I try to do a garden tour each year - but this year my summer was filled with work and a long awaited vacation to Great Britain. I love gardens. And I especially love English country gardens.
My vacation to the UK, however, revealed a few garden surprises, right in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world
London has many beautiful parks but the most lovely and the largest was right across the street from our hotel. Spectacular Hyde Park. Huge ages old trees, water, sculpture, gardens, and acres and acres of green and paths. We spent many hours discovering its beauty.
I think I could spend a month in this park... there was so much more to explore and so little time.
But Hyde Park wasn't the only gem in London - in fact we discovered many 'little gems' everywhere we went...
like the vibrant hanging baskets and window boxes decorating the front of our hotel and many other buildings in and around London
especially the pubs
they were one of my favorite sights
polished to perfection, full of charm, and hanging baskets of flowers
they were a delightful sight
There were other surprises around the city...
it seemed that wherever possible, Londoners were determined to enjoy a bit of green -
from boxwood topiaries and hedges on balconies and ledges
from boxwood topiaries and hedges on balconies and ledges
to colorful window boxes in fabulous color
Check out this wall of green in Nottinghill (right next to a rose covered arbor)
and we found this great vertical garden next to the National Gallery
Even magnificent St. Paul's Cathedral was further beautified with a little garden
Outside of London, the countryside exploded with green
but the Cotswolds is where I found the quintessential English country garden.
And with a perfect background of charming 16th century limestone cottages...
(following images all taken in Bibury, Burford, Lacock and Burton on the Water in the Cotswolds)
look at the wonderful espalliered pear tree on the wall of this cottage
places so oozing with charm, each photo could be a postcard
and I'm a very amateur photographer!
Stratford on Avon 'dig' garden
And do you think stonehenge would be quite as astounding if it were located on plain brown dirt?... ok, it would, but I still love all that green!
I hope you enjoyed my little garden tour
Best wishes,
Claudine
9 click HERE to leave a comment:
Thank you so much for sharing your fabulous photos of all the amazing pubs, flowering baskets, English gardens, and everything else that truly transported me, if just for a few minutes to that garden feast for the soul!
Those pubs were so immaculate -- I could really get into collecting postcards from each of those places.
What a fun treat.
Regards,
Bonnie Marable
Bonnie,
So good to hear from you. The pubs were adorable everywhere we went - and we ate at them a lot too - Thanks for commenting!
Oh my! What a feast for the eyes! Beautiful photos! Thanks again1
Absolutely exquisite, Sis. Makes me want to go to England myself!! Love the close-up of you and Keith. YOU look gorgeous! Your photography is gorgeous, too. :)
omgosh...cannot believe the scenery...and the reason why your photos look like postcards, is because you have an artists eye. your composition is perfect. so from one amateur to another, your photos are divine! loved the pears on the wall and the mushrooms climbing on that trunk...and i am sure those brits are using lots of fertilizer...one thing i need to give my poor yellow, anemic shrubs. k, off to home depot tomorrow!
Loved the Garden Tour. The Cotswolds is (are?) a favorite of mine, too! Can't wait to see all your pix
Really beautiful! I, too, was impressed with the hanging baskets. Wish I could do it here.
I am really wanting to see the music credits? Can you tell me who the artists and songs are? Love them. Aprils friend, Jan jan.coyle@comcast.net
Hi Jan
If you scroll down on any page in the blog you will come to a playlist on the right hand side and the songs and artists should be listed. There are quite a few - so that would be the best way to determine which songs you were interested in.
Best wishes
Claudine
Post a Comment