A TIME FOR ROCK ROSE

When I was choosing a name for my blog it was no surprise that Rockrose sprang to mind. After all, this flower is always in my garden, here there and everywhere.

Particularly so this summer when my absence for the garden from many weeks let it run riot.

But it is so hard to pull out when they are in such glorious flower.

For now I will let them be and the orange zinnias which showed up alongside them. After all echinacea manages to combine pink and orange.

A humid, misty morning in the sunken garden shows the soft leaved yucca will flower for the second time this year.

I have been working all week at cleaning out the vegetable beds in preparation for the fall planting. We are promised rain for the weekend so I have been planing seeds of pak choi, snow peas, mustard and radish. Come on rain!

I'M MAD, REALLY MAD!

So many of my butternut squash disappeared in my absence this summer but I think I know the culprit. Last night I covered 3 of the remaining squash, wrapping them in cloth. They survived the night. But this squash thief works by day while I am gone. He fought with the wrappings until he managed to pull the squash right off the raised bed. It must have been quite a fight. Not content with that he went after another one that wasn't wrapped. Can you guess who this culprit might be?

I think he has a couple of sharp incisors and a voracious appetite. Or are there two of them? Is it a cotton rat or a ground squirrel? I'm putting my money on the ground squirrel. Where does he put all this stuff? Do you think he might like tomatoes? That's what he is getting if he ventures into my Havahart trap!

FEEDING THE CHICKENS AT HAZELWOOD FARM, NEWBY HALL, FOUNTAINS ABBEY, STUDLEY ROYAL WATER GARDENS

Wednesday July 4th,
Before we left our Yorkshire B&B of the previous two nights, Hazelwood Farm and Guesthouse, I had the opportunity to accompany Annette on her morning visit to the chicken coup. Oh, to have reached this stage in life and never to have had my own chickens. So sad!

Two eggs in the nest this morning.

I then took a quick stroll around the garden. Everything is so lush and green with all the rain.

The view across the farm lands.

We had plans to visit Studley Royal this morning but then Annette told us about another garden, Newby Hall and Gardens. We decided to add this to the itinerary.

NEWBY HALL GARDENS
The house was designed by Sir Christopher Wren (St Paul's) and is surrounded by 25 acres of gardens. We had become so used to free entry to National Trust properties using our Royal Oak membership that we had to swallow hard to pay the nearly £20 entry for two to visit just the gardens. In the end we decided we may never come this way again so we might as well do it.

Very little of the original gardens, which were installed in 1695, remain today. Major Edward Compton, who inherited Newby in 1921 is largely responsible for the garden layout as it looks today. He was influenced by Lawrence Johnson, who owned Hidcote, and created a main axis to the garden in the form of a double herbaceous border flanked by yew hedges. Off this were several garden rooms.

Following the major's death the gardens fell into some disrepair mainly because they were so labor intensive. The major's son and wife had a keen interest in plants and over a period of 10 years they replanted all the gardens.

David enjoys the view from the highly decorated Italianate bench.

Sylvia's Garden. A memorial to Sylvia, wife of the major. The garden was created on 3 levels with an ancient Byzantine corngrinder as its centerpiece and is planted in muted pinks, purples and blues.

Could this be the Rambling Rector again?

The rock garden with aqueduct, no longer in use.

Pieces of old stone carvings from York Cathedral.

Grasses in the meadow.

The rose garden.

Glasshouses

A gabion bench.

FOUNTAINS ABBEY AND STUDLEY ROYAL WATER GARDENS

Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132. The valley of the River Skell provided all they needed to build the magnificent monastery. When they were admitted to the Cistercian Order they were able to take advantage of the lay brother system which meant the lay brothers could do all the day to day work around the monastery. It became a community of masons, tanners, carpenters, shoemakers and blacksmiths. One of their major roles was to look after their vast herds of sheep. With the sale of wool the monastery gained great wealth but as often happens they were tempted to expand their holdings. Then came the Black Death, invasions from the Scots and loss of lay members. Still, even with the decrease in the importance of sheep farming coupled with an increase in diary farming the monastery still retained its importance until Henry VIII and the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Gradually the building was dismantled until it is as seen today.

The altar.

STUDELY ROYAL WATER GARDENS

The ruins passed through many hands until bought by William Aislabie. It was the final step in finishing the Georgian garden which his father had begun. This style of gardening, which began in the 18th century, had a major influence on the gardens of Europe.
Taking the high ride walk the views of water and greenscape are magnificent. There are several follies including the Octagon Tower.

The Rotunda.

Serpentine waterways

The headless statue, "Anne Boleyn"

And at the end the surprise view of the ruined abbey in the distance.

The moon pool

We could have spent a whole day there exploring the deer park and other buildings but we still had to find our B&B for the night. With only the name of the village and a road called Old Rd we had some difficulty finding the house but with help in the local pub we soon found our way to Crooklands with its delightful setting looking over the valley. We were lucky to get in just before the rain started but I knew I was going to be out there in the garden the next morning.

One quick photo and a dash inside to look through the bedroom window at a very rainy scene. Good job our hosts were cooking our dinner and we didn't have to leave the comfort of the house.

More photos of the garden in the morning.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Clearly my Agave desmettiana, 'variegata' has decided that it does not want to spend another winter in the wheelbarrow in the garage! It has decided to leave this earthly life and hope that its offspring will fare better.

This morning I noticed that it is sending up a flower stalk. I have no idea how old the plant is. I only know it was a pup of a pup of an original plant, has spent its life in a pot until last summer when I put it in the ground. Not wanting to risk its life over the winter I removed it and put it in a wheelbarrow in the garage. I planted it again this spring. At least I won't have the dilemma of trying to decide whether to winter it in the garage or to risk leaving it in the ground.
It is both a sad and exciting time when an agave sends up a flower stalk. I checked on the internet to see what kind of flower to expect and lo and behold this agave has enjoyed some exposure in the media! Stay tuned for further developments which you can guarantee will be more than 6" a day.

5,300 MILES, 6 WEEKS AWAY, LOTS OF CATCHING UP TO DO

We completed the last leg of our 5,300 mile journey with the 400+miles from Van Horn to Austin, arriving home at 6pm last night. It is never a good idea to take a look at the garden at this time of the day! Darn depressing, I can tell you. It looks as though there has been no rain here despite several people talking about 3" a few weeks ago. I was simply dying to get out there and start weeding. How is it the weeds survive without water... of course that is why they do survive.

Things look a lot better in the early morning light. A little overgrown perhaps.

Then there are a few that have not fared well without water. Still those babies are sure to save this plant from extinction.

In the front garden the blackfoot daisies show their mettle.

And the Lindheimer senna.

And the lanky liatris drooping over the rocks. We saw roadsides of this fall plant on our way from Fredricksburg.

I spent 2 hours in the morning pulling out weeds in the vegetable garden. All my butternut squash have disappeared and there were at least 20 when I left. Ah well, the price you pay to spend 6 weeks in the wilderness of our wonderful National Parks. 

NUNNINGTON HALL, HELMSLEY WALLED GARDEN, RIEVAULX TERRACE

Tuesday July 3rd 2012

The following morning we drove past fields of red corn poppies on the way to Helmsley Walled garden.

HELMSLEY WALLED GARDEN

The garden dates back to 1759 when it provided fruit and vegetables for the castle and Duncombe Park. The garden was abandoned in the 1970s and from 1994 has been restored under the leadership of Alison Ticehurst and many volunteers. The garden is a charity which provide horticultural therapy for the disadvantaged.

The medieval Helmsley castle can be seen in the background.

The glass houses have been restored to their former glory and I must say they were magnificent. Also the row of cold frames running along the front.

The physic garden with medicinal plants.

Ha!

Asparagus and soft fruit beds.

Fruit trees espaliered against the high walls. The garden boasts 70 varieties of heritage apple trees and the British Clematis Societies national collection, all tended by an army of volunteers who were much in evidence on the day we visited.

NUNNINGTON HALL

In close vicinity is the manor house of Nunnington Hall.

We first visit the house but my eye is drawn to views into the gardens beyond.

A small enclosed garden, always my favorite.

In the vegetable garden a scarecrow. He doesn't seem to work at keeping away Peter rabbit. See him in the corner?

A square foot garden designed for those who have difficulty bending down.

Sheep fleece used as a mulch underneath the vines.

Catmint along the terrace.

A close up of the willow horses made by sculptor Emma Stothard, in the orchard.

Grass-lined gravel paths.

We just had time to visit Rievaulx Terrace and another chapter in the story of English garden history.

RIEVAULX TERRACE

There is some uncertainty as to exactly how the terrace was built, but however it was done it involved a considerable amount of earth moving. A walk through the woods brings the visitor out to a grass covered terrace overlooking the ruins of the Cistercian Rievaulx Abbey. Created in 1758 by Thomas Duncomb III the terrace was designed, once again, to impress. Twice a year a party from the house would arrive in horse-drawn carriages, walk along the Terrace, view the ruins below, and then enter the Temple below where they would be wined and dined.

At the other end is a domed Doric temple.

Views of the abbey would be impossible were it not for cuttings made through the trees to afford the visitor a view of the ruins below. There are at least 13 of these views down to the abbey along the length of the Terrace.

Probably the most expensive garden shed in the world! The Temple is only open for a short period of time and we were fortunate to be there when it was open. The frescoes on the ceiling, depicting Perseus and Andromeda, are by Guiseppi Mattia Borgnis. Unfortunately shortly after finishing this work he died from lead poisoning. The result of many years of licking his paint brushes.

Returning to our B&B for the night we detoured to see the white horse on the hillside.