A Cornish Garden

I went up to the antiques fair at Shepton Mallet this weekend and had a wonderful time rummaging through fabric and lace and buttons, and admiring the variety of unusual and beautiful items on offer......it never fails to inspire! Also it's lovely to meet up again with the generous and hardworking people who trade there; special mention to Sue, Alan, Ken and John. I was thoroughly exhausted though by the end of Saturday, so decided to head home on Sunday morning, stopping off en route to visit Lanhydrock, one of the great Cornish houses and gardens. I usually park at Respryn Bridge, and walk up to the house along the river and through the woods.......

The banks were dotted with daffodils. The London to Paddington mainline runs right alongside the river just at this point....

Once in the woods the evidence of the winter storms was all too clear; I counted eight huge trees down across my path alone.

Primroses are my favourite spring flower, and here at Lanhydrock they grow in amongst the mosses and the tree roots in the most romantic way....

Lanhydrock has an historically correct formal garden at the front, but for me the natural setting of the woodland banks is far more beautiful.

Cornish gardens are justly famed for their collections of rhododendrons, azaleas, magnolias and camellias. Many of the specimens were collected as seed by the great Victorian plant hunters who journeyed to the Far East in search of rare and beautiful blooms. The mild and damp winters of the Cornish climate are perfectly suited to these native species of China and the Himalayas. Some of the trees are already in full flower, others still only in tight bud. Over the next couple of weeks the gardens of Cornwall will be at the height of their springtime glory.

Sweet-scented Daphne...

Magnificent magnolia!

Azaleas...

Huge rhododendrons!

At the back of the higher garden is this sweet little thatched summerhouse...

Delicate blowsy blooms and smooth glossy leaves of the camellias....

Fallen petals amongst the bluebell leaves...

and along the path...

Doesn't this look like a delicious puffy marshmallow! So peachy!

In the deep leaf litter the bluebells are pushing through all over...I reckon they will be out in time for Easter....

Hope you have caught some of the balmy sunny weather over the last few days, so welcome after all that wind and rain; we deserve it! x x x