Italian Flowers and Gardens

In the last of my themed posts of our trip to Italy last month a collection of photographs from the Villa Cimbrone and the Villa Rufolo in Ravello, a collage of flowers seen in Positano and the gardens next to the ruins of Pompeii.

The Villa Cimbrone is surrounded by beautiful gardens.
Turn a corner and you'll discover wonderful vistas and beautiful statues.

Left:Flora - Goddess of Flowers
Centre: David with the head of Goliath at his feet
Right: Leda with swan

The Tea Room,  

Sun dial

Lost to a world in which I crave no part
I sit alone and commune with my heart
Pleased with my little corner of the earth
Glad that I came not sorry to depart.

Palm trees grow close to the Pozzo, (well) Villa Rufolo

The 19thc Giardino, Villa Rufolo.

Gardens at Pompeii

Everywhere you look in Positano you find beautiful flowers,
 growing in tubs, baskets and flower boxes.

Arriverderci from the beautiful Amalfi coast of Italy.

Heligan - the tour continues.

Once you've bought your ticket to enter the wonderful Lost Gardens of Heligan you are faced with two options.
Walk straight ahead towards the Northern Gardens, or turn right into the Woodland Walk.
We turned right along a sheltered and shady path venturing into over 80 acres of ancient woodland.

The Grey Lady

It isn't long before intriguing woodland sculptures such as the Grey Lady and the Mud Maid reveal themselves.

The Mud Maid sleeping peacefully beneath the greenery

Once past the Grey Lady another choice presents itself - continue on along the Georgian Ride eventually arriving at the Lost Valley, or cut across to the Jungle?

As the walk back up from the Lost Valley is described as steep, or very steep in places we decided to take the less strenuous path and explore the Jungle.

Everywhere you turn there's a "Kodak" moment waiting to surprise you.

We walked past the Steward's House, which is now a tearoom, and the Poultry Orchard.

Whichever way you decide to walk around the Lost Gardens Of Heligan eventually the path leads back to two very important places.

The Willows Tearoom - where you can sample many delights such as savoury snacks, sweet treats and wonderful pasties all freshly baked at the on site Heligan bakery.

Oh! They bake wonderful scones too for delicious Cornish cream teas.

After tea - shopping!

The Heligan shop is a wonderful place where you can find high quality items such as stationery, prints tapestries, toiletries and much more.

Next door the Heligan Plant Centre is brimming with all sorts of marvellous plants, gardening equipment, seeds and bulbs.

I stocked up on Cornish Spring bulbs.

They all had such fabulous names - Pipit; Niveth; Cheerfulness; Chuckles and Rip Van Winkle.

I'll be planting them in the garden and garden urns soon, for a marvellous display next year.



Joining our gracious hosts Bunny Jean and Susan

for

Bunny Hop Wednesday #9

and

 Outdoor Wednesday #143.

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to see more Wednesday posts.

British Red Cross Great Spring Gardening Event, 2011.

Yesterday the Senior Partner and I joined many other keen gardeners at the British Red Cross Great Spring Gardening Event which this year was held in the grounds of Hampton Court Castle, Herefordshire.

To reach the showgrounds the pathway led us past the newly restored Victorian walled kitchen garden and through a tunnel of overhanging wisteria reputed to be over one hundred and fifty years old.

Mr B couldn't resist buying fresh green asparagus and strawberries, both locally grown, we passed on the fruit juices though.

There were many specialist plant nurseries represented, about eighty craft and gift stalls in the grounds and tents.

We enjoyed looking at the varied displays created by several garden designers, "posh shed" builders, potters and wood workers to name just a few.

Several times we were gently accosted by small children from Burghill Primary School, all eager to tell us how they have been working with the British Red Cross and learning lots of different skills. Other activities they had taken part in were Bag Packing at a local supermarket; a sponsored walk; resilience training and creating a refugee camp.

They told us that they "had a fantastic time talking to some people in Ohio (in America!), where we taught some children facts about the British Red Cross".

The Orangery cafe looked beautiful but the lunch menu was a little too much and a little too late for us so we opted for a sandwich and a cuppa in one of the refreshment tents.

We also took the opportunity to tour the Castle but that's another story..........................

I hope that you have enjoyed your virtual visit to Hampton Court Castle Gardens and will come back again for a fascinating look inside.
Walking back to the car we couldn't resist taking more shots of the kitchen garden and it's glasshouses.

Linking this post to The Tablescapers Seasonal Sunday where bloggers gather each week to share seasonal activities happening in their corner of the globe.

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