July Holiday 1997 - 2

It's the first BIG open garden touring day - three Norkolk open gardens, with Non-Gardening Partner in tow. He even starts the day looking bored... But he's driving and navigating, so that gives him something to concentrate on.

Wednesday 9th July

Today was my first BIG garden touring day. First we drove to Hoveton Hall - an honest, square walled garden with a spider gate and some awesome Quaking grass. There were heaps of huge rhododendron trees to see, and a pond to walk around. I liked the Trandescantia plantings. And visitors can walk through the spider gate - nice.

Garden number two was The Old Vicarage in East Ruston, on the Norfolk coast. I'd read about this garden, but - oops - I didn't like it. Plants were stuffed into oblong 'garden rooms' with Eucalyptus trees (considered ornamental?) in the middle. There were New Zealand species Phormiums (no coloured hybrids) and large Hebes. Straight lines everywhere - these gardeners are obsessed with controlling their garden!

Then we went off to Mannington to look at the display rose gardens. I liked some of the historical roses. Too many rose beds? Hmm... There were great displays of Red Hot Pokers by the moat, though...

Stephen indicates he is pretty much done with visiting gardens. Oh dear... But he flies out of England in two days time. I am dumping him at Oxford.

Friday 11th July

We drove to Waterperry Gardens, which was full of slowly perambulating grey-haired visitors with walking sticks. Waterperry has a groovy long walled herbaceous border. It's a horticultural college training place. It was OK. Then we zoomed around Oxford's ring road to a park'n'ride where I dropped Stephen off. Then I, as a lone woman-gardener-traveller, began what can only be described as 'the hell wiggle' making my way down and across to Devon.

En route I visited a garden in Shipton Moyne called Hodges Barn. It seemed a pretty nice place - 'Please ask the gardener if you need change' read the entrance sign. I got terribly excited actually seeing some mulch! And a couple of busy weeding gardeners... One border repeated Rosa Mundi with lilac-blue flowery underplanting - a beautiful look. Large roses were grown in the grass like proper shrubs. There were a few formal symmetric things, but on the whole there was an open-air feeling of freedom.

Then I 'found' this amazing road called the B3227 which wiggled and jiggled from Taunton right to Umberleigh in Devon. My Bed'n'Breakfast is called Court Mill and is approached down the steepest little lane. Tomorrow I am going to visit Rosemoor.