Beth Chatto's gardens in Essex have been on my list of "things to do" forever, since they were featured on Gardeners World many years ago. Mum and Dad had also been to visit a few years ago and, after seeing their photos, I knew I had to go and visit. Sadly, it's taken me until September this year to go and I wasn't disappointed at all. (Although I know that Mum and Dad were, as, when they had visited before, there had been many more plants to look at.)
I don't water any of the flowering plants or shrubs in my garden, just the veggies. If any non-veggies in my garden need water, then they don't deserve to be here, as far as I'm concerned. Water is such a precious commodity and, in my view, it should only be used for essentials, such as food, rather than fripperies, such as flowers. I know that sounds quite harsh, but it's worked for me for seven years in the garden, so I must be doing something right! And, because of this, I was especially interested in seeing the Gravel Garden - one of Beth Chatto's best selling books - and she has written many - is Drought Resistant Planting, something that seems ever more essential in these days of climate change.
Anyway, nothing more to say, just to enjoy the photos of this beautiful garden just outside of Colchester, in Essex.
(Since visiting these gardens, I have started back at college, learning horticulture, although I knew at the time of our visit that it was imminent, hence the photos of plant names, especially in Latin!)
This is a pennisetum, a plant which I couldn't resist when visiting the nursery on site!
Not what you normally expect to find in a garden centre!
As it was such a hot day - really scorching - I left Mum and Dad in the relative shade of the area outside the coffee shop and dashed around the garden again on my own ..... as evidenced in the shadows being in different places than in those photos above ...
