Wednesday 21st October
RHS WISLEY
The weather forecast for the day was ..."Rain, Rain and more Rain". But did we let that stop us? ..... Of course not, after all, we are u3a Garden Group members and are made of strong stuff. Certainly strong enough to cope with some rain.
59 of us joined the coach at various pick up points in the village and were on our way by 10.00 a.m. The journey went smoothly and we arrived at RHS Wisley just after 11.30. With our 55 free RHS affiliation tickets plus other RHS members, it meant that we could just walk in without having to join a queue at the check in desk.
Some headed straight for the coffee shop, others opened umbrellas and headed off into the garden which, despite the anomalies of the Summer heat, still held a lot of colour and beauty. The weather kept many visitors away for the day, but by early afternoon the clouds parted, the sun came out and suddenly it was later summer with sufficient warmth to make it a very enjoyable day out.
Our coach driver, Matthew, did a first class job in filling the boot of the coach with multiple walkers, interspersed with a huge quantity of plants purchased at the Wisley garden centre. By 3.45, everybody was back at the coach and at 4.00 we set off for home. As was to be expected, the return journey took a little longer, but we were back in the village and dropped off at our various locations, all by 6.00 p.m.
Yet another fantistic outing with everyone confirming that it was a thoroughy enjoyable day.
Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th September
Chaniwa
This lovely Japanese style garden was a pearl on the side of the hills of Downley, High Wycome. Due to the relatively small size of the plot, the owner restricted the number of visitors to 20 at any one time. As there were nearly 60 members wanting to visit this garden, it was agreed with the owner to split into three groups, Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Parking was also a bit tight as the house is on a small residential street, barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass side by side. However, there are no obstacles the garden group cannot overcome and this was no exception. Everyone who visited came away with the same thoughts in mind. What a wonderful little garden with so much to see and appreciate.
The owner welcomed everyone and talked of the history of the site and how he had developed it. He led each group down the steep slope to the various terraces, pointing out different trees, shrubs and ornamental plants as he went. The garden was full of Japanese "objet d'art" and a second or third wander round was essential to look for those items that someone else said: "Did you see that ............"
Here are just a few of the numerous photos taken on the day.
Wednesday 19th August
Borde Hill
Travelling by coach down to Haywards Heath, 47 members of the Gardening Group went to visit Borde Hill. This incredible garden, steeped in history, was yet again, a very popular and much appreciated trip.
The gardens were formed in 1598 by Stephen Borde, Grandson of Henry VIII's private herbalist and physician Andrew Borde. He rebuilt the Elizabethan House at the core of the estate. Many years later in 1893, Colonel Stephenson R Clarke re-vitalised the gardens with plants and trees collected from all four corners of the world.
Despite the recent drought conditions, the current occupiers have managed to maintain a lot of the plants due to having a bore hole within the grounds which provides water for irrigation without the restrictions of a hose pipe ban.
Here are some pictures taken on the day.
The Elizabethan house that is at the heart of Borde Hill gardens
Left - The Italian Garden with the reflecting pond
Right - The Fairy Glade, part of the "Family Trail" with pixies and elves and even the odd Gnome lurking in the trees.
Below is a montage of pictures kindly provided by Krystyna Hewitt
We left the village by 9.30 and despite the usual delays on the M25 round about Heathrow, we made good time and arrived at 11.15. We were welcomed by one of the members of staff who handed out the Welcome leaflets and maps and gave us a brief overview of the property. We were then free to roam at our leisure
We were lucky with the weather, with just a few spits and spots when we arrived, but they soon cleared away, leaving a pleasantly fresh and warm atmosphere in which to stroll round the grounds. We were back on the coach by 3.45 and despite an early departure, we still hit heavy traffic on the motorway. We arrived back in the village at around 6.00. Despite that, everyone agreed it was another great day out.
Wednesday 15th July
On a glorious hot summer day, we visited Woodlands House near Marlow. We were in two groups of thirty plus, (morning and afternoon) visiting this lovely garden, set in the heart of the Chilterns, with wonderful views over the Thames Valley. The garden was divided up into numerous "rooms", each with it's own interesting aspects. There were two "stumperies", ponds, glass houses, topiary, vast numbers of tubs and pots overflowing with colour, and a wonderful display of Hydrangeas on the courtyard, where a marquee gave us shelter from the sun while we enjoyed tea and cake. Some of us ventured to the top of the upper field for a wider view over the surrounding countryside, and even wandered round the labrynth.
A compilation of photos courtesy of Krystyna Hewitt
Wednesday 17th June
Today we visited a garden in Cholesbury near Chesham. Montana is a large woodland garden, planted by the owner with rare and unusual flowering trees, shrubs and perennials. There is a kitchen garden, a meadow with an apiary and a gate leading to a 3 acre woodland with a fernary planted in a clay pit. The woodland was developed from what was once a brickyard.
We enjoyed tea and cake in the barn tea house and the weather was perfect, making for a delightful visit. Sixty seven members of the gardening group enjoyed the day, split between the morning and afternoon sessions. Yet another successful outing.
(thanks to Nigel Conradi and Bob Rendle for the photos)
Wednesday 20th May
Our first Coach Outing this summer was a "double header", Two great places on the same day.
Our first location was the National Trust property in Gloucestershire, Hidcote Manor House and Gardens. The Garden was created by horticulturalist and plant collector, Major Lawrence Johnston. We arrived at about 11.00 and we had around two and a half hours to wander round and enjoy the beauty of the gardnens. There was plenty to see as the layout divided the garden into "rooms", each one with a different planting style. There was time enough for a bite to eat before boarding the coach to travel 400 metres down the road to Kiftsgate Court Gardens. This is a privately owned family run garden set out on a hillside, overlooking the Gloucestershire countryside. It features many rare plants and shrubs including the famous Kiftsgate Rose, which unfortunately was not in flower at this time. Those of us who were able, managed the steep path down to the pond on a level section of ground, from where the view across the countryside was outstanding. Understandably, there were many photos taken of the house, the garden and the views, some of which we have included in the rolling picture section below. We left there at 4.30 and were back in the village by 6.00. Another fantastic day out which was thoroughly enjoyable as all those who went, can testify.
Hidcote Manor and Gardens
Kiftsgate Court Gardens
Wednesday 15th April
We began our series of Summer garden visits with a trip to "Lime Close", a lovely and very large country cottage in Drayton, just the other side of Abingdon. The garden site covered approximately 5 acres and was sub-divided into smaller plots, each with their own character and charm. The owner led us round all the different sections, giving us a detailed commentary of all the plants, their names and where in the world they came from. The history of the house and grounds was fascinating and the morning group were fortunate in that the rain held off for them. Not so for the afternoon group who braved the downpours, only to be expected in the month of April.
The garden tours ended with tea, coffee and cake, served by two local ladies. At that point, we were invited to visit two more sections not covered in the main tour. The "Cottage Garden" and the "Mary Poppins Garden". These were delightful and made a fitting finale to our first outing of the year.
