Hauser & Wirth - First Visit

Hauser & Wirth towards the Radić Pavilion

Hauser & Wirth 

For our Friday 'day out'  just over a week ago, we headed out to visit the gardens at Hauser & Wirth near Bruton, which they call the 'Oudolf Field'.  I can't fathom why we haven't been before, as we have driven past them many times, and of course had a stroll round Bruton which is a lovely small Somerset village where we often stop off at 'At the Chapel': a lovely bakery cum café cum restaurant with their wood fired ovens. I can't believe I have not posted a blog about Bruton yet, as we visit quite regularly.

I suppose it may have been that I had wondered when the best time to visit would be, or maybe even whether it would be worth the admission fee if it wasn't quite the right time to visit.  I now would say that anytime would be worth visiting to see what appealed in the gardens and just to enjoy the location of the gardens. Also on arriving we found that access to the gardens and the gallery are free, and at ten in the morning we almost had the garden to ourselves.  Watering was taking place which explains how the gardens were looking in tip top condition, and luckily they have their own water reserves.

As we walked around the beds, our eyes were drawn upwards towards the Radić Pavilion, which is quite a size set on large blocks of stone.  It is a large space internally and very enjoyable to walk on its sloping deck.

Sitting in the cool out of the sun this is the long view over the surrounding countryside.

I took photographs just for my usual notes on plants etc., and it is far more interesting than what can be seen here.  We shall certainly be visiting again soon.

The spent flowers added interesting textures and forms.  Seeing planting in groups like this was a revelation and whereas a single specimen having gone over is probably best removed or cut down in my garden, blocks of plants offer the possibility of keeping the whole block to enjoy its development from flower through to seed and seeing its form in the winter.

I couldn't see names for all the blocks and have ordered the book about the planting of the gardens from our library to learn a little more.

I hadn't seen this plant growing before, and using the Google Lens found it to be Datisca cannabina.. It certainly had a wow factor.

Datisca cannabina

I could finally appreciate the value of growing plants in clumps, and with quite a good range in my garden I have the idea to follow this trend more so.

One bold clump of colour is probably even more effective than many close together, and the foil of green clumps or others with form and texture taught me much. I can understand that careful design and choice of plants is paramount to achieving this effect, and is a signature of the designer 

In places I think two or three different varieties of plants were used together, something that I hope to learn more about from the book.

The waterlilies were lovely as well as the floaters and marginals would be an inspiration for anyone wanting to create or improve on their pond.

I guess planting distance with the clumps of plants helps to get this pleasing cushiony and very pleasing effect.

At the end of our walk we enjoyed a delicious brunch in the courtyard of their Roth Bar. 

The sculptures from the Niki de Saint Phalle & Jean Tinguely looked vibrant in the sunshine and against the clear blue skies. 

There are lots of activities going on that I will be looking over these to perhaps time our next visit to the garden so as to be able to sample those, but then the gardens would probably not be as quiet!

Six on Saturday - 23 August 2025

I've left my usual weather observations and general feelings about the garden to the end of this post.  For other posts called 'Six on Saturday' and what this is all about head over to our weekly gathering headquarters on Jim's Blog and post. 

1. I very nearly had to arm wrestle my friend for this beautifully coloured Echinacea.  I loved its colour and the angle of the petals. It was in a small pot, and has been put up into a larger pot and the flowers cut off. I am pleased to report that it is 'bulking up' nicely.  Is that the term one uses to describe a plant when it is increasing the number of basal shoots?

2. The pot was moved closer to the house to make it easier to keep my eye on it, and one morning I noticed a bug on it, small and quite pretty that I had not seen before.  It reminded me of a shield bug, but I had seen one this colour, shape and pattern before.  I was on the right tract as it turns out. Looking through the NHBS guide to Shield Bugs, on line.  This is the first Bishop’s Mitre Shieldbug (Aelia acuminata) I have seen, and it is our garden. 

Bishop’s Mitre Shieldbug (Aelia acuminata)

3. The succulents continue to please.  They are all in pots and watering is easy.  From time to time plants do need thinning and repotting such as this one.  I first bought one little plant of . Haworthia venosa var. tessellata back in 2014, and have since replaced a half pan type of pot every few years with divisions. Last time this was done was 2020, and it is getting rather crowded now. I have found that it does poorly in direct sun, and I bring the pot back into the house during hot sunny periods, as it does of course during the winter, when it is quite happy in the conservatory.

Haworthia venosa var. tessellata

4. This year for the first time the foliage on the Acis autumnalis (Leucojum autumnale) died right down, but I am pleased to say that the little flowers have recently appeared.  I had my first little pot four years ago, and divided it to plant around the Gingko. 

5.  With the drought, a few areas are devoid of above ground activity such as this patch where the Scilla peruviana grow.  Usually there are lots of green leaves, again this is the first time that the foliage has died down completely.

Just a few new shoots are emerging, and I would really like to lift and divide them but the ground is just too hard. This is how the looked earlier on in the year. 

6. The two Dahlia 'Karma Sangria' plants are now in the ground and although they did have labels with that name, I think they had the wrong labels as they look a lot pinker than other pictures online. 

Still no rain, and I am holding back the tears, such is the condition of the plants in many areas of the garden.  One minute I despair then my eye catches something that with a little watering is struggling on.  I really do hope that next year will be kinder.  We have visited a number of inspiring gardens over the last ten days, and I have some projects, replanting, moving etc, but these will have to wait till it is cooler and we have had some rain.

One of the gardens we visited was The Oudolf Field at Hauser & Wirth, musings and pictures of our visit: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2025/08/hauser-wirth-first-visit.html

Interesting plants I would consider growing from other blogs this week:

A lovely rose called 'Tropica Rose'. 

Visiting Buckingham Palace - A Day out at the Start of August

 We have discovered a local coach company which both Mr S and I find very good. We have had several outings, holidays, days out that we have enjoyed and are also looking forward to more. We were delighted they were doing a trip to London to visit Buckingham Palace during August, we added that to our list.

We arrived in plenty of time for our scheduled tour starting at 2 p.m. and had decided in advance to put up a packed lunch and enjoy that in some nearby park. We are just 'Country Mice' and probably could have found a nearby restaurant, however with good weather forecast the promise of sitting in a park after a coach ride was certainly appealing.  We had been warned by the coach office, not to take any bags other than a normal sized handbag, as those had to be left at the start, and with the end of the tour exiting further along Grosvenor Place where the coach was to pick us up, that would entail too much time in our opinion. So on the coach we decanted our picnic from our cool bag into one of those bags that fold into a small thing which when we had eaten out lunch would be back in my handbag.

We had about two hours in St Jame's Park, and found it altogether delightful, except I had never seen such crowds of people.  There were also a large variety of water fowl on the lake including this attention grabbing Pelican.

Several other Pelicans were further along but you just could get near enough for the throng of people choosing to take selfies with them!

As you approached Horse Guard Parade the border and beds became more vibrant, and the long border of one's left was magnificent.

There were so many different plants behind the first rank of plants with many more to add interest for the weeks to come.

On the left hand side of the path, was an 'Exotic Jungle Garden'.  So many plants and so well arranged as if in a Victorian or Edwardian garden.

And they had a nice variety of Coleus including the one I am looking forward: Plectranthus scutellariodes Skeletal, common name: Coleus Skeletal.

As we were about to curve round the east end of the lake we could see what we recognised from televised ceremonial and military events and went a little further onto Horse Guards Parade, and marvelled at the architecture surround the large open space. It is amusing that whilst I am writing this I brought up an aerial view of the park and parade ground, and have just realised why there were police officers and officials around the southern end of the ground: this area is  the back of 10 and 11 Downing Street!

Mr S loves a cannon, and it is a very impressive commemoration...

 Back around the the southern shore and the Duck Island Cottage gardens.

We made our way then along the southern shore of the lake, and went up to await our tour which started at 2 o'clock.  Of course no photographs of the interior were permitted, and several of the rooms were being refurbished, but this left many more rooms and much art to take in and admire.  In fact we both agreed we went through far too fast.  After St James's Park, we had thought the gardens of Buckingham Palace would be equally magnificent from a planted bed perspective.  After the event I realise that part of the garden is not open to those with only a house tour ticket, so something for another time perhaps.

To pass the time, we enjoyed a royal cuppa and piece of cake on the south-west facing terrace  but sadly served in a paper cup and on a paper plate!  Afterwards an amble along a path which was well cordoned off with attendants along the line to ensure no one veered off the path.  From this path one got the impression of a delightful lake with many trees.

On our way out of the city I caught a glimpse of some very different styles of architecture, and I managed to catch a picture of the Sculpture at Princes Court, Brompton Road.

For a cost per head of £55 per person including coach travel and entry, this was a really lovely day out for Mr S and I. 

Friday visit - Barrington Court

 It was very hot, and I didn't take many pictures.  

Verbascum and Verbena along the back of the workshops

Part of the house was shut off, and it was really too hot to linger around the gardens.  Of particular note were the trees and also a small enclosed garden which had many forms of white Cosmos from the lovely white cupcake form, through the doubles and tall and shorter varieties. 

After a cuppa, we made a tour of the workshops and we have a great mouch around there and years ago I started to investigate pancheons and found on a visit there many years ago that they did manke Pancheons, I have one from my grandmother which was probably her grandmothers, so I bought a little bowl this time.

I picked up a large patty pan with deep scallops, it was a thing of beauty....

I could tell it was still tender, so sautéed it with some added walnuts, dressed with walnut oil and a little balsamic vinegar, it made a great lunch or two.

After one lunch served hot, the ret was refrigerated and enjoyed the second day. It was the weekend of the dearly beloved's archery tournament, so I feasted on tapas style dishes including the Patty pan, on both days.

On the way home from Barrington Court we stopped off for lunch at The Rose and Crown at East Lambrook, where we order the roasted beef pies, yes they were proper ones with pastry top and bottom, served hot, but oh dear: the pastry was as hard as anything, the beans had been held in tepid water, and quite honestly we wished we had settled for something in East Lambrook Manor gardens, even a modest scone would have been better.  After dinner we sauntered over, and I had been under the impression that its future as a garden and venue open to the public was unknown, but I am delighted to say that East Lambrook Gardens and plant nursery it is fully open, and how better to celebrate this than buying a few plants to add to the garden.

It would have been rude not to have done....

In a Vase on Monday - where has the snap gone?

I last grew Antirrhinums and put them in a vase in 2017. They were tall strong white specimens which I had planted the first year in the garden.  This year I picked up some very young plants from the Bishop's Palace at the start of July and they are just now coming into flower.  The speed at which they have grown is quite remarkable and another strange thing is that they are open throated, which I had not noticed up to now when admiring snapdragons in other gardens. There were in small modules with nine plants and they are just now coming into flower. I think they may be of mixed colour, but these were the first to flower, and by some luck when I planted three lots of three plants, these coral coloured ones were all together.

These antirrhinum have no snap!  In the vase are a few other plants from the garden: Sedum Frosty Morn, Fuchsia 'Tom West', and the flower spike from a heuchera, of which I have no name.  

July garden flowers in a vase.

 I am linking in this arrangement to Cathy's 'Gobstoppers'.

Once again we are having very high temperatures, and the garden is seriously parched. To give you an idea today the washing dried out in the garden in only two hours! The Antirrhinums have need watering regularly, using mainly water run when waiting for the hot water to reach the kitchen sink.  Sadly the forecast shows no rain for the coming fortnight. 

Six on Saturday - 9 August 2025

I wonder what takes the place of the garden and love of plants and gardening in non gardeners?  Can be it something as fickle, which has ways to enchant and ways to cause angst?  Even something completely uncontrollable such insects or weather or disease can stretch ones feelings whether is is pleasure or pain?  This is a rhetorical question.  It is Six on Saturday so to a few observations to link in with others over in Jim's Garden Rumination post.

1. What is not to like about this glowing fiery nasturtium.  I first admired this one in a friend's garden a few years ago that autumn was given a few seeds, and I was delighted that they came up in the garden despite spending two winters in my seed box under the stairs.  The colour is not easy to capture but they literally glow in the early morning sunlight.

2.  We have had a little day flying moth flit around the garden over a number of days, and I finally managed to find it when I had my phone in hand.  

Jersey Tiger Moth

3. This week saw my dearly beloved finish the external shed refurbishment, and I am particularly pleased with some of the little improvements such as replacement of the rusty hinges for marine quality stainless ones, and also a lovely escutcheon.  Two more coats of paint and the guttering was dismantled cleaned down and the waterbutt reassembled. The internal refurbishment is to take place once the weather cools down. The shelf is back in place, no paint needed there, and plants put back.

4. I may have mentioned that I was disappointed in parts of the garden. Possibly this time it has been my fault, but I have learnt lessons which hopefully when applied will make it a better summer garden next year.  On the way back during a little excursion yesterday we happened to pass East Lambrook Manor Gardens. Somehow I had, it seems quite wrongly, thought the gardens having changed hands had ceased to function as before.  As we saw a sign outside I begged a little forray to see if they had any plants which I could add to fill in some gaps. Even though we didn't have time for a garden visit.  I can confidently report that East Lambrook Manor Gardens are open, and they did have some good plants.  I was delighted that Ellie, the person on duty in the garden filled me in, and I shall be sure to return.

All four plants were planted last night: two Dahlia Karma Sangria, and two Agastache Bolero.

5. I had a clump of Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Golden Arrow' which honestly had looked like it had decided to 'kick the bucket'.  It just could not hack the dry clay and extreme sun. However now that it has been dug up and has its roots in muddy water in a bucket, it has come back to life.  It will be tried in a couple of different parts of the garden to see if another area would suit it better.

Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Golden Arrow'

6. Last year I bought the grass Miscanthus nepalensis, and my SOS Sis was sent some seed.  I kept a seed head back and this was sown earlier this year straight into the ground.  Given the unpredictable seasons ought I to pot these very small plants up and maybe overwinter them on inside the shelf by the window?  It will depend if there is room!

Miscanthus nepalensis seedlings

Another week of dry hot weather is ahead of us......