Month: August 2015

Romantic Nymans

Posted on Posted in Flowers, Gardens, UncategorizedTagged , , , , 41 Comments

I’m really glad I discovered Nymans last year, when I was in the south east of England, not somewhere I usually go unless I’m heading for Gatwick. It’s now right up there with my all time favourite gardens to visit. The house and garden, in the Sussex Weald, was built in the late 1800’s, by Ludwig Messel. He wanted to build a dream family home, and he created a stunning garden against the backdrop of the wooded surroundings. He collected unusual plants from around the world and made a romantic paradise.

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The long border in June


Some of the border beauties

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Heading for the fountain

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A refreshing sight

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Eyes to the sky

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Turn a corner

Cornus variety
Speckly cornus

Find your inner child in a magical woodland path

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Retrace  your steps

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The planting is beautiful everywhere you turn

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Flat topped pudding trees

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A box garden with crenellated hedges

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This stunning, but simple planting hides a secret for now. What could it be?

A Creepy Challenge

Posted on Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo ChallengeTagged , , 33 Comments

Lucid Gypsy doesn’t do creepy. No creepy books, and I’ve never watched a horror film in my life, I doubt if I ever will. I think that what goes on in the real world is scary enough, without spending my time being scared senseless by a creepy film.

So my creepy photos may seem a bit lame to other people, but here they are.

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Are they creepy enough for you?

If you can share creepy, want to join the challenge, and see lots more creepy stuff go here.

If you pootle around St Ives

Posted on Posted in TravelTagged , , , 41 Comments

These are some of the quaint narrow streets you might find .


Occasionally the odd car squeezes its way through the tangle of streets. Going uphill and down dale, I’d rather them than me. It’s rather amusing to watch a tourist, who’s hot-footed it around the M25,  and queued in one of the A30’s bottle necks of traffic. He’s arrived and then spends two hours driving in circles,in his too big vehicle, desperate to find his holiday cottage in what looks like a cobbled Victorian back lane. Never mind mate, there’s a pasty, a pint and a warm welcome awaiting you!

I must open my eyes!

Posted on Posted in Art and Design, PhotographyTagged , , , , 39 Comments

Do you ever realise that you’ve walked past something a thousand times and never noticed it? It happened to me recently, on Exmouth seafront. I was sitting at a bench eating fish and chips, as you know I will at any opportunity, and attached to the wall in front of me there were probably thirty pottery tiles. One of them had a date,
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I’ve since found out that they were made at an event called ‘Clay in the Park’, part of the annual festival in the town. Here are a few more that I’ve put into collages.
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Some look like they were made by children, no doubt they’re all grown up now. Aren’t their creations fab? I thought I was observant but apparently not!

The world beneath my feet

Posted on Posted in Nature, Photography, Uncategorized, Weekly Photo ChallengeTagged , , 26 Comments

Is what Cheri Lucas Rowland wants to see photos of for her challenge this week. Here are my choices.

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It doesn’t look very complicated does it? But in fact it’s one of the ways out of a maize maze at Darts farm, where I took my sunflower photo this week,  go in and you could be gone a while!

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Theworld beneath Dido and Daisy’s feet will soon be wet!

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I wonder whose toes walked before me on the world beneath my feet.

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The world beneath my feet isn’t!

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Roly-poly on the world beneath my feet!

What’s beneath yours? Share with us here.

 

 

I Wish I was Ten Again

Posted on Posted in NatureTagged , , , 14 Comments

That’s what I felt like at Holly Hill Country Park last week. It’s on the edge of Fareham in Hampshire and I went with my daughter and family so that Scarlett could feed the ducks. Very nice ducks they were too, Buff ducks!

There were pretty bridges, wooden steps and muddy banks. A beautiful bench that would have fitted Jude’s July theme and several woodland art pieces. The list of flora and fauna is really impressive, the planting is subtle and naturalistic. With trees as varied as Dawn Redwood, Cork Oak, Gleditsia, Hornbeam and Japanese Cherry, it’s a real arboretum. A variety of bats, stoats, voles and hare are among twenty eight mammals listed.

Here are some photos, apart from ducks, the only wildlife are the granddaughters!

Amazingly this lovely place is free to visit. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, see some more of Jo’s Monday Walks here.