THE GREAT BRITISH GARDEN TOUR DAY 16

We were to spend the weekend of June 4th with our friends. The last time we visited was in 2009 and I posted about their beautiful garden. It is still as beautiful today as it was then.

Friday June 3th 2011

Their greenhouse rivals any that I have ever been in and it is chock full of plants.

I think his cactus are happier to be in England than over here.

So many people in England have conservatories built onto the backs of their homes. The climate is perfect and one corner of the greenhouse provides the perfect place to enjoy morning coffee and read the newspaper.

The next morning cloudy skies made photography a little easier. There was just in time to take a quick look around the garden before we set off for the day to visit Coughton Court.

Every English garden must have its trough with alpine plantings. Years ago kitchen sinks were rectangular porcelain. When they went out of style they were converted into troughs by covering with a hypertufa mix. Today people are probably chipping off the coating in order to put the sink back in the kitchen, such is the popularity of the country sink in today's kitchens!

Time to leave.

COUGHTON COURT

The Hall has been in the same family since it was built in 1409. Can you imagine having a family home that had been passed down through so many generations.

We first went inside the house learning about the history of the Throckmorton family. This Catholic family were connected with pre-reformation plots including Gunpowder plot. They were one of the few Catholic families to keep their estates intact throughout those turbulent times, and keeping their faith intact, members of the family became leaders in the emancipation of Catholics in the 18th and 19th centuries. From the rooftop the view is down over the formal garden.

Oh, how very English. The Sussex trug with a collection of old pots, string and well kept tools. The current family is responsible for the walled garden which we were to visit after a stop for lunch at the stable courtyard cafe.

The walled garden with the C of E Church of St Peter.





On the way home we passed a gypsy encampment on the roadside. It seems they have now reverted back to their old style of caravans.

Sunday we would leave to spend a couple of days in the Cotswolds with return visits to Snowshill and Hidcote.