THE RAMBLINGS OF A STRUGGLING ARTIST ON LIFE WITH TWO TERRIERS, A PONY WITH ISSUES AND OTHER WILDLIFE AND BIRDS THAT CROSS OUR PATH

29 June 2014

RHS ROSEMOOR


Last Thursday, I met up with Jess from Rusty Duck (http://www.rustyduck.net/) at RHS Rosemoor. I've never been, which is ridiculous given that it's only about an hour away. Rosemoor was given to the Royal Horticultural Society in 1988 by its then owner Lady Anne Palmer. It became her and her mother's home in 1931 after the death of her father Robert Horace Walpole the fifth, last earl of Orford. During WW2, the house was used by the Red Cross to house families from Docklands and the East End of London whose houses had been bombed out, but Lady Anne returned after the war with her husband and young son, and ran the estate as a farm. Her interest in gardening began whilst recuperating from measles in 1959 in Spain where she met the plantsman Collingwood 'Cherry' Ingram. She travelled around the world collecting plants for Rosemoor whose diversity is now amazing. I am not that knowledgeable but Jess was an amazing guide, and could name almost everything. I'm better with wild flowers - that's my excuse anyway. We walked past the angular hedges above and into the rose gardens whose blooms were fading slightly but still staggering. They had tried to grow ramblers along these ropes with mixed results:


Below was the best result, covering the rope completely and leaving a beautiful swag of blooms:


A bit more of the rope showing here.....


I'm not really a rose person but, after this visit, I think I could be given unlimited funds and a much larger patch. 


The oriental poppies were amazing:




In the next section were beautiful Delphiniums:


Sea Hollies (Eryngiums):


I loved these Ligularia and so did the bees:


I thought these spears of Elegia Capensis were amazing. So nice to see things I could never grow but would love to. 


There was a wildflower area.......


......a pond reminiscent of Monet paintings:





No idea what this is but it was growing around the fringes of the pond:


This area was labelled 'In Flanders Fields', commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of WW1 on August 4th this year:


Fabulous ferns:


A huge woven man's face hanging in a tree:


At this point it started raining; the first rain for weeks; nice timing by us there. On our way to find shelter in a tiny and exquisite building I failed to photograph due to the severity of the downpour, I managed to get this amazingly large Allium head:


And some very lovely pine cones......variety unknown due to making a run for it:



In the end, the lure of coffee and cake, forced us out of the enviable tiny building that I can find no photographs of anywhere on the web, past these huge Iris, variety unknown:


Inula Magnifica:


Coffee and cake was delicious and we parted in the rain after a lovely morning - thank you Jess. I got home to this:


Rain soaked Sedge:


I have had a Yellow Flag Iris for eleven years, grown from a rhizome found on a path in a park, which had never flowered. It has lived in three different gardens and has flowered for the first time this year. I'm not the only one who is impressed:



When I went to feed Trigger that evening, I thought this pile of Columbines waiting to harvest for seed looked beautiful on my neighbours' bench:


A busy weekend again with the School summer fair on Saturday; me on the book stall as usual. I hope we made lots of money to fund the school trips for the following year. I can't believe OB will start his final year there in September. Where do those years go? Until next time, I hope you all had lovely weekends and here are Jack in the mist........


And Snippet on the bedroom window sill, described by friends as 'made for a dog' before we had one. We had to oblige really. 


48 comments:

  1. Thank you for taking us on a tour of those beautiful gardens. Your photos as always are wonderful. Even Dartmoor in the misty rain looks good.I hope you find some good bargains on the bookstall while you are there.

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    1. I did actually, including a very old 'Ladybird book of Trees' labelled 2/6. I think I had this very one as a child.

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  2. Exquisite photos as ever - thank you. And that is a garden I shall visit when next in Devon for sure.

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    1. Really worth a visit Cait. Luckily Jess is an RHS member so I didn't have to pay!

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  3. gorgeous photos from your walk, I felt like I was right along with you

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    1. I'm really pleased you feel like that - thanks Linda.

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  4. Lovely seeing your photos of Rosemoor. I've only actually been once in all the years we have been here, and like you, for us it takes us about an hour to get there.

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    1. It's ridiculous isn't it? There are loads of places like that.....I should make a list and start crossing them off.

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  5. What a beautiful place! Gorgeous flowers. Of course if I got near there with my "black thumb of death", all would be a wasteland in no time at all. ;)

    But truthfully, I rather the mist of the moors much more.

    The window sill my cats would love.

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    1. I'm the same with most house plants Gail! That sill is good for any diminutive creature, including OB but he's getting so tall, his head bumps the top now..........sigh.

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  6. Delphinium does not thrive in our hot and humid summers--I do miss seeing it. I am always very impressed by public gardens--the sheer profusion of flowers, the immaculate upkeep, but such spaces are a bit overwhelming--not really intimate.
    I greatly appreciated the intricacies of the dragonfly close-ups. Your photos are always so pleasing that I run out of appropriate adjectives!

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    1. I agree with you completely MM. I struggle in our pretty small patch and couldn't be bothered with all that dead-heading. Delphiniums would be eaten by slugs here in 30 seconds so I don't even try!

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  7. What a fabulous visit to Rosemoor, not somewhere that I have been, but now I want to go even more as it looks amazing. Your pictures of the moor in the mist are lovely, and I really like Snippet looking out of the window! What a lovely image that makes and it must indeed be a great place for dog or human to sit and enjoy the view. xx

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    1. I liked the wildflower bit best really....that's where my heart lies.

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  8. I bought some cut flowers for the party, there were some beautiful blue flowers, but as I had thrown the wrapping away I didn't know what they were. Seeing your photo I think they may be delphinium, thank you for your timely post :) Beautiful photos and I love the woven face.

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    1. At this time of year they might have been I guess, or Stocks? I've seen them in the shops recently.

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  9. Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing

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  10. I was expecting a post about a prison, then I saw it was RHS, not HMP.

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    1. Perhaps a visit to the opticians is in order Tom? Or maybe that jet was in fact black kryptonite with the power to slightly blur your vision. I could do a post about HMP Dartmoor I suppose and hope to spot some sunbathing inmates.

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  11. Hi EM What a wonderful place to visit and such a variety of flowers etc in this post. My neighbour has a ttree with those blue cones on it. Love the raindrops of the flowers. Great close up of the snail. that woven face is a bit frightening! great post. must dash as I have to go to dentist!!!

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    1. I find the face a bit frightening too Margaret and am slightly regretting publishing it.

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  12. WOW, what an amazing tour you took us on Em. The flora in these photos is absolutely breathtaking. Have a great Monday :)

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  13. The woven face would give me the heebie jeebies if I came across it in the woods!
    Jane x

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    1. I like it less and less every time I look at it Jane. Am considering some late night guerrilla work.....

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  14. Those wonderful delphiniums make mine look like very weedy larkspur!

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    1. I congratulate you for trying. I can't believe there aren't piles of slug pellets at the base.

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  15. Lucky you both for the visit to Rosemoor and for going with Jess! Went to Rosemoor a couple of years ago and the bits I liked best were the veg growing and the cottage garden, doubtless reflecting my own preoccupations just then. I rather like the head but wouldn't necessarily want to live with it!

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  16. I'm glad you had a good time Em, it was a real pity about the rain. Hey ho, such is Devon. Your pictures are terrific, given the awful light. I'm not so sure about the mask either, it must be something to do with their current exhibition, Journey into Middle Earth. And thank you for lunch. Next time we go out, it's my turn..

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    1. I'm so surprised that I couldn't find any reference to the little house we sheltered in anywhere.....perhaps we imagined it?

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  17. Those blue pine cones are beautiful, Em!
    And those snails...what great detail!
    So *jealous* that you and Jess can get together so often...
    I would LOVE to meet one of my fellow bloggers....
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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    1. I try and see the beauty in snails but it's not easy!

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  18. Goodness such beautiful photo ! So many favorites.
    I love the blue pine cones (?) and the Sea Hollies are a favorite. I never knew what they were called.
    The snail is lovely.
    When I worked for Hallmark Cards I always put a snail on my cards. I really don't like them in my garden but they are great to draw.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. I'd love to see some of your Hallmark work Parsnip!

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  19. What a lovely place to visit - and those swags of roses. Stunning. Sorry to hear that you chose the day with precipitation to visit! We drove past the turning for Rosemoor last summer when we were coming down from North Devon to the moor (and you). Wish we'd stopped now.

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    1. It really is worth a visit. I'm not a formal gardener but the work that goes into it all is amazing. You should have seen the number of cars in the staff car park!

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  20. I am sure I would have enjoyed the tour if I had been able to go along with you both ... maybe some day, as I will not ever say "never" xx

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    1. It would be a pleasure to see you Cindy! xx

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  21. Hello Em, what a lovely time you had with Jess. These are fantastic photos, a real pleasure to look through each and every one. I was in your part of the world not so long ago, and even though I didn't have the time to get in touch, as I saw the Dartmoor ponies and walked around Widdicome in the Moor, I sent you a silent hello :) We fully intend to come back next time and hopefully we can meet up then.

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    1. It would be lovely to meet up. You were pretty close to us in Widdicombe - about 10 miles I guess....as the crow flies. Definitely next time. Your tour looked pretty whistle stop from your last post. x

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  22. Rosemoor looks beautiful and now I`m sorry we didn`t stop on our way through from Cornwall a few years ago!

    There`s a Duncan Grant painting of a cat in a window, do you know the one? Snippet in the window reminded me....( not that he looks like a cat of course!).

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    1. I've just been looking for it but don't seem to be able to find it. Perhaps if you do, you could send me a link? Thanks DW - I'd love to see it.

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  23. Gorgeous photos - the gardens look really lovely :)

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  24. Your images are stunning! We haven't been to Rosemoor for years, it looks better than ever. I'm glad you had such an enjoyable time with Jess. Sarah x

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