Travelling the long car journey back from my holiday to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly required a number pit stops. Having visited the National trust property Hanbury Hall previously its location just off Junction 5 the M5 in Worcestershire was very convienent. So off the motorway we drove and headed for a rather picturesque lunch and a toilet break, much nicer than a motorway services!
I had a revisit in mind as I knew the planting in the Parterre would be in bloom, how right I was.
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| Tulips and the Parterre |
First to indulge in a warm sausage roll, cheese scone and a cup of tea in the tea room - I know not the healthiest of lunches but most satisfying. What a busy little tea room it was too, it was lunchtime and what National Trust tea rooms are quiet at that time of the day. Still there was plenty of seating indoors and a large outdoor area including sit on tractors for children to play on.
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| Hanbury Hall Parterre |
What's a Parterre? I hear some of you say. According to the gardening section of the Encyclopeadia Britannica "a Pareteer is the division of garden beds in such a way that the pattern is itself an ornament. It is a sophisticated development of the knot garden, a medieval form of bed in which various types of plant were separated from each other by dwarf hedges of box, thrift, or any low-growing controllable hardy plant." What a lovely display of flowers and clipped hedging the Hanbury Hall Pareterre contained. Flowers included Tulips, Auricula some Daffodils and Hyacinths although they were just going over.
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| Auricula |
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| Auricula |
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| Magnificent Tulips |
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| Tulip |
In the next garden room the two freshly painted Summer Houses in blue made a bold statement. Garden volunteers were busy tending the beds and their hard work had paid off as the whole gardens were looking immaculate, the flower beds edging was crisp and tidy. Flowers blooming in this area included the Pulsatilla also known as Pasque Flower, not sure why mine at home are looking like the poor cousins compared to these magnificent specimens.
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| Pasque Flower |
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| Pasque Flower |
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| Daffodil |
On this visit I also discovered a rose garden, which is just waiting to bloom into colour. Sounds like the perfect excuse for another visit!
Thanks for the splendid review, Ange. I agree with every word although as a volunteer at Hanbury Hall, I might be a teeny weeny bit biased so it's really good to hear it from someone without any such connection. Please call again - the parterre has developed now so that it looks good throughout the seasons and we are open every day except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed your review and have added it to my 'to visit list' i love the national trust and have visited many but this one had passed me by.
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