Thursday, May 31, 2012

In praise of wistaria


 Wandering round Hyland House yesterday, my love remarked that I was always happy in a garden.  True, the mad mass of May flowers reminds us of a paradise garden devoted to flowers, shrubs and trees, the birds singing happily in the trees.  Hyland House is formal, but is well tended and loved by its gardeners.  I have written earlier about its history.  I have some old delicate chinese cups, they came in a big black box lined with red silk a gift from my first mother-in-law.  Depicted on the green and gold background of the porcelain are the racemes of  wistaria's purple and white flowers hanging in profusion.  
Walking under the tunnel of these pale mauve flowers below, a faint scent greets you in the shade of their presence.  In other parts of the garden purple irises and alliums echo the colour, underpinned by the blue of cat's mint and the pale yellow of ladies mantle.
Paths of laurels and rhodendroms wind round, so winding in fact that I almost collapsed through weakness for want of food!  But we then visited the World Garden, a recent addition and beautifully constructed with a small Arts and Craft building to walk through and a serpentine stream of water running all the way through. 












the World Garden


Purple alliums




poppy buds read to burst


2 comments:

  1. I've never seen that much wisteria growing in one place. I remember a house when we were house-hunting years ago--all else being equal I would have liked it for the wisteria over the back door!
    Have just read your several preceeding posts--you always give fscinating subjects to ponder.

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  2. Hi MM, Wistaria is such a glorious showy climber, draped across the old honey coloured Cotswold cottages and it's a show stopper, but it needs many years of growth and proper pruning which this one at Hyland House has had...

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