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Iford Manor (Part 2)

(Continued from Part 1) ... I knew that Iford Manor was my kind of garden when I saw the statue of "Dying Gaul" perched on top of a wall. We can't afford one for our garden but we do have a little version inside the house - The garden continues uphill with areas that are naturalized as well as manicured  -  A very theatrical area with some of the statuary from Peto's travels - Peto loved curved benches. In addition to Italian gardens, he was influenced by the Arts & Crafts movement. Some think that his love of curved benches came from the paintings of Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Some copies of his works were found in Peto's files - "Expectations" by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Small buildings also dotted the landscape - The largest building was the cloister which housed more of his classical treasures - There is even a Japanese garden - Various pathways and woodland trails led to a road above the gardens. This set of stairs was roped off, but there were more ...

Out of Hibernation



Michael came out from his sewing room hibernation today! It was a beautiful day - a bit chilly with temperatures in the 50s, partly cloudy with a few sun breaks and just a few very minor sprinkles. The garden is waking up fast. I love this time of year. The trees are just leafing out,  so when the sun does appear, there is a dappled scattering of sunrays dancing throughout the garden. The birds are singing and busy flitting about building their nests. In these crazy times, this is the only place where I feel totally calm and at ease and can filter out life's unpleasantries.

We got a lot done today. Yesterday was even nicer with warmer temps and more sun. I got the tarps off the decks, statues and water features. Today was spent mostly cleaning up, more planting and moving pots around.





Veronica 'Georgia Blue'


Blue-eyed Mary (Omphaloides verna) with Daphne tangutica)


Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Beni Hime')

Beesia

Red Currant (Ribes sanguineum 'King Edward VII')

Twinberry Honeysuckle
(Lonicera involuncrata var. Iedebourii)

Rhododendron 'Loderi King George'


The big pink dogwood is beginning to bloom. The purple flowers on the left are from Rhododendron 'Blue Baron' which is really nice this year.


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. The sunshine makes your garden look even more lovely! Enjoy the weather and puttering in the garden.

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  2. Your garden looks fantastic, I love the dappled light. I'm glad it's warming up!

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  3. It is fantastic when the garden comes alive in spring, full of hope of things to come. I love that first photo of Michael; it could have been of me, fully protected with hat, gloves, and knee padding. I notice a structure in the back of the photo, against the house: stacked decorative bricks... painted black. I wonder where you got those bricks. I love that look.
    Chavli

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    Replies
    1. Those came from a local rock place called Mutual Materials. I wanted a pedestal there and could never find one so we came up with that idea.

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