Bourton House
Located in the village of Burton-on-the-Hill, in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, Bourton House is an eighteenth-century manor house with a sixteenth-century Tithe Barn. It is surrounded by a three-acre garden and a seven-acre walled pasture that is now planted with specimen trees. The Jacobean-style house was originally built in 1598 and was shortly thereafter purchased by the wealthy London lawyer Sir Nicholas Overbury. There is a dark history involving Overbury's son, which includes adultery and murder. It is quite a convoluted story, and I don't believe any of the shady dealings actually took place at Bourton House. You can read the story here and decide for yourself. An interesting note about these manor houses and gardens is that the front of the houses usually faced the back of the property. At least that was the case with Hidcote and Kiftsgate . The same here with Bourton House, where the entrance to the property (right next to a busy street) contained a litt...
It's nice that the things you planted on your mother's property are doing well. Supposedly there is poison ivy in the pacific northwest but I've never seen any myself, no do we have snakes other than tiny garter snakes and those don't hang out much in town. You'll love it here!
ReplyDeleteNot only does that snake eat insects it will eat small rodents. You should respect him for that. It is a little creepy coming upon them unannounced though. Love seeing how you are incorporating new things into your Mom's property. One of these days you willl be glad you did. I think Bald Cypress is such an elegant tree. It has so much going for it. Lovely foliage, wonderful bark for winter, knees when they get older and the little balls on them in fall. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteLisa, do you know what kind of snake it is?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that is a black rat snake, definitely a beneficial. That one is beautiful! I'm a big fan of snakes.
ReplyDeleteWe have great respect and love for any black snake Phillip. There are those that will hunt down and eat Rattlesnakes. In my book, he's worth keeping close by!
ReplyDeleteCould your mystery plant be a bottlebrush buckeye? I planted one last year and it produced a seed pod very similar to this.
ReplyDeleteIt looks suspiciously like the cousin of the PEAR. Here in India it's a popular fruit commonly known as "Naashpati "or in other parts of the country ,"Sabarjal".
ReplyDeleteI am not sure though as there are no leaves on your plant.
A Bald Cypress...that's so cool...they are such distinctive trees! I have a few Vernonia...one very tall one that flops horribly...and a newer, shorter one that looks practically like an Amsonia until it blooms...love them :-)
ReplyDeletePhillip,
ReplyDeleteSorry about the poison ivy - it can be devilish! I love veronica - but hate the name "ironweed". How big are the pear-like fruit? And even in a less than spectacular autumn color year, the sourwood appears to be performing beautifully! I wonder if bald cypress would develop knees if it got less water (we are on high ground)? It sure is pretty! Anyway, thanks for the great photos!
Not sure about bottlebrush buckeye but I will investigate.
ReplyDeleteThe fruit is the size of a small pear.