I have just come back from humphreycobbler's open garden under the NGS garden scheme and wish to report that it is the best garden for children in England and an idyllic place to spend a glorious midsummers day, complete with interesting ceramics, splendid home made tea, cakes and scones in quantity, plants for sale, and a bevy of bonny children.
The garden was gorgeous. Larger than I had imagined, hidden in country lanes (the charabanc would not have fitted) and with extensive views to Mynydd Pen-y-fâl mountain that a garden designer would kill for.
humphrey's DH is seriously talented. The tree house was perfect in its tree and sturdy too, all the children were having a whale of a time. There was a pulley for tree house people to send things up and down, there were tyre swing seats, there was the neatest little living willow igloo with a seat inside which her DH built 2 years ago following cutteduppear's instructions.
There was a pond with Gunnera growing by, there was a cherry tree with Paul's Himalayan musk dripping from its branches, there was a lovely hen house with happy hens, there were 2 white geese wandering around looking at the children, there was a text book arrangement of bean poles, a vegetable wheel, and I will not even start on the historic orchard as that would be the subject of another long eulogy best written by humphrey.
The capacious and airy potting shed was full of cakes and tea, but one could imagine humphrey potting up her geraniums in it.
Anyway the rose walk was really lovely, not over the top at all, with beautiful scented roses, and just nice to be in, and my favourites in the garden, apart from those already mentioned, were
Tall Thalictrum delavayi -pale yellow with white foxgloves
A large mass of tall calendula with purple borage
The bay trees at the front with twisted stems
The immaculate lawn
The blue large flowered clematis
The birch trees.
humphrey herself with her DH and happy healthy children. There is no greater wonder than to see a mother and her children looking cared for and healthy (I suppose I would say that, but still) and I take my hat off to the family: The garden knocks socks off anything seen at Chelsea and reflects the hard work the parents have put in to create a heavenly environment for their children to grow up in. Well done.