Escapes and Photography: Buttercups, Alliums and Packwood Follies

Wednesday morning I have a couple of hours to myself before my eldest goes off to college in the afternoon. I call it my 'mid week' break and this week I really needed it as it is a very busy time in our house with exams at the moment.

I decided to pop over to Packwood House for a quick look at the Packwood Follies before the official opening for them this Saturday. It was a little early when I arrived so I went for a little walk through the rest of the park first. I couldn't go far as I did not have much time but I managed to get a few pretty pictures. I watched this little girl running through the buttercups towards the lambs. It was such a pretty picture and reminded me of my children when they were younger.

I love seeing children playing outside with nature, it is how it should be. So many children miss out.

I thought the next picture was a typical English countryside scene and I love it, it is what country life is all about.

A couple of the wild meadow flowers. Cow parsley used to grow everywhere but now with the rapeseed sprouting everywhere, that is taking over. On a recent trip to Norfolk, instead of cow parsley there was random rapeseed growing along the roadside all the way from Cambridge to the Norfolk Broads. I love to see the yellow fields, they are so pretty but it reseeds so easily and grows in places it should not.

When I think of wisteria, I always think of my Mother as hers always looks beautiful at this time of year. One of the plants I always look forward to flowering.

The alliums are so pretty at the moment at Packwood and such a beautiful colour. I have some photos from last year but I think this years display is even better.

I always love the view through this arch.

Even though there were many beautiful flowers in Packwood's gardens, I did not take many photos of them as it was too bright and sunny days are not always the best for taking photos of flowers. I did take some though.

The cornflower, I have always liked this flower. There is a traffic island I pass everyday on the way to college and right in the middle of it are lots and lots of cornflowers, buttercups and poppies. I am so tempted to go one day and take some photos but it is in the middle of a busy road. Such beauty in the middle of a roundabout.

Poppies

A couple of pictures of the gardener cutting the hedge.

The walk down to the lake is beautiful at the moment with the buttercups growing on either side of the path.

The next picture is not a good one as it was taken straight into the Sun but it made me laugh which is why I took it in the first place. My mother used to tell me stories about living in old Czechoslovakia ( now the Czech Republic) of how people in the countryside kept geese as guard dogs. Well, I took one look at the geese by the bed, saw the 'No Entry' sign and laughed. It looked like the people at Packwood house were doing the same!

I watched this family of ducks on the lake and this little duckling was more adventurous than the rest.

Bug catching.

The view from the other side of the lake.

Packwood Follies and the reason for my visit. I just wanted a sneak preview before this weekend.

Artist Hilary Jack created this giant four-poster bed out of felled oak which has also been hand-carved.

Inside the bed it has been laid with turf and I joked that it could double up as a playpen for naughty children.

It is an amazing structure, a real piece or art. I really like it. The detail is beautiful.

Some of the carvings on the bed.

'The Cabin in the woods'

This cabin is amazing, the more you look, the more you see. It is called 'The inside out house' for good reason. It has a timber frame but everything else it has been made from is reproduction Tudor furniture which has been collected from various places and recycled into this lovely cabin.

I loved looking at this house to guess what part of furniture all the different bits came from and loved the way table and chair legs had been used to frame different sections.

It is a totally mad house but amazing at the same time.

I can not wait to see inside.

There are also Hives built in the same way around the estate but I will have to see those on another day. The pictures I have seen of them, they look great too.

Here is a link to a little more information about the Packwood Follies.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/things-to-see-and-do/packwood-follies/

This Saturday is the opening of these Follies which will allow you to explore these beautiful creations. something I myself am looking forward to. I hear there will also be a storyteller and a poet leading activities through the day so quite an eventful day by the sound of it. Something to look forward to.

Some flowers in the woods near the cabin.

It's that duckling again, they followed me around the lake and along the side of the wood. It is after those bugs again.

Now I nearly missed the next bit. I only had an hour at Packwood gardens after my walk in the Park grounds and I was already running late but something at the last minute stopped me on the way back to the car so I had to have a quick look in the kitchen garden. I am so pleased I did. What a lovely surprise. I didn't expect what I saw at all. I do have one complaint though......Packwood House put the Sun in the wrong place! :):) It was such a bright morning I could not get a good picture of the picnic table from the front as the Sun was shining right in my eyes. I guess a visit on a cloudy day or later in the afternoon might be better for the photo I would like to take. They just want me to come back :)

I really like the way they have made these chairs for the teddy bears.

The last time I saw something like this was in a park in Norfolk and I loved it then. We have so many teddies in our attic, maybe I should get them out :)