Visit to Barrington Court, Somerset-31 May 2009

[David Nicholson]

Beautiful day today and much too hot to work in the garden (28C) so we went out on a visit. Started well though with five miles of standing traffic owing to an overturned caravan just outside Exeter. It wasn't helped, some 15 miles further on, when I was caught in a police radar trap. The road is one I know well and is mainly one carriageway each way, with short stretches of dual carriageway for overtaking. I overtook, the limit was 50mph and I suppose, when I saw the camera I was doing just short of 60 in order to complete my manoeuvre well before the end of the dual carriageway section. The trap was set in the only place to overtake in some 10 miles with the camera hidden by the gradient of the road and, in my view, set in the interests of income generation rather than in the interests of road safety.  I await the envelope! When it arrives it will be my first offence in nearly 50 years of motoring and we currently average some 25,000 miles a year.

Oh well, to the visit. We visited Barrington Court garden in Somerset which is set at the eastern end of the very flat land (below sea level) called the Somerset Levels. The house was built in the 16C with further additions in the 17C. It eventually became derelict and was purchased by the National Trust in 1907. It was leased to a local family in the 1920's and the family created the Estate that exists today. The Estate was given back to National Trust management in 1991. The gardens were set out in the 1920's using planting plans drawn up by Gertrude Jekyll.

Here are some pics of things that caught my eye.

The first is a side view of the House that shows it's Elizabethan origins, and the second shows the later addition using the local Ham stone which has a very similar colour to Cotswold stone.

The third is a view from what would have been the front of the House.

The fourth and fifth are views across the walled gardens, and the walled veg garden showing the Bearded Iris border.

The seventh is the old calf rearing pens (for veal!) covered with climbing roses, and the eighth an old 18C lead trough used to collect water. If only I could have got it in the car!

The final two in this batch an unknown Clematis and Water Lily.

[David Nicholson]

.... more from Barrington Court

Early Phlox.
London Pride.
Three and four are Dictamnus frexinella.
Five and six are Penstemon 'Sour Grapes'
Seven and eight Poppies
Nine and ten a couple of Paeonia.

[David Nicholson]

.... and yet more if you can stand it!

Roses, and there were a lot of them and most of them smelt gorgeous in pics 1-5.
Six a Geranium.
Seven and eight are Astrantias.
Nine a Wisteria.

[David Nicholson]

... and finally the Irises.

Two shots of the Iris borders.
Three and four Iris sibirica.
Five and six the flowers of an Iris I couldn't name and would like to be able to put a name to it, and the seventh and final pic a leaf of that Iris.

[Maggi Young]

That'll teach you to go out on a Sunday instead of Wednesday, David..... expensive trip. 
Nice looking Olde Englishe pile with lovely grounds. It looks like you two were the only ones there?

[Paddy Tobin]

David,

Thankfully, you are as fast with the camera as behind the steering wheel. Great set of photographs.

I think the clematis might be C. 'Mrs. Cholmondolay' - sorry, that spelling always bothers me.

Paddy

[David Nicholson]

I get to 66 and then become a 'boy racer'

Maggi, it was very quiet (just as I like it) I think everyone had gone to the beach.

Thanks for the Clematis ID Paddy. Is anyone going to have a go at the Iris species in the last three pics. Lesley?

[Tony Willis]

David

lovely pictures shame about the speeding.I got caught going to the AGS show at East Lancs last year in Bacup.Nice show but expensive.

You will be offered a speeding course and I recommend you go. It means no points on your licence,costs slightly more than the fine and in truth apart from being made to feel like a small naughty boy by two enormous butch women in the theory part the practical side was excellent.Naturally it was full of oldies who had never had a ticket before.

[fermi de Sousa]

... and finally the Irises.
Five and six the flowers of an Iris I couldn't name and would like to be able to put a name to it, and the seventh and final pic a leaf of that Iris.

Hi David,
commiserations about the fine - if it turns up! - sounds like a revenue raiser for sure 
I think the white iris is Iris ochroleuca or orientalis as it seems to be known as now.
I think someone else asked about it recently on the ID thread.
cheers
fermi

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Beautiful pix of what looks to be a very nice estate David ! 
Thanks for sharing them !
Won't make any bad jokes about the fine... 

[Lvandelft]

Would have been a nice trip too, without a fine, but I liked seeing your pictures David.
We youngsters seldom make trips on Sundays, too many old, slow people on the roads.     
Staying behind them saves fines, but you need much longer to come to your destination

[Maggi Young]

Better to travel hopefully than to break the law, eh?

[David Nicholson]

Fermi, thanks for the Iris ochrleuca/orientalis ID.

No envelope yet!

[Joakim B]

I am a bit late into this one but very nice and regarding the iris I was thinking the same as Fermi (not that my confirmation is needed).
Hope You still have not got any boring envelopes and if You have, I am sory to have brought it up. To cars beside each other may be a problem for the camera so maybe You are lucky.

Thanks for a nice show
Joakim

[David Nicholson]

It's beginning to look as though I was lucky Joakim, the envelope hasn't arrived yet. The last thing I want at the moment is a fine. Last Wednesdays day out has cost me £390 and it was all my own fault. When I parked the car I must not have set the handbrake properly, and whilst we were in a cafe, having a cream tea, the car rolled, ever so slowly, across the car park and damaged another car. Have I been given some grief about that??