BODNANT GARDENS, NORTH WALES. 24TH OCTOBER 2008

[ranunculus]

BODNANT GARDENS - 24th OCTOBER 2008

During a trip to North Wales on Friday 24th October (where I had been invited to present a brand-new lecture to the North Wales Group of the Alpine Garden Society), we took the opportunity to visit Bodnant Gardens - and this lengthy series of images was the result.
The gardens, which form part of a National Trust property near Colwyn Bay, are undergoing some restoration projects involving the draining and renovation of large ornamental ponds, the felling of trees and the creation of a delightful underpass into the garden complex.   

[ranunculus]

Another batch of images from Bodnant Gardens ...

[ranunculus]

Further batch of images from Bodnant Gardens ...

[Maggi Young]

Thanks, Cliff... enjoying this: I've never been to Bodnant.... can you get them to ask you back at rhohodendron time, please??!

Posted by: ranunculus Posted on: Today at 06:49:48 PM :
(where I had been invited to present a brand-new lecture to the North Wales Group of the Alpine Garden Society)

Hmmm, so they didn't want your usual old stuff, then, Eh??

[ranunculus]

Thanks Maggi ... only one rhodo' in flower this time I'm afraid ...

[Paddy Tobin]

Cliff,

What a treat. Bodnant is one of our favourite gardens and we have made the journey over from Ireland on several occasions to visit, usually earlier in the year and so it is great to see it at another season.

Earlier in the year the rhododendrons are excellent as also are the lysichitons down in the banks of the river. The laburnum arches are spectacular and there are some very old Acer japonicum which are just beautiful. It is a lovely place.

Great show, loved it. Any more?

Paddy

[Susan]

Oh Cliff,  those photos are fantastic.  Keep them rolling please.You are so lucky to be close enough to get there.

Susan - on a beautiful, warm late spring morning with the rhododendrons performing well.

[ranunculus]

Many thanks folks ... there are more images ...

[ranunculus]

...And there are some more ...

[Paddy Tobin]

By coincidence, I was admiring Impatiens tinctoria in Mount Usher Gardens, Co. Wicklow, yesterday.

Lovely photos, Cliff.


Paddy

[Lvandelft]

Love your photo's as always, Cliff.
Looking at the trees on pict. no. seven: You have an extraordinary artistic eye
at trees/plants.
Never thought of taking a picture of trees that way!
Overall beautiful pictures of a place to visit on my list!

[ranunculus]

The North Wales Group of the Alpine Garden Society kindly offered us a meal prior to the lecture and we were very fortunate to dine at Aberconwy Nursery, which meant we not only enjoyed Rachel's excellent cooking (an apple pudding to die for), but also a tour of the nursery with both Keith and Tim.
I was simply too engrossed to take photographs during the tour but I did spot this magnificent Gentiana 'Purity' in an alpine house and was shown this unusual fungal fellow on a banking near the adjoining woodland.
Many thanks to the Lever family for their superb hospitality (which included a 'personal' tour through Bhutan with Tim and his laptop).

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Another superb show Cliff !
Great to see Bodnant in autumn - I visited it some 10 years ago in the spring and was greatly impressed.
The Lewisia wall was unbelievable at the time - is it still there
Thanke a lot for the walk.

[Maggi Young]

mmmmmmmm..... apple pudding......

I think you will find that the charming little emerging earthstar fungus ("unusual fungal fello")  is the one which develops into strange little alien figures, as shown by Anne Wright here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2606.0 and identified by Ulla Hanson, I believe correctly, as Geastrum pectinatum. 

[FrazerHenderson]

Cliff

Thanks for the photos. I visit the gardens at least twice a year on my foreys south. Whilst I'm always inspried by the gardens the adjoining garden centre/nursery has always been a real disappointment (and a missed opportunity for such a marvellous garden). With so much good plant material I'm at a loss as to why they are not propagating and marketing under a Bodnant label some of their specialist collections - there is a genuine market for teh produce. Instead we are presented with poor quality, expensive offerings.  Fortunately Aberconway Nurseries is just a couple of miles down the road for good alpine plants; there is also a commercial garden centre, Snowdonia Garden Centre at the A55 turn-off that provides a broad, though standard, range of other plants; a trip westwards along the A55 leads to Rickards Fern World and Crug Farm Plants who cater for specialist interests and whilst neither can be said to have bargains they do have a broad range of their interests (respectively ferns and woodlanders) including the unusual.

Frazer