Chartwell House

Today was sunny and warm, so we took a trip out to Kent and the home of Winston Churchill.  We couldn’t go into the house as it was under Spring Cleaning before spring time and the tourist season.  But we could walk through and enjoy the gardens.

Churchill's favorite spot

Winston like to sit and meditate here and take care of his fish.

Cryptomeria japonica

As we walked on along the ponds we came upon  the largest Cryptomeria I had even seen.  It was planted in 1852.

burls

Cryptomeria japonica

Frogspawn

Beneath the towering Cryptomeria was another pond, where Churchill’s favorite fish, the Oree, kept hidden under the weed.

My brother spied the frogspawn sitting there!

The swimming pool

On the back side of the house was the swimming pool overlooking the rolling lawn sloping down to the ponds at the bottom and sweeping up again into the woods, where we would go for a walk afterwards.

Overlooking the studio

A Yew hedge trimmed to a formal standard surrounds the croquet lawn and gardens.  It overlooks the extensive kitchen garden.

The Kitchen Garden

The Beech hedge dividing one section from the other had roses down both sides of the path leading to estate workers houses.

At the bottom was an Orchard on one side and on the other, the playhouse built by Winston for Mary, their youngest daughter.

The Orchard

Mary's play house

Winston Churchill's art studio

Churchill love to set up his easel in one of the many secluded spots on the estate.

Churchill's Willow

This was my favorite spot, I would have loved to have had a good book and sit out there under the shade of this beautiful willow.

The Bronze

The bronze statue of Winston Churchill and his wife was just beyond the Willow.  From there we went up into the wood surrounding Chartwell House  and estate, which is now owned by the National Trust.

Jane

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting

Signs are often funny.  Today I found three of interest.

trash bin

This decorated rubbish/trash bin was the highlight of the day.  What a wonderful way to light up the dull and dreary winter months and make trash interesting.

This sign outside of the butcher’s shop made me smile to be back in England.  Yes they still have butcher’s shops where the meat sit out in the window uncovered and ready to buy!

sign

A little dirty with road pollution, this sign refers to the ‘humps’ or ‘sleeping policemen’ as I knew them to be called as a teenager, are the bumps to slow down traffic on the very busy roads of London.

Hedges are the essence of England.  I do not think there can be a garden anywhere that does not have a hedge of some kind.  All trees, shrubs and woody perennials are sheared to create a barrier or a decorative look.  I saw pines, arborvitae, forsythia, yews, beech and many others shrubs cut and sheared to fit into the garden or to cover walls.

sheared ivy hedge

decorative hedge

Viburnum Tinus ‘Spring Bouquet’ is one of the many Viburnums is this winter blooming evergreen shrub.  It likes to be protected from the north winds and doesn’t enjoyed being pruned too heavily.

'Spring Bouquet'

Close up

Pink helleborus

Helleborus were everywhere and of course very beautiful.  These are just two I managed to photograph from underneath to show off their exquisite coloring and beauty.

White Helleborus

They are shy nodding ladies of beauty and are best planted where one can look up into the center of the flower.  Even though mine still hang there  heads I have many clumps  to enjoy when I walk through my garden in the winter.

this Ribes sanguineum ‘icicle’ white flowering Current was just too beautiful to pass up.  It tiny flowers just beginning to uncurl in the drooping clusters.

White flowering Current

These Laurel flowers, were over spilling, unpruned and  filling the earthy air with a pungent fragrance, along one side of  a footpath I walked along.

Laurel Flowers

Jane

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting

Addington Hills

Sleep deprived I stumbled around, drinking tea this morning after a late night chatting with my brother.

Eventually we got it together and went out into the dull gloomy drizzle to Addington Hills.

The Royal Garden Restaurant link shows an interest and elaborate place.

We stood at the viewing platform,  provided by Alderman Basil Monk as a permanent commemoration of Croydon’s Millenary in 1963.   We peered into the distance trying to see the  landmarks.

A low wall around the platform is engraved with directional lines and inscriptions indicating the main view points, such as Shooters Hill, Epping Forest, (a place where kings and princes hunted and showed off their wealth in the 14th century)Fulham, the Town Hall and skyscrapers of Croydon and on a clear day the towers of Windsor Castle. ( The largest, oldest and most favorite castle of the Queen’s)

Disappointed, we strode off down the steep incline, deeply covered with oak and beech leaves.

We followed trails of Blackheath pebbles, an impervious rock, staying dry most of the time, for a hour or so, alongside the hidden Addington Reservoir.   This area of flat grass land hides the containment for the water of Croydon.

The reservoir was built in 1888 and the Valve House was initially open to the public with refreshments being served from the ground floor and a residence above. Unfortunately an outbreak of Typhoid in 1937 was traced to the reservoir and the cafe was quickly closed and the area fenced off.

The drizzle became heavier and we headed back to the car and home for lunch.  There was no pub to tempt me this time!

After  lunch I wandered out on my own, using the famous A-Z map book of London.  One can get lost with this in hand – it contains every road and footpath in the whole of London, plus trains and undergrounds.  I was on a flower hunt around the neighborhood.

Of note in the gardens

Bergenia

Bergenia, an low growing evergreen commonly known as pigsqueak; because of the noise the leaves make when rubbed together and Elephant ears because of the size and shape of the leaves.

Daffodils tete-a-tete

Hebe

Crocus

Crocus grow naturalized around trees and up banks.  It is a very pretty sight so early in the spring.

While visiting the flowers I was also paying attention to the buildings.

Old Shop

Old house

Both of these old buildings were tucked in between modern building and probably date back to the 14th -15th century.

Flint stone

The garden walls from the street were often made of flint.

The Old Forge

built in the 1700 the old forge  was a smithy for 200 years, became a school and then a church after WWII, before the new church was built.  the area was all pig and goat farms back in those days.

The walk was fun and interesting but I was glad to be back and out of the rain.

Over London

After leaving the freezing conditions of Bellingham and flying nine hours seeing the city of London below in Semi sunshine was a welcome sight.

Driving through London to my brother’s place in South Croydon, it was a pleasure to see the hedge interspersed  with flowering forsythia.

Close up

Forsythia

Today started bright and sunny, so my brother and I went for a walk.  Most of the trails were really wet and muddy, and we had to dodge around and cling onto the hedges and wire fencing to avoid going ankle deep into the mire.

Sign

The winter rain and the stables had a lot to do with the problem!  The geese were loud and the sheep was very cute.  Just stood there gazing at me without moving while I took her picture.  The geese were not so accommodating!

honking geese

Sheep

cottage

This was a little cottage in the woods!  Almost expected to see little red riding hood come running out of the woods to see her grandmother!  The crocus and snowbells were all flowering, so pretty.  Further along the trail it started to rain, just lightly at first.  I would have loved to stop in the pub we passed and have a good English beer but I contented myself with the memory and smell of beer, and walked doggedly forward to the car.

An English Pub

By the time we returned to the car I was dripping!  Back to my brother’s house, relax, have some tea and get ready to go out in the evening.

The ornamental cherry and plums trees are all just about burst into flower, and the buds on the fruit trees are showing white.  Let us hope that this last cold spell will not kill off the pollinating bees.  My mason bees are still wrapped in their caccoons in my refrigerator .  When I return from my trip to England I will put them out in their specially designed and hope that all will be well for my fruit trees this year.

Peris japonica 'Little Heath'

Of all the Peris japonica‘s this dwarf is my favorite.

close up of flowers

It is a compact evergreen shrub with a yellowish green variation on the margins of the leaves with small bell-shaped flowers that hang in cluster from the end of the branches.  This is also a great plant to use as a low hedge; grows 3-4′ but very slowly.  Also great in containers with adequate water in the summer.  It foliage is also a great plant to use to light up a dark area of the garden.

Contoneaster dammeri

Cotoneaster dammeri is a favorite groundcover of mine.  It has shiny evergreen foliage, covered with small white fragrant flowers in the spring, great bronzy fall color and gorgeous small red berries all through the winter.  It is a tough woody shrub that provides food for the birds, brings in the bees and defies disease and damage by trampling animals, once established.

close up

Eugene

Of course, while I work, my companion takes it easy in sun.  If it is too cold for him, its usually too cold for me!

Helleborus foetidus

Helleborus foetidus, also known as stinking hellebore is another early bloomer in the garden.  It doesn’t smell nice but the flowers are lovely.

close up

Jane

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting

I have two beautifully fragrant plants in full flower in the front of my house.  They are Abeliophyllum distichum, commonly known as white forsythia, although I have both pink and white.  They are a shrubby deciduous plant that truly only come into its own when it bloom, it loves full sun in our climate, is tolerant of poor soil. It is a member of the olive family and has a sweet almond fragrance and have medicinal properties similar to the Witchhazel.  It can be pruned as much as a third each year after blooming.  My plants have never been pruned in the three years they have been in the ground and I am very happy with their growth pattern.  They fill the space between my roses in the summer and the very tall monkshood in the fall.

Fragrant forsythia

close up

Close up

Helleborus

Hellebores are one of my all time favorites.  I have many different colors throughout my garden and every year after they finish blooming I will cut and divide to increase the plants in the garden.  I was under the assumption for many years that they only grew in the shade – that is not true.  they will grow partial shade and some varieties will even take full sun.  They will need however, more water if planted in a sunny position.  I cut last years leave off at the ground.  This enables me to enjoy the full effect of the flowers.  new leaves grow every year with the flowers.

Winter heather

Culluna vulgaris or common heather is a very popular plant grown in gardens.  It usually requires little or no attention, although I prefer to prune the larger variety back after blooming to keep them from taking over too much room in the garden.

Close up

link to interesting site about heather.

Witchhazel 'Jelena'

This beautiful and delicate flower is from a Hamamelis x Intermedia ‘Jelena’ , common name Witchhazel  shrub planted last year in a customer’s garden.  I love these weird, spidery looking flowers that light up the garden in the very early spring.   If you have a Witchhazel, a good time to prune it back is after it finishes blooming.  Prune to shape only.

Jane

Harmonious Garden Artistry

Professional Landscape Consulting

Cardamine hirsuta or better know as shot weed is particularly obnoxious.  flowering any time of the year, at any size and shooting hundreds of seeds when the ripe seed pods burst.   for every one pulled, hundreds will be prevented from germinating.  Be sure not to leave the shot weed sitting on the ground, but bag and throw in the trash.  If you use a product to prevent weeds from germinating, now is a good time to use it around woody shrubs and trees and pathways, where perennials or other tender plants will not be grown.  I prefer to water, rake or cover with mulch, to prevent birds from thinking it is food.

Dormant Spray

Correctly applying dormant spray at the right time on your fruit trees is the most effective method of controlling and preventing disease and pests.  . A dormant spray is so called because it is applied when the plants and trees are in their dormant stage, before new leaves and buds appear.  It is applied to fruit trees and some shrubs to suffocate the insects and the eggs of pests before they wake from over wintering in the bark, cracks and crevices of your fruit trees.  Always apply or have the spray applied then the weather is calm and dry and above freezing.   I like to apply the first spraying in late fall or early winter, but sometimes the weather is not accommodating.  there are both Organic and chemical dormant sprays available in the stores.

If you trees have not already been treated, there is still time here in the northern part of the Pacific Northwest.  Do your first spray immediately and then a second in early March before the leaf formation.  Spraying after flowering buds have formed will kill the bees who are there to pollinate.

Pruning

It is an excellent time to prune your fruit trees and cut back on overgrown shrubs except for shrubs flowering on last years grown.  Pruning now will cut off the flowering sections.  These plants need to be pruned after blooming.  Espalier trees need a different technique.  The link describes the process.

Thundercloud plum

In my garden the Galanthus, snowdrops are lifting their tiny pure white heads and the crocus’, if the squirrels don’t eat them, are coming up too.  Mostly it is the stiff green leaf blades that are poking through the ground but occasionally there is a burst of yellow or purple color close to the ground.  The squirrel problem has become epidemic.  I used to have many small early bulbs.  Now I use ‘Repel All’ and it seems to be working as long as I keep applying it.

crocus

Snowdrops

The Snowdrops here are mixed with an Colchicum, Autumn Crocus, which is wonderful in the fall.   The Autumn crocus’ are just coming up out of the ground.  In a month or so there will be very tall and then die back.  I usually cut the greenery to the ground when they become overcrowded with other plants.  It does not seem to affect their blooming in the fall and keeps the garden less cluttered looking.

Other early flowers are the Helleborus, an old time favorite.  In the late fall, I remove the old leaves , it keeps the plants fresh and neat and allows me to see the flowers easily.

Viburnum 'Pink Dawn'

At the bottom of the ramp leading from my back door is the wonderfully fragrant, especially when the sun is out, Viburnum bonnantense, Viburnum ‘Pink Dawn’.  This is an anchor plant to my back garden.

We went to the Cascade Raptor Center, only .5 of a miles from their home and set right into the woods.  It was a fascinating place with 60 or more birds.  All kinds of owls from large Barn Owls to tiny Pygmy Owls.  Hawks, Bald eagles, which I’ve never seen close up before.  Even a Vulture and a Golden Eagle.  Unfortunately I forgot to pick up my camera so I include a few photos from websites.

Pygmy Owl

Vulture

golden eagle

The pygmy Owl was my favorite with the burrowing owl a close second.  All the birds we saw had been rescued and restored to health but were unable to be released into the wild again for reasons of safety to the birds.

We also went to the “Castle on the Hill”  the Shelton McMurphey Johnson House, built in 1888.  This beautiful Queen Anne house sits on the south slope of Skinner Butte, once commanding the panoramic views of Eugene and the surrounding hills.  (click on the main picture to see more scenes)

We very much enjoyed our guided tour of the house all the way to the top and back.  I look forward to going again in the summer.  Worth a second and probably even a third visit!

The last place we went, or rather it was the first, was the Museum of Natural and Cultural History.  An interactive museum with a walk through 15,000 years of Oregon’s cultural history.

My granddaughter enjoyed the transformation from prehistoric horse with its tiny size and four or five toes to present size and single hoof.  My special section was the Klamath story of Mt Mazama.  Monadalkni, the evil one was terrorizing the people of the lake and Gmokem, the creator, came down and beat the evil one, pushing him back  into the earth and smashing the mountain down on him forever.  He ordered the rains to fill the crater, creating the Incredibly beautiful Crater Lake.

It took me a full day to get home but made two stops on the way, one to walk again around Mt. Tabor with my friend and second to stop for dinner in Seattle with my cousin.

Although as usual I am glad to be home, back in my own bed is usually the most relaxing part, it was a wonderful trip.  I got to catch up with many family and friends and see parts of the country I hadn’t seen before and hope to go see again.  My total trip was 3098 miles and $369 in gas!

Next entry will be back to the Garden and what coming up now!

Buddha's hand

The California Aqueduct

Before reaching Lafayette, the only other stops I made was to view the California Aqueduct.  An amazing project that brings water to millions of homes in California as well as irrigating farmlands.

Lafayette was fun.  After a wonderful breakfast, my friend and I walked the 2.7 miles around the Lafayette Reservoir.   We toured the Orchard Nursery, all those exciting plants that we can only grow as annuals in the pacific northwest.  I was ready to go home and start planting!   The trees are beginning to leaf out and the early plums to bloom.  After lunch I drove over the Oakland Bridge and headed up highway 101 to Fort Bragg.

The two days I was in Front Bragg was beautiful and sunny.  We took a picnic both days.  We visited the botanical gardens and walked the beaches  and enjoyed the views from the cliffs on the first day.

Art in the garden

I loved this piece of art in the garden.

coast view

Coast View

Eugene loved running on the beach, throwing  and catching driftwood and small stones.

the second day we walked along the cliffs to Mendocino.   Eugene ran along the deep grooved trail  at the top of the cliffs.   He had a few treats when we had lunch and then we walked some more.

Mendocino in the background

At the end of the day we watched the sunset at Cabrillo Lighthouse.

Cabrillo lighthouse

sunset at Cabrillo

The next day was a very long one.  i drove all the way from Fort Bragg to Eugene Oregon, the longest I have ever driven at one time.