Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: David Nicholson on June 02, 2012, 07:40:04 PM
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Overcast but warm today with rain promised but we chanced our arms and decided to pay our first visit of the year to Barrington Court one of my favourite gardens. Barrington Court is near Taunton in Somerset, roughly an hours drive for us up the M5 where traffic was streaming (or in large stretches standing still!) south to spend the Bank Holiday in sunny(!!!) Devon and Cornwall. As I write this torrential rain is falling but it kept dry for us all day.
Barrington Court is a restored (1920's) Tudor manor house with flower gardens inspired by Gertrude Jekyll and a working, stone walled, kitchen garden. The gardens are well worth seeing at all times of the year if you are ever in the area.
Early roses were out as was the Wisteria and Paeonia and the Irises (tall bearded mainly with a few Sibs and some Spurias, were a little past their best.
Some pictures to follow, all un-named, and all close ups as I was experimenting with my camera (again!) so don't expect them to be in the Booker class ;D Hope you enjoy them.
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Some more:-
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The final lot all Iris pictures. What a wonderfully coloured genus they are.
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My goodness, it is really summertime down there! How lovely.
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Have I really been asleep for 1 whole month??? ??? :P :-X
Did we win the Euros? ::)
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Oops! Fixed that!
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Have I really been asleep for 1 whole month??? ??? :P :-X
Did we win the Euros? ::)
Yes! and No! ;D Well it is a rather nice bottle of red.
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Thanks Maggi.
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Another bet gone down .. :'( :'(
It is a very nice Barolo though ... ;D ;D ;D.
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It is a very nice Barolo though ... ;D ;D ;D.
Not when Maureen does the wine shopping, she still thinks a good red starts at £3.99 :D
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Oh eck! :o :o
Maybe pass on my shopping list..? ::)
http://www.wine-searcher.com/most-expensive-wines.lml (http://www.wine-searcher.com/most-expensive-wines.lml)
Of course there is a 1 in 10 finders fee, ;D ;D ;D
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On the other hand Ron, your pour it, I'll sup it ;D
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;D ;D ;D
Seems you had a lovely day, and saw some wonderful plants. Another destination on the list! ::)
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The gardens are well worth seeing at all times of the year if you are ever in the area.
Brian and I visited Barrington Court last week and I have to say we were somewhat underwhelmed even taking into account the terrible weather they had had and the lateness of the season. The rose garden was pleasant although they had been bashed about a bit. The irises were all but over. The house is empty of furniture but fairly interesting and three rooms contained an Anthony Gormley exhibition of thousands of tiny clay figures filling the rooms (made by 100 people from a deprived community the design being Gormley's) which was well.... interesting! Its National Trust and we thought expensive for an empty house. Others are better.
Will put some pictures up sometime (which will make it look better than it is) but have taken nearly one thousand this week and visited some very good gardens that I would put in front of this one.
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...of course in another couple of weeks the lilies will be looking fabulous ;)
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We really have had a run of very bad weather although the garden was looking quite good when we were last there at the beginning of June (it has rarely stopped raining since). I agree with your remarks about the House Brian we haven't been in it for a couple of years at least.
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We did make comment when we went to Montecute (full of treasures) in the afternoon for only £1 more. I thought that as three rooms were totally taken up by the Gormley exhibition we should have had a discount - you couldn't even cross the threshold ::) Other gardens we visited were very good - even though they had had the same conditions, the only one being problematical was Lytes Cary where sections had been roped off because of the sodden turf. We thought Burrow Farm Gardens near Axeminster was well worth a visit, have you been?
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....................We thought Burrow Farm Gardens near Axeminster was well worth a visit, have you been?
Yes, nice garden. We normally go in early spring to see the Primulas.
http://www.burrowfarmgardens.co.uk/ (http://www.burrowfarmgardens.co.uk/)
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I agree with your remarks about the House Brian we haven't been in it for a couple of years at least.
That's odd I thought I said that!
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That's odd I thought I said that!
So you did David, my mistake, sorry.
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Trying to catch up with photo processing these are a few from our late June visit just a few weeks after David's photos were taken and it shows what a difference a month makes early in the season.