. Not as you can see for the game. No match played here now the children have left home. It is however in excellent use for plant sales and they are in good condition and very reasonably priced.

We take the path through in the eight acre copse, where we disturb a group of roe deer. The wood was planted in 1992 with beech, oak, prunus and a sequoia. 

We have explored every corner, there has been much to see, and plenty in flower. Surely it is time for tea. We return to the house and take it in the courtyard.

The sun has not shone but we are cheered by not only the bloom of a glorious camellia but also the very good coffee and walnut cake!

Before we go we are alerted by an Amber warning:

——-19——-

Following on from Kirtling Tower we drove some twenty minutes away to the village of Balsham, still in Cambridgeshire, where we found The Garden Gate is Wide Open. It displays a 7.5 ton lorry restriction, surely a first in my journey of garden visiting!

The owners previously lived in the large Manor House next door. They so loved it here that after the children had flown the nest, they built and moved into this very modern home; smooth walking surfaces, no steps and a building easy to maintain. Leaving more time to enjoy the garden!

At the front of the house are south facing borders planted in 2011 which contain a variety of gems. Ornamental and gravel to the right,

and vegetables to the left, that are grown in raised beds just a stone’s throw from the kitchen and back door. It is only March and the broad beans are already in flower.

Behind the house it is very different feel. A large pond big enough for a small island, is surrounded by mature trees.

What is really noticeable is the sound of children. Volunteers are standing by on ‘pond duty’. It is a haven for youngsters here. This swing provides fun and is in constant use.

In contrast to the informality is the cleanly clipped hedge of yew which we circuit and come across the viewing mound.

The neighbouring Nine Chimneys House is very visible over the hedge.

But the real reason to climb the mound is to see the musical maze. When I heard it was musical I wondered if it would have piped music, but the only sound of music was from the enjoyment of people walking within its green walls.  Thank heaven, the music is in the shape; A treble clef and two horns are shaped in the 1500 yews.

You cannot quite see it all but it is clear in the aerial view on the postcard we were kindly given at the gate.

The big balls cut out of the yew at the entrance beckon you in and there is much to explore inside the maze.

There is also plenty outside. The musical theme carries on; Cornus are growing into the shape of a note?

Close by is a human sundial laid in the grass.

Step onto the month and your shadow will tell you the time:

There is plenty of green space for children to run and play, and the majestic Turkey Oak provides an alternative swing.

And the toadstool nestling in the growing cow parsley, offers seating for those weary legs.

At one end of the pond is an intriguing sculpture.

While at the other end a punting silhouette reflects in the water.

The tufted ducks and the golden orfe add a living dimension.

To the side of the house there is a narrow bed filled with  colourful planting:

and back at the front of the house the cat is content in a warm spot:

The sun has shone all afternoon and it is not only the children who have been busy in the garden.

——-18——-

There was plenty of space to park the car at Kirtling Tower, near Newmarket (in the county of Cambridgeshire, rather than Suffolk). This is a fine shooting estate and there was a friendly welcome from the helpers sitting in the gun bus at the entrance.

It is such a bonus to be given a history of this ancient site which we were handed as we arrived. This incidentally, included a list of food and drink from the household accounts for the three day visit of the Queen in 1578.

First we walk through a meadow planted with thousands and thousands of daffodils. A living memorial to the eldest son who died in 2000; it is a beautiful way to remember him.

The Himalayan Birch Betula utilis var. jacquemontii  is striking as you enter the Secret Garden; a hallmark of the great Richard Ayers who created the famous winter garden at Anglesey Abbey, the previous home of the Fairhaven family.

They look handsome either as a single or in a ghostly group.

and it is good to see someone has a sense of humour!

The silver theme is echoed round the corner in the stems of the white bramble rubus cockburnianus:

who have the small species tulips growing at their feet.

Stems of the alba ‘Sibirica’ glow golden,

and naked branches of Willow are bent over to form an archway.

It is a quiet garden devoid of the noise of traffic or urban sprawl, and it is the gentle sounds of birds and water which you hear.

The hellebores remind me of a bunch of gleeful schoolgirls.

The white bergenia brightens the base of a tree.

Turning left out of the secret garden we walk down the pleached Hornbeam drive.

The closed iron gates, appear to be more of  a ‘clairevoie’ rather than an access route.

Just a little further on we find the gate is open into the walled garden:

This border now seemingly dormant, will look at its best in the summer months. Meanwhile sheltered from the March winds the herbaceous plants are beginning to forge ahead.

These foxtail lilies are going to be huge and stunning.

Edges are neat and the grass is mown.  Diagonal paths cut across and meet in the middle; a central focus with a circular frame to the planting.

Clipped ornamental hawthorn Crateageaus orientalis line the paths.

Vast terracotta pots filled with topiary and the scented shrub of Osmanthus x burkwoodii provide interest in the Victorian garden. There is a large variety coming through in the paeony beds.

This graceful antique statue will enjoy their rich blooms, but at the moment she has to be content with the evergreens.

Across the lawn there are more statues, animated and so very white against the yew hedge

Heading away to the informal part of the garden this chap grins at us from the bridge.

More signs of Spring along the Tudor walk beside the shallow moat.

The snake heads fritillary fritillaria meleagris is irresistible with its double head.

 

Further round this side of the garden the moat is deeper and full of water.

In the middle a fountain sprays upwards in the breeze.

While on the other side there is another show of yellow.

The farm buildings have been restored recently to a high standard.

More giant pots, this time filled with tulips.

and these three cherubs play and watch

the water flow silently down this metal obelisk.

Home-made refreshments are available in the church, but we have no time to dawdle for another garden beckons. A glance down the iris borders,

and a thoughtful photo is a reminder of what is yet to come.

——-17——-