Yeo Organic Gardens

Just a week after my last visit, here I am again at Yeo Organic Gardens.  I wanted to bring Mr S to share the beauty of garden with him before Spring moves to Summer.  

Just as in our own gardens, plants are not fixed, how they look is constantly changing. 

 

This week the extensive planting of Camassias in the Spring Meadow are starting into bloom: their starry blue flowers echoing beautifully the blue of the spring skies. Next week, they will be even finer.

Last time, I completely missed the Woodland Walk.  I took my time along here, both enjoying the views towards the  northern flanks of the Mendips , and also the planting of a wide variety of plants looking quite at home under the trees. 

There are some great Old Oak Trees as well as pretty acers added, and some gem planting such as this epimedium with their new bronze tinted foliage.

The Woodland Walk is an early Spring Gem. 

The Avenue of Malus hupehensis which was in full flower last week, now formed a pale green leafy tunnel leading to the Gravel Garden.  The taller herbaceous planting was still only just beyond its winter stage, yet clever design gives it a look well worth lingering over.  Of course I have yet to visit the garden in full summer.  There is not a week where I can imagine a visit would not yield  a corner to enjoy.

The long border backed by a stone wall reflects the heat and with the long stone path, dainties such as this miniature dwarf iris, surrounded by silver foliage plants makes a good combination worth emulating even in a small garden.

Mr S was quite taken with all the tulips, either scattered in the long border, in the cutting garden, or in The Parrot Cages.  He particularly liked Tulipa acuminata with its long, pointed, flame-red petals.

As Mr S usually prefers naturalistic planting I was delighted by his appreciation of the pleached Malus 'Red Sentinel' which was still in full flower.  When I mentioned that the owner Sarah Mead had explained to me on my last visit that they had been all trained at the gardens, he was even more impressed.  With his Surveyor's eyes he made several comments on the quality of the design and attention to detail.

Beyond the Terrace and through the gates lays a formal area leading to the ha-ha and views toward Blagdon Lake.  By formal let me explain: planting of trees and grass in rectangles.  Native Field Maple Trees, exquisitely shaped and almost identical,  are planted in a grid, each side of a wide grassed area,  with balancing closed mowed paths.

 In amongst the spring green swarth there was a patch of purple leaved plants just bursting into flower.  My instinct said Lady's Smock or Cuckoo Flower: Cardamine pratensis.  After a very wet late winter, the pale blooms of this native British perennial are currently in flower in local meadows, and were flowering well along the road edges as we drove to the gardens.  However I had yet to see such a fine purple leaved strain, and wanted to check various sources. I really do think this is a 'spontaneous new cultivar', which would be a very worth addition for naturalistic plantings: Cardamine pratensis 'Yeo Organic Purple'?

I could share pictures of sculptures, great iron work, mention the wonderful bird song, or the sound of crunching gravel, maybe the taste of the coffee and again the cheese and onion slice, but I have decided instead to end my sharing of the day with my delight at the charming beauty of this 'wild flower'. 

 

Our reflection just to prove we were there