Escapes and Photography: The ever changing gardens at Charlecote Park

Sat in my garden this year I have to admit there is not much colour at all apart from that coming from the fruit as it ripens. At the back everything is growing really well but there are no flowers. In Spring there was lots of blossom and it did look pretty but now everything is green. Saying that, it is not a bad green with a nice selection of fruits trees, a mix of fruit bushes and all the herbs I will ever need. Some are growing far too well! The front section of my garden...well...Let me just say that it needs work, a lot of work!

I do have a second garden to walk around and sit in which is very different and very beautiful as many of you who follow my blog will already know. It is one I enjoy spending time in. Ok so it is not my garden but that of Charlecote Park's but I can dream can't I? Sometimes when I head over to Charlecote I am on a mission and I know exactly what I am going to photograph before I leave the house but it doesn't always mean that they will be the photos I come home with. It is so easy to get distracted when entering the grounds, far too easy! Something always catches my eye and then I am off in a different direction! Charlecote gardens are a big distraction for me as they are always changing and there are always new flowers opening.

The next photo is of the beautiful Lilium Lancifolium (Lilly) also known as the Tiger Lily and is native to Japan, Northern and Eastern Asia. I found this beauty in the gardens at Charlecote Park.

This flower is beautiful and so rich in colour.

Every time I visit I see new plants, flowers and beautiful colours and then there are the butterflies everywhere and the buzzing bees. All of them just add to the beauty of the borders.

The small tortoise butterfly.

Green veined white butterfly.

The Digitalis more commonly known as the Foxglove can be found in the woodland Garden.

The Foxglove in a lovely plant with perfect shaped bells which attract lots of bees.

A walk through the Woodland garden.

These grow down the side of the house as you walk towards the river.

As always there is a lot of work going on around the park and gardens but something new is happening inside the Woodland Garden. For a few weeks now the Gardeners and Volunteers have been working very hard making a new area for children to play in. I can't wait to see it finished. Over the weeks I have seen fences going up, area being cleared and new planting. It is starting to all come together and looks lovely.

I think the Ram wants to help :)

It is not finished yet but I am looking forward to seeing how it develops.

Lots of butterflies around at the moment. This one is called the 'Meadow brown'

Another beautiful Lilly I spotted in the pots outside the Orangery. This one is called the Spider Lilly (Hymenocallis Festalis) This flower which is grown from a bulb looks very much like a daffodil but also a lilly at the same time. You can guess why it has 'spider' in it's name.

These were also in the pots outside the Orangery. Beautiful colours.

The next plant is the Eryngium Giganteum also known as the “Miss Willmott’s Ghost” and which I have seen in a few National Trust properties. It was named 'Miss Willmott's Ghost' after Ellen Wilmott a lady gardener from the nineteenth century liked to sprinkle it's seeds in other peoples gardens.

Double Shasta Daisy 'Crazy Daisy' There are loads of these around the croquet lawn and look very beautiful right now.

The whites and different shades of pink and lilac are lovely in the border.

The Gatekeeper butterfly

This next photo is the Ringlet and can be found fluttering amongst the long grass at Charlecote Park.

For those interested in butterflies, there is the 'Great butterfly count' starting on the 19th of July. Here is the link to how you can help which also includes an identifying chart.

www.bigbutterflycount.org

For more of my butterfly photos, check my blog from the National Insect week.

http://janaruzena.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/national-insect-week.html

The cosmos flower, always so perfect. I used to grow these in my old garden. I think I will get some for next year.

One of Charlecote's passport trainees busy trimming the edge of the grass.

For more information about National Trust Passport trainees, here is a link.

http://yourfutureyourhands.org.uk/

At Charlecote Park the Gardeners, Passport Trainees and Volunteers all work together to create the beautiful gardens you see as you walk around the Park..

They have all done an amazing job. You don't always realise how much they do as they are often busy working behind the scenes as many others also do.. In the Spring and Summer months when the borders come alive and blossom, you appreciate all their hard work. If you like photography, this time of year is great but you do get a little spoilt for choice on what to take. Not that I am complaining :)

The next plant is a Monarde Didyma which is also known as the Bergamot amongst a few other names and can been seen in colours of purple, red and a rich dark pink like in the photo below.

The Bergamot originally came from America and was introduced by the native American Indians tribe, the Oswego to the early colonists. The tea was served at the Boston Tea Party and is used to help in digestive problems. This beautiful plant is now grown in flower borders and is very good at attracting bees.

The ever changing border down the side of the Woodland garden.

I spend ages down this border taking photos and watch people admiring all the different plants.

The lovely poppies, so beautiful but also so delicate.

You have to see the Mulberry Tree if you go to Charlecote. It is over 180 years old and it still provides fruit. Isn't that amazing?

A quick walk through the Tea garden. I always have a little stop in here before leaving to go home. There is always something new blossoming.

The lovely smell of Lavender. I recently took a little trip down to the Cotswolds to see the lavender fields. It was beautiful and you could smell the lavender before you could see it.

A perfect peach rose.

I love this colour of this chrysanthemum. I don't know which type it is but it is very pretty.

A new plant about to open.

Sweet peas. I love these, they remind me of my grandparents.

These lovely yellow water lilies are on the River Avon that runs through the park.

And last but not least the Parterre which is also flowering beautifully.

Again a lovely collection of colours.

Maybe now you can understand why I get so easily distracted when visiting Charlecote Park and believe me when I say this is not all there is. There are far too many plants and flowers to add to this blog and they are all as beautiful as each other. I can not remember what the reason for my visit was this day but I ended up breathing in the sweet scent of lots of flowers instead. It is quite something to be surrounded by so much beauty.