Posts from the ‘Sussex’ category
The English Garden Tour; Garden 4, North Hall, Sheffield Green, Uckfield
Why just have a driveway, when you can have a garden in it?
Here it is, the house and garden of a woman’s dreams! From the moment we entered the drive and was directed to the meadow to park in, I couldn’t wait to see the gardens surrounding this beautiful home! For background musica there was a couple seated at a table playing old time favorites on old, old, crank record players.
What sound! So crisp and clear! Who knew! No Beats headphones here! Next was the antique Rolls Royce to inspect. Setting the mood we entered the garden!
North Hall is overflowing with a palette of soft colors and heady scent. The garden is planted abundantly with a variety of plants. Pathways along the house show off antique planters and old garden equipment creating interest in the multiple tiers of the garden. There are themed island beds, moated terraces, and roses tumbling over the walls. On the back lawn is an area with tables covered in vintage lace cloths and antique table covers, set up for tea and cake. Let’s wonder through this garden shall we? I’m sure this will be one of your favorites on the National Garden Schemes too. This garden is very much loved!
Stepping down, the multi-tiered brick paths along the brick walls allowed you to see plants up close at eye level.
The roses covered the house. Notice the contrast of the pinks and violets.
Four sides to the house gives one four different gardens!
A delightful seating area, was surrounded by a garden moat! What an inspirational way to add a water garden!
There were garden rooms created for relaxing and meeting up with fellow gardeners!
I loved the contrast of the black and lime colors in the garden!
Entering another “Garden Room.”
Rainfall water storage and composting in the garden! Nothing was overlooked!
Trees and flora were tagged! How thoughtful!
Add a spot or two!
Or maybe a bright PINK!
Can you believe the combination of lavender and blue? They were iridescent!
This is one garden I could visit over and over! I just loved it! Thank you, North Hall, for sharing your beauty with us!
English Garden Tour, Garden Picture of the Day, the Terrace at Luctons
I have so many beautiful pictures from the gardens on the National Garden Scheme in the UK. I called my visit to the gardens, “The English Garden Tour.” Local gardeners open their gardens once a year for charity. Luctons, in Sussex, is a must see! Can’t you just imagine sitting at the end of the day in this garden? I can!
Help! What Am I?
This was my favorite flower during my “English Garden Tour.” We saw it several times in many gardens, but no one was able to identify it. Can a gardener help me out? I loved the way it kept blooming on a single stem!
The English Garden Tour; Garden 2, Luctons in West Hoathly
It was so entertaining sitting on the terrace at the Cat Inn in West Hoathly watching the wedding guests stroll in for a wedding lunch. Such beautiful summer finery and oh the hats! Why don’t we wear hats anymore? I am always so envious of women in hats! So elegant looking in the smallest of fluff and feather!
Time to move on to the next garden, Luctons, just a short walk to the end of the street where the “newer homes” are. Talking with the owners, who have lived in their home for thirty years, we find there have been many adjustments and improvements to their 19th century home, green houses and two acre garden.
That is what I find so interesting about the gardens I have seen so far. You get a chance to talk with the gardeners/owners of the gardens and learn more about their garden plans, choice of flowers and involvement with other gardens and gardeners. This garden was designed in the Gertrude Jekyll style, which focused on a relationship between the house and its surroundings. Gertrude Jekyll’s style included foliage, color and texture to achieve a practical and beautiful view. To give a picturesque and natural appearance in the garden the use of stone walls, walkways, and natural partitioning of the garden, ensures a gentle flow. To quote the famous landscape gardener,” A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness: it teaches industry and thrift; it teaches entire trust.” At Luctons, we see the small box partere, yew topiary, shrubs and flowers that frame the front of the home giving it an inviting entrance. Won’t you join me for careful watchfulness?
In the back is a large lawn with herbaceous borders centered in a large fruit and vegetable garden.
The wild flower orchard is not mowed revealing beautiful meadow flowers and spotted orchids. A tent has been set up where cream teas are served. Could there be anything more English? All I need is my hat!
PS This was hands down my favorite flower! I saw it in many of the gardens we toured, but could never find out the name of it. Can anyone identify it for me?
The English Garden Tour: Garden 1; The Priest House, West Hoathly, Sussex
Today we traveled to West Hoathly, in Sussex, to see the first gardens that I had chosen from the many offered this weekend on the National Garden Scheme. Driving well over an hour we arrived in the center of the small village of 9 homes, including the pub. The Priest House is our first destination. The only one of its kind open to the public, this 15th century Wealden hall house stands in a traditional cottage garden on the edge of the Ashdown Forest. Originally owned by Henry VIII it was given to Anne of Cleaves, wife number four, upon their divorce. The herb garden is planted with over 170 culinary, medicinal and household herbs. Today a special exhibition for the NGS, featured on the upper floor, built in 1600, reveals pictures of local children and their place in the workforce in the 19th century. Many children, as young as five and six, were farm laborers and chimney sweeps. It was not uncommon for the chimney sweep to get stuck in the chimney and die. The Priest House is maintained by the Sussex Archaeological Society and provides rotating exhibits, research, and other learning experiences.
St Margaret’s Church, settled in 1090, records the names of the village from Hadlega, later standardized to Hodlegh, then West Hoathly. This Anglo-Saxon word signifies a heath covered clearing, or the dense woodland of the Ashdown Forest. In 1556, Ann Tree was burnt at the stake near here for refusing to renounce Protestantism, one of seventeen martyrs to suffer this fate in Sussex. A brass memorial in the church commemorates her.
The Manor House was built in 1627 for Mrs Catherine Infield of Gravetye Manor, as a dower house. Her family was the wealthy owners of the local iron works. Later abandoned to smugglers the buildings and grounds were rejuvenated in 1884 when “the greatest English Gardener” William Robinson bought it. Upon his death it was turned over to the Forestry Commission. It now sits vacant and forlorn.
The Phlox and Rose Cottages are 19th century weather boarded over timber framed cottages. They were the newest houses in the village!
The Upper Pendent is a timber framed, tile-hung 17th century home which previously housed the village stores and post office in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Cat Inn is the 16th century pub of medieval origin standing in the crossroads of the village. The name is derived from an emblem of the Sackvilles of Knole, which is a leopard. We will be learning a lot about the Sackvilles, a very prominent family in Kent. This is the pub I had picked to stop in for lunch after touring the village. It was highly recommended by the locals also. We sat in the lovely terrace and had a most agreeable meal. Now on to the next garden in the “burbs” of West Hoathly.
P S For a good read about the wives of Henry VIII, I suggest, Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. The author draws on early biographies, letters, memoirs, account books, and diplomatic reports to bring each woman to life. Very interesting!
















































































