By Request

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Pauline, The Contented Crafter, recently expressed an interest in seeing a photograph showing the whole length of the garden and the house. Well, this may have been possible were it not for the foliage in between. Nevertheless, I did my best to comply.

Old Post House

I managed to cross the road at the front of the house without either dying in a road accident or falling in the ditch on the other side.

Front garden corner

There was no room for the corner facing the trellis in that view of the building.

Weeping Birch bed to house

I aimed in the direction of the house from as far south as was possible, beginning with the Weeping Birch Bed;

Brick Path to house

the Brick Path was next;

Back Drive barrier to house

then the Back Drive barrier;

Oval Path to house

the Oval Path;

Rose Garden to house

and the Rose Garden.

Well, at least they show glimpses of the back of the house.

House roof from Back Drive

Here are a couple of sightings of the roof, one from the Back Drive,

House roof from compost heaps

and another from the compost heaps.

Garden view from Garden Room windowGarden view from Bathroom windowGarden view from Dressing Room window 2Garden view from Dressing Room window 1

Here are some aerial views from the bedroom and bathroom windows.

Jackie watering

This one features Jackie watering, on which she spent much time. To the right of the fence is the North Breeze jungle.

dahlia

Here are today’s dahlia

Sweet peas

and some white sweet peas.

Clippings on Back Drive

Normally Aaron takes his clippings to the dump at no extra charge. Yesterday Jackie insisted that he left them for us to deal with. The orange bags in this picture were already destined for the Effort Recycling Centre. The heaps in the foreground filled them up again after we had completed our first trip. We needed to chop them up a bit more to fit them in. We then made a second journey.

Tables in car

I was only a couple of days ago that Jackie was announcing that she had come away empty handed from our last few trips to Efford. That run was to be interrupted today with these two tables. The metal, glass-topped, one was for the greenhouse to be delivered tomorrow, so she may be forgiven.

We had then earned a break, so we took a trip into the forest.

Horse and donkey in fly masks

Seeking shade under trees in Sandy Down a little donkey was given similar masked protection from the pesky flies to that afforded to its larger equine cousin.

Ponies and foals on road

Our chosen approach to Brockenhurst was somewhat congested with ponies and their foals. Can you count how many?

Eventually we found ourselves at Patrick’s Patch in Beaulieu.

Wildflower meadowWildflower meadow 2Wildflower meadow 3

This community garden has its own wildflower meadow;

Marigolds and nasturtiums

colour coordinated marigolds and nasturtiums;

Echinaceas

echinaceas in the form of shuttlecocks;

Swiss Chard

splendid Swiss chard;

Sweet peas 1Sweet peas 2Sweet peas 3

a variety of sweet peas;

Sunflower

russet sunflowers;

Rabbit carving

and a carved rabbit.

Scarecrow balloon

An admirably creative collection of scarecrows are distributed throughout. This one is a revolving balloon;

Scarecrow gourd

and this one, having a rest from watering, has a gourd for his head.

This evening we dined at The Monkey House just outside  Lymington. The service was excellent, friendly, and unobtrusive; the food excellent. We both enjoyed gammon steaks for main courses. My starter was whitebait, Jackie’s brie in breadcrumbs; my dessert Eton mess, Jackie’s crème brûlée. I drank a very good pinot noir and Jackie drank Amstel.

 

 

69 comments

  1. Your photos this morning, were the best wake and warming medicine I could’ve had, on this another cold winters morning here in Geelong, Thanks Derrick, and your house looks so warm and welcoming.

  2. Honestly I feel quite the glutton taking in all this luscious horticultural eye-candy! Jackie looks so elegant and chic casually watering and I want to know how she fixes her hair so effortlessly ….

  3. I knew it was going to be beautiful, the long view – but did not expect it to be quite so spectacular! It is truly a wonder! Thank you for addressing my request, and so promptly too. Also I am most relieved no traffic or ditches snared you in your work! I went for a longer walk this morning to view a little cottage that’s for sale not far from me and even though I cannot afford to buy, I indulged in a little day dreaming about it and it’s potential (tiny) garden a la Jackie 🙂 Plus the day is sunny and warmer than usual and there is change a’comin’ 🙂

  4. Your gardens are stunning but oh, my the dahlia…my Dad’s absolute favorite…he would grow them “as big as your head”…just lovely to see…at the beginning of each school year I would have to carefully bring in some for the teacher…carrying them carefully with the blooms down. 🙂

    1. Thanks, Brian. One third of an acre we think. Two of the surrounding houses have some of what once belonged to the Post Office. Your trust is well founded. 🙂

  5. I still need a drone’s view, although the tour was spectacular. Now if only the rest of it could be as lovely as the compost picture. (Just kidding…)

  6. We are thankful to Pauline for all those peeking roofs of your house through the foliage. Perhaps you may try a drone for an aerial view of your beautiful world.

  7. I really like getting a sense of the whole of your garden, especially the shots from above. Like umashankar, I was thinking you needed a drone as well…

  8. beautiful images and I can see now besides her beauty, why you married mother nature <3 you've both done a splendid job creating a colorful paradise <3

      1. and still loving the pony shots too btw…..it must be grand to have them all over like that 🙂 perhaps not have one in the yard….would eat all the pretties….hows the bunny?

  9. Wow!!! You and Jackie have a sprawling estate! The gorgeous garden is significantly larger than I’d first imagined. So, it’s primarily you and Jackie who care for the garden? It truly is a labor of love.

    1. Yes. We now have Aaron to do the stuff my knees will no longer allow – at what he is more skilled at 🙂 It’s about one third of an acre. Thanks, Rose

  10. The layers and separate kinds of flower beds are so impressive, Jackie plus Derrick. Truly an inspiration for variety and depth. I like sky blue homes and this is far bigger than expected! The time you spend on gardening, weeding and dead heading is considerable. This helps maintain your fit bodies and getting fresh air must help you to drop off to sleep easily. 🙂 ? ? ?

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