OUR FIRST "PROPER" OUTING

Mr. HCB and I had a little chat yesterday while he was out in the garden, and he said that we could do with a few more plants to “plug the gaps” in our long border.  Many of our plants, including our Clematis Blue Angel  have come from The Walled Garden Nursery at Brinkworth, Wiltshire,  so we decided to go over there this morning - our first “proper" outing since the lockdown started. We have always been very happy with the plants we have bought from there and they always seem to have unusual plants, not the run-of-the-mill plants that are in most large garden centres.

I think it’s fair to say we were a bit apprehensive but we knew that apart from the very large poly tunnel, everything else was outside, so even if there were other people there, we wouldn’t have to come within two metres of them.

The first hurdle was to put petrol in the car - something we haven’t done since the beginning of March, but that was done quite easily.  Gloves were readily available, together with a bag to dispose of them, and I went to pay at the “night”  window, so then we were ready to go.

When we got to the nursery, there were just two other ladies there, an older lady wearing a mask and the other one, who was obviously her daughter, telling her to move to certain places.  It felt quite safe and even when we went into the poly tunnel to speak to Fraser, the owner, about certain plants, we still kept our two metre distance.  

I took several shots of the beautiful grass pathway through the nursery, with all sorts of beautiful plants including and it does help to see the plants in situ.  The wonderful purple clematis in the main shot and at the top left was stunning, as was the rose and the honeysuckle at the bottom right of the collage and the perfume was amazing.  However, I forgot to ask Fraser the variety of the clematis, but checking Mr. Google, I think it may be "Jackmanii."  Whatever it’s called, it is my favourite colour and was stunning

The bottom left shot in the collage shows a view of the lake with the house in the background and next to it is a Monet-type shot of the water lilies on the lake - I took this with my lovely friend, Gill, in mind - and all it needed was a bridge to complete the picture.

The whole area is a very peaceful place to wander around, there were no queues in the Walled Garden Nursery and it was a very pleasant experience.  Fraser was very knowledgeable but not at all pushy, so we just wandered at our leisure - and what a beautiful place it is.  Having decided on the various plants we were going to buy, we paid and then I went for a walk around the small lake, which is part of the Brinkworth House Business Centre.  I did see a heron, but it flew off as I approached, so I had to be content with shots of the lake and lilies.

Mr. HCB won’t be putting any of the plants in today, as it is very hot, but I’m sure they will feature in one or two Blips in weeks to come so watch this space.  If you live in the area, do visit the nursery - we need to keep these little independent places going.  

“The more one gardens, 
     the more one learns; 
          and the more one learns, 
               the more one realises 
                    how little one knows. 
I suppose the whole of life is like that.”
Vita Sackville West

P.S.  Just had a message from Fraser - the clematis is "Viola".