National Garden Scheme | The Travel Lady In Her Shoes

1 Elm Cottage at Windmill Hill

1 Elm Cottage

Doesn’t 1 Elm Cottage at Windmill Hill just seem like the perfect place to live? It does to me! It just rolls off the tongue,”I live at 1 Elm Cottage at Windmill Hill!” This is our last garden for the day and compared to our previous stops Windmill Hill is a metropolis! What a delight the gardens have been on the Herstmonceux Trail! They have all been very different and 1 Elm Cottage is no exception!

The garden was chosen because this gardener has physical handicaps and she wanted to show what can be done with a little space and ingenuity! She says her long-handled fork is her best friend! What a delight she was, as she welcomed everyone to her lovely garden!

The garden is set at the front of a long row of connected cottages on a very, very busy street. Her cottage sets back from the others, but is still a connected cottage and I wondered if at one time this might have been a business with a parking lot. It was unusual too, because I don’t remember seeing a garden in the front of the cottage. Most of the gardens are in the back. She said the front space was a wasteland when she took it over. It now is a stunning garden packed full of edible and flowering plants and a critter or two that I really liked! So let’s get a move on and tour this garden!

The Windmill in Windmill Hill

There really is a windmill at Windmill Hill!

1 Elm Cottage

She collects rainwater to recycle……

1 Elm Cottage

And has water for these little guys….. even though they don’t ever move!

1 Elm Cottage

1 Elm Cottage

This garden seems larger than it is because it’s layered with plantings and seating areas in different heights.

1 Elm Cottage

1 Elm Cottage

I LOVED these fellas, they don’t move either, but you had to look close to see that!

1 Elm Cottage

This tiny garden had three sitting areas!

1 Elms Cottage

And a greenhouse!

1 Elm Cottage

A lovely garden girl……..

1 Elm Cottage

And lots of watering cans!

1 Elm Cottage

The Gardener at 1 Elm Cottage!

I hope you enjoyed this garden as much as we did! Tomorrow, it’s Sissinghurst, AGAIN this year!!!! It is one of my favorite gardens! See You There!

More of the Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

We are still absorbing the Montana Garden; the garden chock full of hidden and secret places, all with a different theme.

The Montana Garden

Towards the back of the property is a small setting of unusual trees and an arbor that draws you to that area to have a look see. There were quite a few guests photographing the palm on the right!

The Montana Garden

Notice all the twirling and enchanting features in the trees? Look up, look down, look everywhere! However, my eye was focused on this tree! I loved it! I could just sit on that bench and talk to that tree!

The Montana Garden

This secret garden is covered in shade and filled with many types of ferns. A garden oasis of lush!

The Montana Garden

I felt I was on Survivor, looking for the Immunity Idol! Ah! There it is! Now, if I can hide it before anyone sees me!

The Montana Garden

This arbor provides a very peaceful and restful area in the Serenity Garden.

The Montana Garden

And here is another!

The Montana Garden

Every garden could use a Pooh Shed too!

The Pooh Shed at Montana House

The Montana Garden

And a reading area that can be moved around!

The Montana Garden

This piece was an attention getter too!

The Montana Garden

Another tree to talk too! My daughter always called them the crying trees. You know the weeping willow?

The Montana Garden

With one last look at the garden we’ll say our goodbyes to the gardeners, since we have one more stop in another garden before the day is over. We’re headed for Windmill Hill next! See you there!

The Montana Garden on the National Garden Scheme

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

People often ask me how I find the open gardens that I visit on the National Garden Scheme in the UK. There is a yearly book, Gardens To Visit on the National Garden Scheme, that I send for, that lists the gardens, the date they will be open and a small description of the garden with directions to get there. Then I look to see what gardens are in the vicinity to my lodgings on the dates that I will be there. Most gardens are open on Saturday and Sundays. There has always been more than one garden to see on the Saturdays and Sundays I was available. I LOVE the Group Openings! These are several gardens, in very close proximity that are featured together. Sometimes you may see seven or more gardens in a day depending on how much time you spend in each garden.

In the previous post I wrote about Cowbeech House, which was part of the Herstmonceux Parish Trail that featured four gardens. All gardens are well marked with several bright yellow balloons and a bright yellow sign as well. Most of the time you can tell you are close to a garden because of the number of cars parked in the lane. On this particular tour there were also balloons and signs posted at different turns on the narrow roads, because some of them looked more like farm lanes and could easily be missed, or as I often say, “are you sure we are on the right road, we are in the middle of nowhere!” But, the middle of nowhere has some very beautiful gardens!

After we left Cowbeech House we were yellow-balloon directed to a cottage called “Montana.” “Montana” wasn’t in my guide book as a garden on the Herstmonceux Parish Trail list of gardens. So here is the explanation why.

The gardeners at “Montana” travel a lot. For the National Garden Scheme, one must commit at least a year in advance to open their garden on a certain date. “Montana” had never opened their garden because they couldn’t commit so far in advance. This seemed like a real shame to one of their neighbors, because she felt their garden was a must-see. So when it came time for the garden tour and she realized the “Montana” gardeners would be home and available, she moved the sign from her garden to theirs!

So we are visiting “Montana” today and it is a first timer! Aren’t we lucky! Enjoy the garden!

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

These gardeners drew your eye up with many features hidden in trees and hanging on forlorn branches!

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

The Montana Garden

No garden is complete without a retreat! This garden was very deep and wide with many different gardens within the garden! There was so much to see at “Montana” I’ll show you more tomorrow!

Cowbeech House, Hailsham, East Sussex, UK

Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

The Entry to Cowbeech Estate, Hailsham, UK

The Patio Garden at the Hailsham Estate, UK

Where There is a Him There is a Her, Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

I love surprises don’t you? That is why I so look forward to the gardens on the National Garden Scheme in the UK! They are all so unique! The gardeners really shine at bringing out the best of their gardens and also their personal tastes and likes. Cowbeech House had many surprises! First of all, there was the car collection! Wow! And then we saw the sculpture collection in the garden that surrounded this beautiful country estate! Mr Cowbeech loved modern art also. So let’s take a walk in this great estate garden!

The Patio Garden at the Hailsham Estate, UK

This is the butterfly garden guarded by the lions!

Art in the Garden, Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

Patio Garden at Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

Mr Cowbeech also liked cannons!

The Cannon Gazebo, Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

The Lawn at Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

The Vegetable Patch, Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

The Pond at Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

And a Very Big Mosquito, Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

Well this piece reminded me of a mosquito! But, I liked this little guy tucked into the bushes!

Sculpture at Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

Cowbeech House, Hailsham, UK

It’s clear to see Mr Cowbeech is a man of the world! As we say goodbye to Cowbeech House and move on to another garden I had to know, “what is a cowbeech?”

The name Cowbeech was first recorded in 1261 as Coppetebeche, referring to a ‘capped’ or pollarded Beech tree. This was then shortened over the years to Coppebeche, Cobbeach and then to the Cobeech, before becoming the modern Cowbeech. Ahh, that explains it!

See you tomorrow in the garden!

There is More to a Garden Than Flowers

Bodle Street Green, Hailsham, UK

When I first suggested touring gardens as our plan for a vacation, many of my husband’s friends raised an eyebrow and gave my husband that “poor sod look.” I think he was skeptical that this could be the kind of vacation that he would enjoy too. But, to his surprise, last year he liked it! So we planned another tour of homes and gardens for this year. I think the big factor for him was; there is more to a garden than flowers………..

This year was no exception. Gardens are like a box of chocolates, “you never know what you’re going to get, until you get there.” Cowbeech House was on the list for our first garden visit on the National Garden Schemes this year. The gardens on the National Garden Scheme are local village gardens, with gardeners, who put their gardens on view, once or twice a year, usually on a Saturday and Sunday, to raise money for charity. The gardeners are available to answer questions and show any particular garden features. There is usually something unique about their gardens and that is why they are selected in the first place.

Cowbeech House, located in Cowbeech Village, was part of the Herstmonceux Parish Trail. On this day we saw quite a few gardens on this trail of tranquil settings.

I always enjoy the time and effort it takes just to find these small villages. They are definitely off the beaten path and ~~many times~~ all the time, we are the only Americans, and the villagers are quite surprised that we come “over the pond” to look at their gardens.

A tip here is….. always plan where you want to eat because the pubs are open only at certain times to serve food and……. preferably eat before you get to the first garden, because you will stay longer than you anticipate and may miss out on the scheduled times to eat! Also, this way your husband will not be starving and wanting you to get a move on!

So our pub meal was at the White Horse Inn, a rural free house on Bodie Street Green in Hailsham. We both had the Sunday Roast and I was so busy talking to the couple next to us about Brexit, that I didn’t get a picture of the delicious meal!

The White Horse Pub, Hailsham, UK

Which way to Go?

After our meal we moved on to Cowbeech House and paid our 5 pounds which would allow us entry into five gardens on the trail that day. Needless to say, we did not make it to all of them, but we loved the gardens we did see.

The first part of the garden tour at Cowbeech House was the garage, full of antique cars! Not any cars mind you, these Cars! The house sign was a give away to what was in store for us!

Cowbeech House, Herstmonceux Parish Trail

This is Mr Cowbeech, not his real name of course, but these lovely cars, garden and house belonged to him and he was quite proud of them! As he should be!

Mr Cowbeech at Cowbeech House

Three Rolls Royces!

Rolls Royce

Aston Martin, James Bond “Goldfinger”

1924 Bentley

1931 Auston Martin International

As you can see there was much interest in the garage before we ever got to the garden…… and not everything in the garden is flowers! See you tomorrow to show you the grounds of Cowbeech House!

Color Your World: 120 Days of Crayola; Razzle Dazzle Rose

Razzle Dazzle de Rose

For my photo choice I’ve given Razzle Dazzle more flair by giving the roses a french touch, naming it Razzle Dazzle de Rose. These were more of the beautiful flowers seen on my English Garden Tour, 2015. Did I tell you I received the book, Gardens to Visit 2016, from the National Garden Scheme? I am in the throws of planning my visit this summer to gardens in Cornwall, Devon, Sussex and Kent, oh my!

Razzle Dazzle Rose is the fluorescent color originally known as Hot Magenta from 1972 to 1990. In the “Discovery Series” it was known as Blast Off.

This post is just one of many in the Color Your World: 120 Days of Crayola Challenge!

The (MY) English Garden Tour: Garden 12, Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

The original tree, that dominated the previous garden, before the houses were built!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

We have reached our final garden in Warninglid, at the Yeoveney House. This garden is planted with rhododendron, camellias, azaleas, and hostas and other lovely plants in shades of lime green and chocolate-black colorings that have been so popular in the gardens here. As usual there was a “special something,” featured in this garden too. Each garden was so different and interesting!

I want to take this time also to answer questions that I have been asked over the past weeks while I wrote these posts. I was not in a specialized, planned, garden tour with a group. First, I joined the National Trust Society. (in the U.S. it is called The Royal Oak Society) I do not remember exactly how I came to know about the National Garden Schemes, (maybe Facebook?) but I planned and researched the trip on my own, in order to visit the National Trust homes and the gardens on the NGS in the area of Kent and Sussex. All the listings were in the books I received after joining their societies. I just picked an area I thought would be interesting and went for it! I was not disappointed! The gardens we have visited have been splendid and it has been one of our best vacations ever! We loved driving around the countryside, eating in the local pubs, discovering the gardens, and visiting with other gardeners! This allowed us to get out and really enjoy the locals and learn about the UK! So without further ado, I give you Youveney House Garden. Thank you Warninglid, and the other gardens we visited, for making our garden tour so special!

Here is the back of Yeoveney House, revealing the conservatory linked to a new art studio!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

The special surprise at Yeoveney House was a WWI memorial!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

The people in the background are checking out the artwork!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

This gardener loves hostas as much as I do! You can never have enough!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

Wow, this is a beauty!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

Beautiful sweet peas!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

Everything is so neat and tidy!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

In front of the garden shed were raised beds for vegetables in the garden.

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

Here is the strawberry patch! Clever!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

Let’s add the tomato garden as well.

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

My favorite, favorite, favorite! Love the color!!!!!

Yeoveney House, Warninglid, Sussex

We say goodbye to Warninglid at the red telephone booth in the village center. We had a great time! See you tomorrow at Batemans, a National Trust Estate! Enjoy!

The Red Telephone Booth, Warninglid, Sussex

The England Garden Tour: Garden 11, Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

Anchoring the end of Cuckfield Lane, the garden at Beeches was like taking a walk in a National Park. The owners have spent twenty years adding many shrubs and specialty trees to their two acre natural woodland garden. Linked ponds and pools of different levels were also created from a ditch on their property. The look of this garden is very different from the others we have visited in Warninglid and that is what has made them all so special! Now following the path around another dutch design cottage let’s take a walk to the back!

Here is a fabulous extension to their cottage! A glass house if I ever saw one!

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

There is a freshly mowed path for us to follow through the woods.

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

I loved the foxgloves and ferns that just popped up everywhere!

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

Don’t you just love this color of red? It just makes the woodlands pop!

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

And here, by the first pond, the plum color of that tree just draws your eye to that area!

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

This was the first of many ponds. So tranquil!

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

The owner sat by the edge of a pond, sipping his tea, and occasionally detailed what we were looking at and what he had done to create the ponds.

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

The water trough.

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

This owl won’t be drinking from the trough. He was sculpted from that tree!

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

And for the finale, the Charlie Brown Christmas tree! We enjoyed Beeches! See you tomorrow in the garden!

Beeches, Warninglid, Sussex

The English Garden Tour: Garden 10, Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Hay House is a lovely dutch-design looking cottage sitting on an acre of ground that is wheel-chair accessible. Here on Cuckfield Lane we are seeing a more architecturally diverse style of home. The modern use of the term, dutch design, is to indicate a broad gambrel roof with flaring eaves that extend over the long sides, resembling a barn in construction. The early houses built by settlers were often a single room, with additions added to either end (or short side) and very often a porch along both long sides. Typically, walls were made of stone and a chimney was located on one or both ends. Looking at the front of this cottage we indeed see the placement of two chimneys and the tell-tale gambrel roof. Following a sweep of lawn and a herbaceous border, with a large climbing pale, pink rose clinging to the cottage, we are invited to come look.

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Following the drive around the house to a large, smooth, flat area in the back, we see it is perfect for a croquet match!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Here is the walkway into the garden at the back of the cottage.

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex.

There is a room on the back, adding an extension to the house, just as predicted!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex.

Strolling along the flower beds I spy a tall, curly, woody, pod plant. What is that? Can one of my gardening friends tell me? It is extraordinary!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Here is the LIME and black combo we have seen in several gardens! I would love it in mine too!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Can anyone tell me what the pinky-purple star clusters are? Are they from the allum family?

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

The garden was surrounded by a huge, huge, well tended hedge! Look for it in other pictures of the garden too!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Love, love, love this color combo!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Here is a nice place to sit and watch the croquet match!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Every garden had a greenhouse of some kind!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

This is another unusual plant to me. I thought at first it was made of wood! Those petals did look like sculptured wood, but it was a plant! What is it?

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

I could certainly while-away the hours here and write to my heart’s content in that room!!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

Everything is so tidy in the vegetable beds!

Hay House, Warninglid, Sussex

A very tropical looking palm tree got my attention too! There were several plants that I had never seen before in this garden. If you can identify them for me I would very much appreciate it! Hay House was lovely and had so much to offer! I have been so impressed with the choice of gardens here in Warniglid! See you tomorrow in the garden!