He has only lived there for 18 months, and it was the previous owner who was responsible for the alterations to the house and the garden.   He has not done anything and does not intend to change the garden, but leave it as left by the previous owner, although happy to care for it.  (the wisteria was a false clue!)

The house is a 1930’s very solidly built semi and therefore, has a generous sized garden with a large lawn and herbaceous borders giving the sense of a lovely, welcoming open space. 

Now, this is where the idea for Friends visiting each other’s gardens comes from, it’s not about how perfect they are, but about how we can help each other with advice and ideas on gardening matters.   Judith, who was with me, has lots of pots.  Peter wanted advice on what would be the best to grow in pots to fill his terrace, and so he can now visit Judith for her advice.

Elizabeth Bacon

Peter will be happy to see you offering Monday 17th June and Monday 1st July.   

Contact details   01509 212466 E Mail  peter@pfwd.co.uk

When I arrived she was waiting for me on the pavement, where I was told that we have to go on a

short walk before seeing the garden.  Within a very few minutes we were in a wonderful green space,  Glen Parva Nature Reserve Trail, with tall trees and paths leading to the Grand Union Canal and the Great Central Railway footpath. This puts the garden in context.

Back in the house we see the small garden, which has a largish conservatory,  designed by Judith  which fits perfectly into it’s space.  There are a lot of pots waiting  to be filled and the planting shows real imagination and intelligence.  I will say no more about that,  as I want you to see it as I did for the first time. She has created a space which is secluded,  peaceful and very quiet, making full use of the tall trees from the spinney,  with the added bonus of extra bird song.  The relationship of garden,  conservatory and living room make a perfect whole.

Elizabeth Bacon

Judith will be happy to see you on  Tuesday June 4^th or Wednesday July 3^rd.   

Mobile 07415910994  Email  foxgloves241@googlemail.com

From the patio doors the paving leads to a small pathway and a delightful walkway past her kitchen door to the front garden gate.  The bright yellow flowers of the Welsh Poppies were such a treat and a welcome ray of colour on a grey and cloudy morning.  Overhead there’s the promise of roses later in the year which Elizabeth tells me are “Bobby James” with a profusion of white flowers, so something to return to see another day.

The main garden is effectively 4 “rooms” and after the paving area you find densely planted beds, which proudly shows off a small headed, dark red peony with Elizabeth tells me had no label, and was bought cheaply.  She still doesn’t actually know the name of this plant, so if YOU visit, maybe you can help her identify it?

Walking on to the 3^rd area, there’s the most amazing Snake Bark  Maple, the bark has a whole range of colours, and just has to be stroked!  There are some beautiful Lime Green Vibernum to see here too, and then the gnarled trunks of several apple trees to enjoy.  The flowers show a promise of fruits later in the year. 

   This is where Elizabeth has created her very private seating area, with a covered seat to shelter her from the breeze whilst she listens to the birds singing and plans her gardening tasks.  Look carefully and you may even find the metal topiary frame Elizabeth is creating, using her own face covering.   A lovely, unusual unexpected and inventive touch, but you need to search the bottom of the hedges to find it.

The final room is based on a circle of grass bordered by high hedges and again lots of natural planting and colour even at this time of year, including bluebells allowed to naturalise and a beautiful stone stature.  From here, look back up the garden, and you can hardly see the house, but there are still treats to find as you walk back, and an opportunity to explore the garden view again from a different perspective.

So did I use all 5 of my senses?   Sight without a doubt; Sound from bird songs and even a small plane from Stoughton Airport; Touch beingthe bark of various trees or stroking the flower heads; Smell from the apple blossom so all that remains is Taste and if I visit again at the right time, maybe a chance to enjoy some apples?   Who knows.

I hope this brief summary encourages you to visit Elizabeth’s garden.  She plans to be there for visitors on Wednesday June 26th and Monday August 26th.

Judith Proctor

Contact details 0116 2705711 email bacon605@btinternet.com

Click on the photos to enlarge them:

Click on the photos to enlarge them:

Good Morning Steve

Just to say a great big thank you to the L&RGT committee for arranging a superb couple of days visiting Bridgewater, Chatsworth and Felley Priory.   I had a great time, and managed to restrain my plant purchases, but buying the same plants from RHS Bridgewater, and then smaller, but 1/2 the price @ Felley Priory!  I will try to keep track and see which are most successful!  They all had a good drink when I got them home……………..   Most folks would use a saucepan for cooking, and a bowl for washing up, but L&RGT members utilise everything available as “plants come first”.    Enjoy the sunshine if you can, and keep smiling

Judith Proctor

Kelmscott Manor

Kelmscott Manor has had a major restoration. The following is taken from the Observer on 26th March 2022 and describes some of the changes that we saw:

For William Morris, the Oxfordshire village of Kelmscott was “heaven on earth”. An old farmhouse became a beloved rural retreat and inspiration for the pioneering designer, author, architectural conservationist and social reformer, widely regarded as the father of the arts and crafts movement.

Now Kelmscott Manor, near Lechlade, is reopening to the public on 1 April following a £6m renovation project, preserving and enhancing it for future generations. 

The property, which is today owned by the Society of Antiquaries of London, Britain’s oldest learned society, needed extensive remedial work, including measures to stop water getting through the brickwork.

The renovation has been made possible by a £4.3m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £1.3m from the Kelmscott Manor: Past Present & Future campaign, which continues to raise funds.
Martin Levy, a leading expert on Morris and chairman of the Kelmscott campaign, told the Observer: “Kelmscott is so magical. You hear the crows screeching in the trees, the daffodils coming up, the river beside the house. The public is going to see the house brought back to life more authentically.

“Using inventories, photographs and watercolours, the curator Kathy Haslam has done archaeological research into how the house looked while Morris was there. They’ve been able to place furniture and objects where they were originally. So you get a feeling of a house that’s lived in rather than a cold, museum-like shrine. The curator has really brought Morris’s ‘heaven on earth’ to life. I’ve been bowled over by the richness of the colours in the rooms.”

Wallpaper has been reinstated to several rooms, with designs individually printed by hand using the original blocks from the Morris & Co archives. Analysis of long-hidden paint-layers offered further clues to his colour schemes. What was always referred to as the Green Room has now been repainted in its original dark green, “Brunswick green”, which was the name given to a blend of Prussian blue and chrome yellow – a colour that Morris found “restful to the eyes”.

This article can be read in full here. 

We were divided into three groups for a fantastic guided tour of the Manor.

Click on the photos to enlarge them:

Buscott Park

Buscot Park was built by Edward Loveden Loveden between 1779 and 1783.

The house is a dignified example of the late eighteenth-century taste for Italianate country houses, inspired by the architecture of the great Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio.

A subsequent owner, Robert Tertius Campbell, died bankrupt in 1887, having spent his large fortune on turning Buscot into a model agricultural estate.

Buscot was then sold to Alexander Henderson, later the 1st Lord Faringdon, a city financier of exceptional ability. With catholic tastes in art, he bought paintings by Rembrandt, Murillo, Reynolds and Burne-Jones, establishing a solid core to the Faringdon Collection.

Gavin Henderson, the 1st Lord Faringdon’s grandson and heir, was also an enthusiastic collector of pictures, and he added the bulk of the pictures to be seen at Buscot today. He also remodelled the house by removing the heavy Victorian additions that had compromised the original design, as well as building the two balancing pavilions that stand to the east and west of the house.

In 1956 the Buscot Park estate was bequeathed to the National Trust

To enjoy Buscot Park to the full, time should be taken to explore the extensive pleasure gardens that surround the late eighteenth-century house.

To the west of the house, the mellow red-brick walls of the original kitchen garden now shelter the Four Seasons garden.

To the east, woodland walks lead to one of Britain’s finest water gardens, an unusual marriage of Italianate formality with an English parkland landscape.

From the south front of the house, the carriage drive sweeps away to the south east, down through mature woodland.

From the north front of the house, the views take in the Little Lake and the Thames plain beyond. From neither point is any clue given of the splendid water garden that lies to the east of the house, reached by following the steps from the north terrace.

Harold Peto was a great designer of Water Gardens and one of his best examples is here.
The Peto Water Garden
Designed by Harold Peto, who was, in his day, the leading exponent of formal Italianate garden design, the Water Garden was laid out in 1904 for the 1st Lord Faringdon, and extended in a second phase of building in 1911 to 1913.

The garden creates a link between the house and the Big Lake that is such an important feature of the original eighteenth-century parkland landscape.

Consisting essentially of a chain of stairways, paths, basins and a central canal, the Water Garden is flanked by box hedges, sheltering statues and terracotta jars.

The stone-edged canal follows the bold linear axis of the earlier Victorian arboretum, carried for the greater part of its length through woodland.

Variety is given to the design by a series of secretive enclosed lawns, surrounding rectangular and quatrefoil pools, and by effectively placed Italian marble seats and statuary.

The canal stream is made to perform every possible manoeuvre before it reaches the lake, running over narrow rills and miniature cascades and beneath a hump-backed balustraded bridge.

At one point the water is thrown into the air by the charmingly playful Dolphin and Putti bronze fountain.

Water-lilies decorate the surface, and box hedges are flanked by stone figures on columns, and herms portraying Roman gods. Where it meets the lake, the vista continues eastwards to the domed and columned garden temple, also designed by Peto, which sits on the opposite shore.

Click on the photos to enlarge them:

A few of his slides (selected from the 41 he showed) are attached below:

As always the presentation was followed by a social event where we were able to ask more questions to Marcus.

Click on the photos to enlarge them:

Following the walk we had a  full afternoon tea at Stonehurst Farm. This was classic Elizabeth who always wants a good social meal as part of our trips. This was no exception with excellent sandwiches, cakes and large scones with jam and clotted cream.

Click on the photos to enlarge them:

Click on the photos to enlarge them:

Sezincote

Click on the photos to enlarge them: