Waterperry Gardens - Oxford

It was a little colder than expected today, but as we had already decided to go to Waterperry Gardens, we weren't going to let a small thing like the British weather put us off. There's an excellent teashop there anyhow so it's better to go when it's cooler, you can kid yourself then that you're only stopping off to warm up, when you know it's actually the date and walnut that's beckoning. In the event it wasn't the date and walnut, it was the lime and coconut - a combination I hadn't tried before, but like all their cakes it was yummy. Algie had some Bakewell tart and that was equally scrumptious. They have around 8 acres of garden featuring some gorgeous herbaceous borders, rose gardens, apple and pear orchards, meadows and a riverside walk. There are lot's of benches and vistas (though after the tea and cake you really should keep on the move), some shops and a nursery. There's also a little amphitheatre where they occasionally put on plays and concerts and an art barn featuring contemporary arts and crafts.

I fell in love with some gorgeous floral pictures by Deborah Poole, I didn't realise at first that they were made of felt. They are quite pricey but perhaps, if I'm very good I may, one of these fine days, find myself owning one. I certainly made big eyes at them anyway.

Most of the photo's we took were of the plant's, we hope to be moving soon and so are looking for inspiration for our new pocket sized garden. We can never hope to make it as grand as this, but maybe we can do something 'in the style of'. Anyhow, verbascums, roses, geraniums, alliums, salvias, astrantias and iris's all feature on the wishlist now. Algie has suddenly acquired a fondness for white flowers, there was some beautiful white love-in-a-mist which they have used at Waterperry to fill in the gaps so I must try and track those down. I'm also really fond of those little sink gardens with houseleeks in, they fascinate me. I've got some already in a little terracotta bowl but I'd love to have a bigger collection, I saw a feature once whereby someone had lifted a few paving slabs and filled the gap with houseleeks, I quite fancy doing that too.

Anyway it was a beautiful, if a bit cold, day. Hopefully we can go again when it's warmer and take a picnic, it really is worth repeated visits just to see how the borders change with the seasons.

Waterperry Gardens