Much as I love sea and sand, one of the reasons I'd gone to Norfolk this time was to visit Houghton Hall Walled Garden. We'd booked in advance and the weather wasn't at its best but we donned out waterproofs and went to explore.
On paper, the garden seems quite small - a 5 acre plot - but once inside its walls, it appears to expand, Tardis-like, into a series of 'rooms'; some overflowing with flowers, some comparatively stark with rows of trees (though I'd imagine these could look quite different at blossom time or in autumn)
I've taken so many photos that I can't share them all, but here are some of my favourites - the wonderful herbaceous borders tat run the full width of the garden, rows of neatly trimmed trees, lavender in the rose garden with lily bulbs growing through, calm pools of water, a fountain of flame,
There were sections of productive garden too with plots of mixed blooms and veg, where leeks hid next to flowers, and red cabbages contrasted with pale nasturtiums (who says a veg patch can't look pretty?), and adjoining it a beautiful patch of flowers to encourage pollinators.
This is definitely somewhere I'd like to re-visit, preferably at a different time of year. A second flowering of the wisteria hinted at how gorgeous that must be earlier in the year, the apples, pears and cherries at blossom-time would be wonderful, and I'm sure there were the 'remnants' of flowering bulbs hidden among long grass. So, a place crossed off my must-visit list but one that I'll return to.
No comments:
Post a Comment