Hello again!
We still recovering from the four-day marathon through southern England. Saturday found us exploring St. Paul’s and the British Museum. We returned early for a quiet evening looking over the photos from the past week. History aside, Charlie and I have been fascinated by the beautiful gardens we’ve encountered since arriving one week ago. The immediate temptation is to start planning our own garden as soon as we return to the states; however, there are two major obstacles right off the bat. First, July is probably not the best time to start digging and planting. Second, gardens on the scale we’ve seen this week literally take years to mature. I figure if we start next spring, we might have a small acre to enjoy by the time we hit 70. In the meantime, we can dream. For today, we’ll just share a few photos from our favorite gardens. Hopefully, you’ll find them as inspiring as we have.
Hyde Park, London.
The formal gardens of Hampton Court.
Windsor Castle…think Her Majesty will lend her landscape designer?
A stunning garden in the village of Bibury in the Cotswolds.
Churchill’s garden at Chartwell.
Ok, so in our yard, this gets a dose of Roundup; however, polkweed is actually cultivated in Europe. After seeing this specimen at Chartwell, we may baby a few weeks just to see……
The castle itself is in ruins; however, the gardens are thriving.
One more from Scotney Castle. This would be a nice get-a-way when the thermometer hits 90.
So, there’s our inspiration for the day. Come spring 2012, I’m going to plow up a little patch of the yard and start with a polkweed garden:-)
Great Pictures and accompanying travelogue! Is your Tennessee Pokeweed where that Elvis song, “Poke Salad Annie,” comes from?
John and Cheri
Absolutely! At least that’s what we hear. Several years ago, my neighbor had a fit when he saw me pulling polkweed out of my flower beds. He wanted it to make polk salad……and he did! Apparently, parts of the plant are poisonous, so it has to be boiled a couple of times before it’s edible. I haven’t tried to eat it, but I may try to grow it next year. The plants we saw were gorgeous. I just never let one hang around long enough to blossom:-)