Dooryards, Chipping CamdenYesterday, I dropped my pruning equipment off at the local mower shop for sharpening. This left me without tools to work in my garden this morning. So I browsed through some pictures that my daughter and I took while on a trip to England last June. We concentrated on the Cotswolds andWhiltshire area seeking out gardens and monasteries. I have not traveled much in my life and rarely in June - a prime work month for decades. So in my retirement, I am trying to visit gardens that I have loved in pictures and history (Stourhead, Hidcote, Alhambra and Generalife) as my budget allows. On the way surprise gardens pop up naturally, as they did in Chipping Camden, England. Well travelled gardeners may say that Chipping Camden is a cliche of the Cotswolds but I found it charming and utterly alien.
Where is the plot of land for these Hollyhocks?
Lives are lived behind these doors but the curb garden is for all of us to enjoy.
These are just some of dooryards on Chipping Camden's main street. The age and history that accompanies these gardens is the stuff of legends and dreams. The health of the plant material is the stuff of envy. I could have stayed all summer.
8 comments:
My Mom and I are going to Germany this July and we can't wait to tour and see gardens. I hope I'm as lucky as you in finding beauties to photograph.
I want those Hollyhocks!
Thanks for sharing your photos with us and we look forward to more from you.
Frances at Faire Garden
Enjoyed visiting your blog and this post with the great photos of the English cottage gardens gave me happy flashbacks to my visits to England some years ago. Thanks for sharing those. Best regards, Jon on 3-10-08 at http://mississippigarden.blogspot.com
Melanie, I look forward to seeing your pictures when you return. I have grown beautiful hollyhocks in some clients gardens over the years but not in mine - too little sun. They do seem to like waste sites.
Frances, thank you. I'll wander over to your site.
Jon, our trip was a once in a lifetime mother/daughter experience. I want to go back to England and visit the Surrey and Kent areas.
I lived in England for a number of years and your lovely pictures took me right back. I always think English doorways whisper of the lives that have walked through them over countless years.
Words won't always describe the comparison of the rustic charm in the homes and doorways and the lushness and beauty of the plant and floral enhancement. We visited England and Scotland a few years ago... but not long enough. :-)
It's amazing how such small spaces can be so lovely and lush.
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