Tapeley Park Gardens

In the town of Instow, not far from the village of Westleigh in North Devon, you will find 6,000-acre Tapeley Park, with its Georgian mansion, gardens, 300-acre woodland and parkland.

The house was acquired by the Christie family in the mid-19th century.  In the 1880's, Lady Rosamund married Augustus Langham Christie, then banished him to another Christie estate, perhaps partially because he supposedly used to kick the furniture with his hobnailed boots. In an act of revenge, John willed the estate to a distant cousin in Canada (he died in 1930). Lady Rosamunde fought the will in court, eventually proving (shortly before her own death in 1936) that Augustus had been of unsound mind.

Lady Rosamund devoted herself to improving the grounds, having Italian gardens dug; as well as buying furniture for the house at auctions. Today, Tapeley houses the second largest collection of William Morris furniture in England.

 

The house is closed to the public except for large groups, but the various gardens are open to tour. The terraces are one of its oldest features, hand dug and south facing. Along with the Italianate terraces there is a kitchen garden and a Permaculture garden.

 

 

There are loads of well-groomed shrubs.

 

 

And a Lovers Tunnel.

 

It is the Italian garden with its lichen-covered statues, ivy encrusted obelisks, sun dials, topiary flowers and trees which commands your attention. When viewed from above or from a distance, you become aware of just how pleasant the layout of its design is.

 

There are numerous paths for strolling that take you to different parts of the garden.

 

The lavender border, when in bloom, scents the air.

 

Arched entranceways up steps beckon you to remote private areas perfect for contemplation.

 

And also lead to a different view of the garden below.

Today, Tapeley is owned by Lady Rosamund's great grandson, Hector Christie. He inherited the estate from his aunt, another Rosamund (the grand-daughter of the previous Rosamund who created the gardens). Are you still following me?  Hector is determined to get Tapeley as off-the-grid as possible. He is involved in all sorts of  ventures and projects leading to sustainability. His statement of intent examines what Tapeley is currently doing in this regard and where it hopes to go in the future.

It's Official!

My gardening clogs are out. You know what that means... gardening season is officially here!

Transformation

The sound of my childhood summers was the distinct humming of cicadas.  On the hottest of summer days, this sound was heard high in the trees that lined my street. How lucky to be able to catch this magical transformation as it took place this summer. Though I have heard cicadas, I hadn't seen one before, let alone been witness to this amazing part of its life cycle.

After having spent as much as 17 years underground, sucking sap from tree roots, cicadas emerge to shed their larvae casings. They climb a tree and latch on, in this case to a hanging wicker basket. The outer shell cracks open and they slowly merge, shedding their outer layer.

Having emerged a little further, the wings are still all folded up and can be seen as the two green protrusions at each side of the body. The cicada is hanging upside down with only a small portion left to be pulled from the casing.

A side view of the cicada, now fully emerged and wings beginning to unfurl. The green, by the way, was the bright shade it is in these photos.

The wings are now completely formed and have rotated to angle down. Total time elapsed, perhaps 20 minutes to half an hour. Eventually the cicada would have moved to the branches above to sing for a partner, but we left at this point, having invaded the poor creature's privacy long enough. The males attract a female by making the characteristic humming sound, while the females answer with a clicking sound, made by flipping their tails.

I'm including this photo of the cicada hanging from the wicker basket to give you a sense of the scale of this newly formed creature.

BBC Worldwide produced a time-lapse segment on the life cycle of the cicada with Sir David Attenborough that's available on YouTube.

Le Déjeuner

Claude Monet's Le Déjeuner (around 1873) served as the inspiration for this photograph. One day as I was gazing at the poster of this painting in my office at work I noticed that the roses on the table looked like those in my garden.  I suddenly had the idea to try and replicate the painting for a photograph. After borrowing a few items from friend J. who instantly understood what I was trying to do and eagerly scoured her house for items that might work, as any fellow-creative would, I put together this image in my back garden. It is by no means an identical copy but it does give the impression of the original and it was a lot of fun to do.

Peony Perfection

Just like large tissue-paper flowers, peonies are oh, so beautiful but bloom for such a short time that I have to make sure that I take the time  to cut them and bring them inside to enjoy, before a rainfall or windy day takes them away. I love their blowsiness, but my goodness how the petals drop.

The First of the Season

I am so very happy to have the first David Austen roses in my garden in bloom again. They never fail to delight me with their sweet fragrance and breathtakingly delicate beauty.

Kaleidoscope Centres

Tulip Beauty

These gorgeous tulips in my garden remind me of peonies.

Thought they bloom weeks before the peony buds open.

Beautiful wisps of pink and green that look as though they have been brushed on with the stroke of a paint brush.

Truely lovely.

More Magnolias

After taking some successful photos of my own magnolias, I decided to head to the Experimental Farm's gardens to have a look at their varieties.

There were all sorts of different ones. Some creamy, some deep yellow.

There was an interesting pink magnolia with a green stripe through it.

I thought this last one very sophisticated in its colouring.

Like Ballerinas, Light and Airy

Magnolias are so ethereal, so delicate, so pretty.

They seem to have a secret world inside them, so take the time to have a look inside...

and share their secrets.

 They are like ballerinas, dancing, airy and light.

The Beauty that is Narcissi

What a beautiful spring bouquet a mix of narcissi and tulips make. I planted various varieties of narcissi last fall and I am thrilled by their beauty this spring.

Narcissi are so breathtakingly beautiful with their colour variations and ruffly goodness.