Put your sunnies on!

I feel absolutely brain dead today -  due to an accumulation of nearly two weeks of double shifts, dancing till dawn last weekend and then when I do eventually crash on the pillow finding that I can't switch off but am too tired to use that wakefulness productively! Never mind, nearly the weekend coz today is Friday eve!! (that's Thursday to everyone out there in blog-land) and tonight is knit and natter here which I am looking forward to.

I have been wanting to share with you some gorgeous zingy-full-of-colour photos with you for a little while but for reasons already mentioned I haven't had the brain power to do anything, but today I am in need of some bright colour therapy and want some sunshine even if only in digital format.


While we were away Himself spotted an open garden being advertised in the local paper. He knows I love visiting other gardens and he is right.  I can find inspiration, feel envy, notice weeds, admire planting schemes, dream and aspire or just simply escape and enjoy.

On a squint-making sunny day we rambled around a huge garden with only the flowers and insects for company. We had the entire place to ourselves. There was no pressure to move on, we I could stare at the long border and sigh in Victorian style rapture, we I could inhale the scent of this rose, which I have to say was so heady and so all encompassing in the heat of the day that afterwards when we climbed into the car, I could still smell a hint of it's perfume. 

The old moss roses, although not as scented were just as wonderful to see.

The long border, not yet at it's full splendour was still wonderful. Filled with lupins, iris, geraniums, alstroemeria, aquilegia, hemerocallis, peonies and sweet peas. There were many more plants just waiting to burst into bud, but I won't bore you with the list as there were a lot of them! We chatted with the head gardener and he said that they hadn't started putting out the summer bedding yet. So imagine how glorious it will look at it's peak. I loved the way fagus sylvatica (purple or copper beech) had been used as an alternative to yew as a formal back drop. Delicious!

Another intoxicating old rose.

The beauty of this place was the freedom to wander around a garden filled only with plants and history and us.  This garden** is open all summer and we just happened to arrive on the second day and only had to share it with the sun in the sky. We did go on to another gorgeous place but I will save that for another day when I am in need of some more exhilarating colour therapy!

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**Garden -  Bughtrig