Changing seasons at The Courts {National Trust}

Autumn is here in all its glory as we shift, all too quickly, through the changing seasons.
The Courts Gardens, Holt, Wiltshire is a favourite spot of ours where we witness the shifts of colour; from sunny green based days to the current welcoming hues of oranges, yellows, browns and reds.

Our most recent visit saw splashes of additional colour in the form of glass and steel sculptures from Jenny Pickford's SuperNature exhibition.

We wandered at a relaxed pace, with Grandma & Granddad, cherishing those moments of family time.
I watched the children studying the exhibits and garden hoping that they will never tire of days like these spent with their family.

I daydreamed of such a space to call my own with colours adorning endless flower beds, a hidden sunken garden - only just discovered after countless visits, trees a plenty and to forever have such smiling happy children!

For now I am thankful to have such a space close to home to visit.
I am thankful for the time to relax and enjoy.
I am thankful for my family and my crazy children.
I am thankful for life.

Joining in with HDYGG...

x x x

Spring garden plans 2015 {#HDYGG}

It's always amusing to look back at past Spring plans for the garden and realise the planned picket fence to keep the chooks off the veggie plots hasn't come to fruition and the boundary fence with the neighbour is still precariously being held up by tree trunks growing through it!
So onto 2015 and our Spring garden plans!
I'd still like that picket fence to divide off the end of the garden - especially now the husband and children have turned their attention to making an end of garden hangout complete with log seats, fire pit and twirly things in the tree!

The husband dug a fire pit a couple of weeks back and we have plans to cook and eat al fresco.

Log seats have been collected from a friend's wood yard and wood has been chopped.
We rescued this twisted Willow from near death years ago when it was found beneath a ravaging Laurel bush. It now stands, suitably decorated, in pride of place at the bottom of the garden ready to provide cover in the Summer months.

Elsewhere the daffodils remain fenced off for their own protection and are beginning to emerge from beneath the ground ready to brighten up the bottom of the garden - I now await signs of the tulips and alliums also planted here.

Closer to the house we have more pots atop the piano.
An iris and crocuses add to the colourful display already provided by the potted daffodils.

This is such a wonderful time of year.
A time to make plans and look ahead to those warm heady days of Summer!

 

x x x

The back garden {#HDYGG}

Stepping outside the back door this morning, armed with my camera, I was happy to see that the sun was shining.
After the recent rain there was a sense of Spring in the air.
The wind blew, sending with it a chill reminder that cold days were still on the cards.
I perused the garden with a slight optimism; the grass was scratched bare in places by the chooks, the path to the shed was covered in mud, the vegetable and flower beds were too empty.
However, potatoes are chitting in the house and packets of seeds lay waiting for warmer days.
And I did notice the pots.
Bulbs were beginning to shoot and the daffodils and primroses were out.

These pots usually sit atop the old garden piano, as pictured above, but the recent winds means they are currently safely ensconced underneath by the pedals.

The crocus bulbs are working hard but I have given up on my grape hyacinths ever flowering.

Not all the pots were looking so good. Some are severely weather beaten and one is housing random weeds, chicken feathers and children's garden tools.

At the bottom of the garden I await my flower bed to bloom - fenced off as, although butterflies are welcome, chickens are most definitely not.
I have planted alliums, tulips and daffodils as well as the wildflowers whose seeds were sown last summer - and over which I got in trouble for pulling them up after flowering as I thought they were weeds.

You see, I love a good garden but a good gardener I am not!

What's going on in your garden?

 

x x x

Lacock Abbey ~ Spring World

It was only a couple of weeks ago when Lacock Abbey was a Frozen World but now it is definitely heading towards Spring.

Whilst the sun shone this week I took the kiddos for an afternoon stroll around the Abbey Grounds for the children's trail.

Whilst we found out some facts that, despite countless visits, we didn't know, I snapped some signs that Spring is nearly upon us.

In the Botanical Garden the famous Lacock cat sat watching over the Galanthus 'Magnet' snowdrops whilst the Peony buds ever so slowly begin their journey to full bloom. Nearby, the walled greenhouse was bursting with colour, the crocuses in particular catching my eye.

Inside The Brewery we noted inscriptions in the wall alongside etchings to ward off the threat of Witchcraft back in the 1400s to 1700s. The children's trail alerted us to this - it is amazing what you miss when it isn't pointed out to you. The door handle, although nothing of importance to my knowledge, was, for me, needing to be photographed!

Back outside, the grounds continue with their carpet of snowdrops and crocuses. I will never tire of this sight this time of year. Particularly beautiful, to me, were the clumps of crocuses beneath the old tree by the pond. This will always hold a special place in my heart having been proposed to here nearly 15 years ago.

x x x

Snowdrops and mini-mes {#HDYGG}

This week we paid a visit to one of our all time favourite spaces to roam, Dyrham Park.
With its sweeping parkland it took a while to find some flora to capture.
Finally we found the classic sign that Spring is on its way...

In front of the house and beyond in its formal gardens we found some carpeting of snowdrops.

Always fun to capture whilst scrabbling on my hands and knees.

For some shots I resorted to using the screen almost blindly snapping my subject.

 

Clearly, I wasn't a doing a good enough job.

The kiddos, being my mini-mes today, decided to show me how to use the macro setting...

The boy wasn't afraid to experiment. He asked me about the dial on the camera and setting it to macro he got straight on with it sticking his head into a shrub in order to capture this beauty.
Can anyone tell me what is it please?!

The girl, not wanting to be outdone, got down on her knee low to snap this beautiful crocus.
She has also mentioned wanting to write her own blog.
Mini-me?
Most definitely!

I'll be linking up with the lovely Annie...

x x x