Farringdon Gardens Open Day June 1st 2008

Apologies for the long delay before these pictures were posted but I am still recovering from the over indulgences of a fortnight in sunny (well most of the time) Devon and am only just catching up with the backlog in the nerve centre of the Biz production department.

As usual, due to the extended conversation time while touring the gardens, your reporter failed to make the complete circuit before closing time (gardens not pub) on Sunday evening so more apologies to Down lodge and Bowderdale who were spared interference this year but they will be first on the list next time. ( I'm sure they will be pleased to be threatened with that dubious honour)

First on my list this year was Upper Farringdon House where your photographer was warmly welcomed by the owners, obviously relieved to get the ordeal over so early in the afternoon.

While crouching down in a forlorn attempt to capture an artistic snap of this iris in its full glory, the presence of a soggy dog chew in close proximity to the left ear signalled an exuberant welcome from one of the resident terriers, obviously pleased to find your photographer at a similar altitude.

As far as I am aware there are no fairies but there definitely is a Ha-Ha at the bottom of the garden, a feature designed to keep the resident sheep form intruding into the garden.

The sheep would certainly not be welcome in the area at the rear of the house which boasts a number of attractive features admired by the visitors during the afternoon.

Next on the visiting list was Crows Cottages (please note that, contrary to scurrilous rumours, your reporter resisted the temptation to visit the adjacent local hostelry en route ) where there were more irises in the rose garden, although the lady of the house was a trifle disappointed that a particularly prized specimen in an adjacent border had just failed to open in time for the Gardens Day.

You will have realised by now that your reporters plant identification skills are exceeded only by his ignorance of the rules and etiquette of the golfing fraternity and while on fairly safe ground with the more common varieties,(plants not golfers) it may be possible to detect a reluctance to name some of the more exotic species that featured in some of the gardens I visited.

I am of course familiar with the Foxglove pictured above and I will hazard a guess the right hand specimen is some sort of Allium, for more detailed information then I must refer you to the resident gardener, who might well be found enjoying seated here enjoying the views to the fields beyond

Just down the road is The Beeches, with a mixture of planting on offer and one of the few gardens in Farringdon which has a vegetable garden where the resident rabbits are unlikely to threaten the sweet peas.

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