Coombe Wood

I visited Coombe Wood in Croydon to view its wonderful Pine forest and lush vibrant garden to gain further knowledge of a quality planting design

Below are some pictures of the gardens...

This was the first planttion you see as you enter the garden and it just blows you away

A natural stone pathway through the plantation is much more pleasing to my eye

Tulip of various colours lined with Bluebells, Bluebells seem to be a favourite for edging 

The following photos are of the rock garden 

I love Japanese gardens and this reminds me of a similar approach

Natural stone paving and small plants, shrubs and alpine plants carpet the rugged rock and earth mounds

The boulders on the edge of the footpath define the path and give eye pleasing contrasts through colour also texturally and shapely against the vegetation.

There is an art in gardening like this, knowing what exactly to use in specific areas is crucial to a not only impressive but captivating garden.

Subtle perimeters gently shield the garden

A stream passes through the rock garden giving a calm tranquil feeling. It's coated in green algae 

Rocks add that missing ingredient and to see something like this gives me a sense of adventure and exploration

Careful balancing of large, medium and small is essential. It also about shape, colour and

 texture too.

Ok, that was the rock garden- (my favourite bit!) now a few photos of the other gardens in Coombe Wood

This area did not have a name but neither did the rock garden. It did have some new plantings on display, I was not sure what they were but I suspect they are young bushes of some description eventually growing into another and forming a hedge when it gets a bit more established.

The gap between each plantation fills the space and provides contrast with the lawn. Also some are square and some circular which is more eye catching

A stone sun dial rests at the end of a lawn in another part of the garden

hedge archways are always  nice feature but take a while to create I would have thought

There was a couple getting there photos taken for what looked like a wedding 

This was another area of planting but not quite as impressive as the rock garden or Tulip garden.

Finally the pine forest at the back which I walked through was nice. Pine trees remind me of child hood and give me a humble adventure/exploration feeling. I think its because I often went on camping breaks as a kid!

Coombe Wood was very pleasant, and I learned allot from the rock garden there. I enjoyed all of it really  and learned more about placing and contrasts of all kinds because when you experience a high quality garden first hand, you can fully appreciate the art that goes into it as well as the fragrance's, especially this time of year. 

LEONARDSLEE lakes & gardens

I paid a visit to Leonardslee Park Lakes and Gardens in Lower Beeding, Horsham, West Sussex. My disire to visit was to understand the art of artful gardening. Before I visited, I checked out the garden on-line and saw the craftsmanship that has been put into it. Initially I was captivated by the rock garden there but as I discovered more I was drawn in. Its a huge park spread over a valley with spectacular plantations vibrant in colour this time of year. I think it was at its peak when I visited. As I was walking around, the smells were incredible, that mixed with the skilled placement and choice of trees, plants, shrubs and ponds was an aw inspiring experience. I took many pictures and sat on some of the numerous benches to gaze at the wonder before me. I've always wanted to get a better understanding of what makes a garden beautiful. Iv studied Japanese gardens to understand that a balance of all shapes and sizes is paramount if one is to achieve a state of tranquillity. But its not only shapes and sizes, it colours, textures, smells and location too. Here are som pictures I snapped on the walks through the park.

This was one of the views looking over the valley in which the park it set. If you look closely you can make out two white dots on the toe path above the pond at the bottom of the vally, there people! it just gives you an idea on the scale of this park.

The smell of the flowers and trees was incredible, adding to the experience.

Some of the walks took you through secretive passage ways

Some of the leaves in this area where over a metre wide! and roughly 2m tall and growing!

As mentioned, some of these plants were big and rather intimating! beautiful as they were they were about my hight and taller with leaf spans over a metre. They were covered with sharp thorns on the stems and undersides of the leafs, flourishing vigorously as if pre historic when earth was untouched.

I may sound like I'm waffling but this was really spectacular. If you have been absent of this before then it is truly amazing to view.

Everything was in sync, artfully and seamlessly working with one another to project a feeling of harmoniousness amongst many diverse species.

These shoots growing off this fern type plant looked pre-historic and ancient like, reminding me of plants existing when the dinosaurs were alive.

beautiful

I came across this stone monument in respect of the man who played a significant role in the development of Leonardslee Gardens.

I'm now in the heart of the valley where the pond is located. It is so pleasant here and very quiet I just the heard the birds singing and smelt the florna and forna. There was no wind on the day.

A tree was left to sporadically grow, omitting beauty with the raw unbalance of nature itself

 Now onto the other hill side of the valley- the East side

This is the crossing between Engine pond and Waterfall pond
looking West onto West side

waterfall pond

Mossy Gnoll Pond

West side till we die...

This is the view from the bottom of the valley, from where the people I said looked like white dots were. The house you see at the top of the hill is where I took the photograph

Looking East from Westside

This was a dwelling at the crossing on the Westside of the valley, It was partially covered in Ivy and looked very characteristic

Also at Leonardslee was a collection of old Victorian cars and a model village set in Victorian times

Some ate back from 1898!

This is part of the model village representing what life was like in Victorian times.

The vegetables in the gardens were very well done, I was impressed

This model had movement, the two men are cutting a log and the log fire you see in the foreground was flickering as if lit, it was very good!

 In each of these little glass windows was a miniature Victorian example of particular scenes during that period

I enjoyed it!

Some stairs I came across, these were made from natural stone

Some different steps I encountered were meshed using a type of chicken wire, I suspect this was used for grip in wet weather

More pictures

I came across some dug out holes in the hill side, I think these were rabbit burrows

Bluebells carpet the hillside 

Flower of the 'Loders White' Tree.
It smelt fantastic

Flower of the 'Armstice Day' Tree.
It smelt fantastic

 A humongous Pine tree

The other side of the valley or 'East side'

I had to film some of the rock garden at Leonardslee just to show you how impressive it was.

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All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my self at Leonardslee gardens, I learned allot about colour schemes, plant, shrub and rock combinations and noted down some attractive tree and bush species for future reference. I would recommend going there and experiencing it for your self.

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