Our next stop after spending the morning at Urban Jungle was East Ruston Old Vicarage Garden, an iconic garden that is usually heralded as one the finest in the UK.
For more information about the garden, it's background and history I'll just refer you to their website and wikipedia but chances are you may have heard of this garden before. It is frequently featured in various gardening books and magazines and generally receives ample publicity.
We certainly have heard of this garden before and last Saturday was the day we finally get the chance to see it in the flesh. And we weren't disappointed, it certainly lives up to the plentiful praises it frequently receives...
A not so ordinary way of storing firewood
We came there with no itinerary in mind. Instead we intentionally just let ourselves mindlessly wander around, discovering parts of it as we went along. Every turn was a delight! Most important of all, we all felt so relaxed and enjoyed just being there.
Don and Gaz putting the world to rights
Tetrapanax rex, short stocky plants, presumably cut back each year
The garden is full of interesting features, some good looking, others more whimsical
Clever display of aeoniums in pots on staging, framing this doorway in the sun
Shabby chic in the greenhouse, we are not normally fans of brightly flowered pelargoniums but they worked so well in here. We spent quite a lot of time just sitting and chatting in the warmth on these benches.
Long borders
Garden art...
We loved this water feature made from copper pipes
The garden is huge and although we did arrive in the early afternoon we also soon realised that one visit would not be enough to see everything. We wandered around in a casual pace and we felt so relaxed and simply enjoyed just being there. It was almost closing time already when we felt hunger pangs. Fortunately there was still enough time left for some tea and cakes in their cafe before we had to leave.
Large garden structure home to a scrambling Vitis coignetiae
We finished our visit with tea and cakes in the brightly decorated tearoom. Our visit last Saturday served as just a taster and by not seeing everything it became an incentive for us to come back again relatively soon.
Mark :-)