Murphy's 'Mad March Garden Tour'.

Murphy, ( Our Nigel, see 'The Team' above) is the ideal March garden guide, whilst past middle age he still has his 'Mad March Moments'. 

Do I have too?

Some of the flowers and foliage in Our Garden@19 during March.

Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'

Hyacinth Carnegie.

Hyacinth Carnegie.

From Great Aunt's garden.

Crocus tommasinianus.

Leucojum aestivum.

Lost label Camellia I originally bought for my Mothers garden.

Chaenomeles japonica in the Oriental garden.

Kerria japonica 'Pleniflora'.

Euphorbia 'Glacier Blue'

Euphorbia 'Glacier Blue'

A young Euphorbia characias 'Wulfenii' flower.

Euphorbia 'Black Bird'.

Chionodoxa luciliae taking an early bath.

Aubrieta Bressingham Red in the Alpine Boxes.

A dark leaved Hellebore. Colourful foliage is an added attraction early in the season.

Young foliage of Ligularia Dentat. ( Slug Caviar ).

Lunaria annua 'Rosemary Verey.'

The white flowering L. annua var. variegate in the White and Green garden.

Young Peony foliage.

Young buds of Corylus avellana 'Contorta'.

Can I have my breakfast now?

REFLECTIONS OF AN NGS GARDEN.

Little Malvern Court, open today for the NGS, http://www.ngs.org.uk  the description below is from the Yellow Book.

"10 acres attached to former Benedictine Priory, magnificent views over Severn valley. Garden rooms and terrace around house designed and planted in early 1980s; chain of lakes; wide variety of spring bulbs, flowering trees and shrubs. Notable collection of old-fashioned roses. Topiary hedge and fine trees."


Today was a beautiful sunny day, with blue sky, ideal for reflection.

Originally medieval fish ponds.

Formal gardens surround the house...

With the Malvern Hills as a backdrop.

Trained fruit trees along the tunnel.

A horseshoe of pleached limes...

With an Ivy Chair.

Topiary shadows.

Clear views across the Severn valley.

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To view more gardens please visit the Worcestershire Gardens page.

The First NGS Garden visit...

..this year, on a bitterly cold day, was over the border to Herefordshire, Old Colwall House.
Similar to Our Garden@19 this is their first year opening for the NGS.

The garden is on a early C18 site owned by the church until Henry V111. It contains walls and terraces on different levels.

The walls date largely from the early 1700's. There are statues either side of the steps leading up from the lawn...

This is 'The Drunk', "I love drink from the bottom of my heart".

This one is 'The Miser', "Everyone obeys money".

The walled vegetable garden, the greenhouses in the background have a peach and an apricot trained on the walls.

The fourth 'wall' of the vegetable garden is the Yew Walk...

...planted in the early 1700's. In 1856 there was a record of the hedge being 180 ft long, two and a half foot wide, and fourteen foot high. It is much bigger than that today...

...it forms a tunnel that you can easily walk under...

...it is trimmed once a year using a cherry picker and takes almost 2 weeks to complete.

The summer house, in the distance, was built around 1937...

...in the colonial style, it is currently under repair due to a leaking roof.

A stream runs through the garden creating a natural park setting.

Willow trees provide some winter/spring colour.

With signs of spring every where.

I don't think this tractor has mown much grass lately!

An interesting water spout.

And a Griffen, made by Polish artist Walenty Pytel, in 1974, resident in Herefordshire.

Ending the visit with tea and cakes admiring the view across to the Malvern Hills.

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