Great Dixter on day of Royal Wedding

[Houseslippers]

After the ceremonial telly watching, wifey & I went to Great Dixter only to find the beautiful garden largely deserted, so we had it almost all to ourselves. The planting wasn't in full flowering flood yet, but we caught the end of the tulips, the orchid-filled meadows and the wonderful foliage contrasts which are such as feature of this garden:

[Houseslippers]

You can see that the topiary peacocks have now fully regrown again after vandals chopped them off a few years ago. The meadows were full of Orchis mascula in particularly beautiful shades of purple - the photo below shows the density - the first specimens of which Christopher Lloyd's mother dug up from the wild (many years before that activity became seen as objectionable). The second photo is of Thapsia villosa, a common umbellifer in southern Europe but which looked stunning here (I bought a seedling to cosset). Also good old Dicentra spectabilis - a large clump showing its horizontal form very well.

I also bought a plant of Rumex alpinus, Monk's Rhubarb, which is about the least likely alpine I can think of (no pic as plant too small at the mo). Fergus Garrett the head gardener at Dixter was very enthusiastic about it!

[Maggi Young]

How lush the greenery is. Lucky to get a quiet spell to enjoy the place on such a day.

[Thomas Huber]

Are these Homer and March Simpson on photo No 4?

[Houseslippers]

    

They do look more like Homer Simpson than peacocks, now you mention it ...

[daveyp1970]

Tom i don't think the orchids are  Dactylorhiza fuchsii but Orchis mascula

[Houseslippers]

Yes, I think you're right Dave and I've made the correction - thank you.

[Paddy Tobin]

Tony,

Nice to see these shots as we have planned to visit in a few weeks time.

Paddy