11th May 2019

Liz Bloom and her partner Graham Boutell warmly welcomed Group members to their garden. The garden has been evolving since 1968 and has increased in size from ½ acre to the present 1.4 acres.

The first area I explored was the woodland walk which I found out is Liz’s favourite part of the garden. The unusual varieties of herbaceous perennials certainly caught the attention of visitors. There were a number of plants that particularly fascinated me. Two varieties of Epimedium, firstly ‘Amber Queen’, which has delicate amber-yellow flowers held on very wiry stems and secondly ‘Spine Tingler’ which has curious long spurs, pale lemon flowers, held about saw-toothed margined leaves.

I was also intrigued by Disporum uniflorum, Yellow Fairy Bells, with its nodding and narrow shell-shaped pale-yellow flowers held on arching stems. Other plants which members spoke warmly about were Cornus canadensis and Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’ (aka Lamprocapnos).

From here I walked out into the relatively newly planted woodland area which is surrounded by rough grass intersected by mown pathways. This turned out to be Graham’s favourite area and is planted with a variety of trees in order to give year-round interest. Two trees particularly caught my attention, firstly Cercis siliquastrum, Judas tree, which was in full bloom. Its’ clusters of bright pink pea-flowers looked stunning when the sun shone. Secondly, I also enjoyed listening to the leaves of the variegated Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Aureo-marginatum,’ variegated tulip tree, rustling in the breeze.

Other highlights included a beautiful display of rhododendrons in full bloom, and a beautifully laid out kitchen garden complete with greenhouse.

The visit was made completely memorable by the laying on of tea and biscuits together with a plant sale.

Photos by Irene Tibbenham