Chestnuts Garden.

Chestnuts Garden.

As winter is coming we will be featuring more of the Gardens that we visited with the Alpine Garden Soc UK.

The Leed's garden Jane and Rod gorgeous thatched house, on arrival we were greeted with a cup of tea and biscuits with blue gentians painted on them. How Jane painted them I don't know as she had her arm in plaster on our visit.

Many of the bulbs that the Leeds are famous for growing, had finished flowering by the time we visited this garden but there was still much to see. The garden is divided by a small road running through the middle a strip of land had been purchased at a later date woodland had been created on the other side of the road. 

Arum creticum in flower at the front of this bulb bed.

Old sinks, troughs and pots are on display through out this garden, giving the smaller Alpines places to grow to display them at their best.

In the centre of this beautiful old trough is Vitaliana primuliflora.

At the back of this trough there are flowering pulsatilla and in the centre of this glazed trough is Erigeron aurea and at the front is Androsace rigida a trough full of treasures. 

To see the contents of the troughs you need to click on the photo's to bring them up to the proper size.

Salix Nakamurana  variety Yezoalpina a prostrate creeping willow with long trailing stems, coming from Hokkaido Japan where it clings to steep rocky windswept slopes. Not struggling in this raised bed with lumps of tuffa nearby to keep it happy. Fritillaria flowering at the top.

The yellow Daphne I think is Daphne modesta when going through my old notes this is the name I have written down, and beside the daphne is a Tulbagia in a very deep pot. The lead pot contains the double white Anemonella thalictroides with the double green Anemonella beside it.

Anemonella thalictroides Shoafs Double in one of the terra cotta pots above 

Adonis brevistyla blue up against a brick wall to give it protection.

 Anemonella thalictroides Double Green was growing in one of the troughs.

Glaucidium palmatum pale flower colour in between the mauve and white.

The work area 

The book written by Rod Leeds in 2000, an excellent bulb book full of information and coloured plates. There is also an article on the Leed's garden in Gardens Illustrated this month March issue.