Calke - wisteria and (almost) wildlife

Calke's walled garden always has a lovely display of wisteria but this year it seemed more wonderful than ever - maybe due to the weather this spring, maybe I just caught it at its best, but it was gorgeous.

There are three different colours of wisteria in the gardens -  a white (or very pale lilac) as you walk through the gateway, a dark variety on a nearby wall, and an inbetween pale lilac along the walls lining the approach to the gardeners' offices.

For colour I prefer the darker variety, but stretching the full length of both walls the mid-lilac one is superb. 

I couldn't choose which pictures to include - so I've posted most of them.

Of course there's lots more to see in the gardens - formal bedding around the palm trees, the later blossoming apple trees, the wildflower beds coming into flower - but for me they rather pale at the side of the wisteria.

What really delighted me though on this occasion were the deer - the almost wildlife. They roam their own separate parkland, kept from visitors (and plants) by high fences but seem happy to come quite close as if investigating what people on the other side are up to.

This first guy was standing about ten feet away! 

This older stag was further away, surrounded by this year's fawns while the does rested at a distance. Remarkably he was allowing a couple of crows/rooks to stand on his back; maybe they were picking off fleas? Hopping on to his antlers was NOT allowed though, as any attempt at this resulted in a sharp shake of the head.