An English Garden - in photos

Foxgloves are always a traditional favorite

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing: -"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade.
~Rudyard Kipling, "The Glory of the Garden"


If an Englishman's home is his castle, then what is his garden?

During my recent trip, I was reminded how much we Brits love our gardens. Gardens in the US often disappoint me because they are so lawn focused, whereas in the UK, even a postage stamp sized piece of yard will become a blaze of floral color. Here are just a few shots from gardens, both large and small.

Ever popular hydrangeas 

The formal gardens at Beaulieu (left) offer sculpted hedgerows, grassed walkways, and statues among the flora, but even smaller gardens often contain a mix of flowerbeds, trailing roses, and perhaps the odd water feature.

And at a time when bees seem to be losing their habitat at an alarming rate, it was delightful to see so many gardens containing lavender, which always seemed to be swarming with bees.

Bees enjoying the lavender

More food for the bees

Whether the garden is neatly 

manicured and carefully laid out, 

or a more traditional cottage 

garden, filled with wild flowers, 

it is always a thing of beauty.