Jo’s Monday walk : A Garden Extravaganza

This isn’t a walk so much as a wallow in flowers at an Open Garden event last weekend.  I did propose a walk to nearby Witton Castle, but ‘someone’ was feeling lazy, so we opted to loiter instead.  Hillside Cottages are in the quintessentially English village of Low Etherley, a few miles from Bishop Auckland, in County Durham.  A look over the garden wall will show you the lie of the land.  Calm and pastoral.

I love nosing around a garden.  My plant knowledge isn’t huge, but I do enjoy identifying a friend or two.  Small explosions of colour lure me into the borders.  Rich plum, ‘poke you in the eye’ orange and soft pink mingle with the green.

There are two gardens, side by side, quite different yet so harmonious that the division between them is little more than a gap in the adjoining hedge, which I initially fail to spot.  The first swathes gently down the hillside, beds and borders speckled with colour.  The lady owner is obviously a lover of tulips, with all their nuances, subtle or flaunted.  Poker straight or curling seductively.

I can hear the sound of pipes, and rounding a corner I come upon the culprits.  I don’t pay them the attention that I should, because I am beguiled by the rhododendrons.  In the most glorious colours, the sun sparkles through them, bathing me in radiance.

This is the very best time of year, and life burgeons all around me.  I almost miss the delicate lemon magnolia, opening to the sun’s caress, high above my head.  Tea is brewing, alongside an array of homemade cakes, but first we must round the pond and slip through the fence to next door.

A sense of humour prevails in next door’s garden, where another pond winks at me in the sunlight.

This garden feels much more enclosed, and you wander beneath tall pines, seeking out quirks and fantasies.  By a summerhouse the owner lounges benevolently in a deck chair, chatting to some older ladies.  Probably they supervised the baking.

Don’t you just love the dog’s expression?  And what might these two gardens have in common?  Wait for it…

Scintillating rhododendrons, of course!  I’ve never been able to resist them.  I hope you didn’t mind me taking it easy this week.  This is the time of year when traditionally I share a few gardens with you.  I have a much more energetic one lined up for next week.

Wait a moment, I can hear you saying… what happened to the cake?  I can assure you that my rhubarb cake was moist and delicious, but there were no seats left, so I had to eat it perched upon a wall.  Not conditions that are compatible with cake photography.  Sorry!

Join me next time on Jo’s Monday walk?  It will be a Bank Holiday in the UK, but I’ll still be out and about.  After that I’ll be taking a break for my visit to Poland.  Many thanks to you all for your walks and for your great company.

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Although I’m a sun worshipper, I love a moody sky. Enjoy a cliff top walk with Suzanne :

Standing vertical in the storm

Jackie never needs any encouragement to eat and drink.  Join her for a cuppa?

Coffee Break

I’m offered all kinds of walks.  Janet has some beautiful sculptures to share :

Monday walk… sculpture in old Scottsdale

And Drake, often one to surprise, takes us to a tobacco museum!

Smoke in the mountain

Adventures in sand, water and caves with Liesbet.  This lady likes variety :

Highlights in Southern New Mexico – A Long Weekend Away

Or take a stroll with Pauline and Jack.  They make such delightful company :

Out and about in Stanthorpe…

And speaking of delightful, a certain Mrs. Farrell has been busy on our behalf :

Following in the Footsteps of the Green Man

Denzil offers easy walking, not far from Brussels.  Sounds good to me :

A walk around Leefdaal

It’s surprising what you can do, if you really try.  Georgie was walking in a good cause :

Walking the Wight – how I walked 15 miles…

Meanwhile Eunice has taken a leaf out of my book this week, with a really beautiful Open Garden :

Hornby Castle Gardens

Finally, an Australian Autumn, where Rosemay finds what it takes to tire the grandbairn out :

Autumn at Araluen

Yet another lovely morning here!  I’m starting to take it for granted.  Let’s see if it holds for the Bank Holiday.  Meantime, have fun, and take care.  See you next week!

130 comments

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  2. Such a delightful walk round these gorgeous gardens Jo! I’m in awe of people who can create such beautiful places and it’s wonderful when they open them up for others to enjoy. I’ve always loved rhododendrons – we used to have a fuschia one in our garden when I was growing up and I always love to see the spring displays at Harlow Carr in Harrogate when I’m over visiting my dad. Thanks so much for including my little walk at such short notice – I love the comment about “finding out what it takes to tire the grandbairn out” believe me we were very happy as she has boundless energy! Have a wonderful week! xx 🙂

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    1. It’s a joy to have a little one to look after, Rosemay, but I know it can be hard going at times. The spirit may be willing… 🙂 🙂 The Open Garden scheme does keep us out of mischief on summer Sunday afternoons.

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      1. We certainly wonder how we ever managed to bring up a couple of children ourselves at times! Need our bounce back time in between babysitting commitments these days! Still they are growing up fast and we treasure every minute. It must be lovely having such a wide choice of Open Gardens to visit in the spring and summer – such a wonderful scheme 🙂 🙂

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  5. Our Open Gardens Sundays have just started so I know what I shall be doing for the next few weeks. It’s lovely wandering around other people’s gardens and hoovering up ideas which I never put in place. The tea and cake is certainly an attraction. I’m off to one in two weeks time which gives entry to 5 gardens for the one ticket, but I’m not planning on eating cake in all five, maybe just 3 and then I can forget dinner.

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    1. It’s nice if a whole village takes part, Mari, and then it’s usually just the one cake stop in the village hall. We do quite a few because it gives you access to places you wouldn’t otherwise see. Some are a disappointment but usually they’re great. Our Sunday one yesterday was exceptional. 🙂 🙂 Feel free to join in!

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  15. Wonderful shots Jo!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing!! Have a nice week!!!

    You’ve got to be one that, wherever you are, like a flower, you’ve got to blossom where you’re planted. You cannot eliminate darkness. You cannot banish it by cursing darkness. The only way to get rid of darkness is light and to be the light yourself.

    Cory Booker

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  16. Gorgeous flowers, and the view over the wall is fabulous. I just love rhododendrons – the pink one is lovely, it would just go with my bedroom decor 🙂 Any idea if there’s a significance to the dog statue? – I love the expression on its face 🙂

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    1. I looked for a plaque but couldn’t see one Eunice. It was a bit of a quirky garden but I love the variety of the scheme. Many thanks for the link up xx

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    1. Doesn’t it, just? I have to pinch myself, Tish. 🙂 🙂 Thanks, darlin! Keeping you busy in the great outdoors, no doubt? And it’s Chelsea Week! I forgot to give that a mention.

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