A Midsummer Lunch at Easton Walled Gardens

I was very pleased to be invited to a recent Midsummer Lunch event at Easton Walled Gardens.  I was delighted to be able to go as it is a garden I am extremely fond of.  The event was well attended and centred around a series of talks  The first was given by Lady Ursula Cholmeley, the owner and driving force of  the gardens who talked about the history of the gardens and also some context for what Ursula and her team want to achieve.
The second talk was from Matthew Wilson, winner of the Peoples' Choice Award who spoke about his experience of  Chelsea Flower Show show-garden building this year.  Then there was a talk from Guy Barter, Chief Horticultural Advisor for the RHS, who talked about the new RHS Garden: Bridgewater.  Finally there was a talk from Laura Garnett, Development Manager at Perennial, the charity for people who work in horticulture.  The talks were informative and entertaining and it as all very enjoyable.  The weather was also, thankfully, very kind and whilst it clouded over a little at one point, it was mainly sunny and pleasantly warm.  Once the lunch was finished and talks over, we could then wander around the gardens at our leisure.
July 3rd sees the start of Sweet Pea Week at Easton and the sweet peas are already starting to flower.
I love the Pickery, on this day the scent from the sweetpeas was really strong, it was just delightful.
The peas will grow to the top of these supports over the next couple of weeks and the blooms will be plentiful.
I do love sweetpeas.
There was also a new area in the garden.
This small area was perfectly bounded by the box hedging.  There is a path winding through it and there was the signs of chrysanthemums and dahlias being planted out.  I liked this garden, it seemed to make a perfect place to stop and think a while.
The meadows on the terraces are starting to flower well.
and the planting in the borders was looking really good.  Bearing in mind that the day before this event there had been torrential rain for several hours I think the planting has held up well.
I loved these massive thistles just by the gate house - what fantastic form and height.
The border that lines the walled garden is always good, it was full of bees on this day.  I have to say I think the gardens are looking the best I have ever seen.
I stopped to admire this gate as we walked into the walled garden.  It is just the most perfect view, the obliging sheep helped too.
In the walled garden the planting in the meadow areas is really developing well.  It is important to remember that all of this garden is relatively new.  It was only started to be cleared and renovated in 2001 from complete dereliction.  I always find it interesting that gardens take a while to start to mature but suddenly, like a switch has been pressed, they start to really come together.  This is particularly how the meadow feels at Easton, it has tipped over from getting there into something rather special.
There were several of these native echiums in the meadow, they stopped me in my tracks.  They stopped a few bees too who were clearly loving them.
Before leaving I had to go and say hello to the giraffes.  I love these giraffes and I alwys stop by when  I visit.
I'm sure this one is munching on some leaves.
I have to say a huge thank you to Ursula and her team for putting on such a lovely event.