One of my very favorite things about England is its beautiful gardens, plants and trees. Many of you know that I live in Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert, and though it can be surprisingly and stunningly breathtaking at times, for most of the year it is quite brown and grey. Needless to say, the greens of England thrilled me. I reveled in the gardens and the flowers intoxicated me. Even walking in the parks was a treat as most of the parks here at home are not very interesting and mostly serve as playing fields for soccer and football, not beautiful places in which to enjoy nature.
I was also really intrigued by the gardening culture in England – all of the books and TV programs devoted to the topic are wonderful. While I was there I watched an episode of a program called ‘British Gardens in Time‘ and fell in love with the subject of the episode, Biddulph Grange, so much so that my friend googled to see if there was any way we could visit. Unfortunately, it would have been too long of a journey from London so I had to shelve that dream for another time.
Following are some of the photos I took of the lovely plants of England. I wish I would have taken more photos of the foliage, but I think I was too busy marveling at and enjoying it all to remember to photograph a lot of it. I hope you enjoy the show.
In Bath–
At Westminster Abbey–
At Windsor Castle–
At Hampton Court Palace–
A Certain Fondness 
Lovely pictures. Next time you visit you must come a little further west into Cornwall where we have The Eden Project, The Lost Garden of Heligan, and much more ….
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Cornwall sounds absolutely lovely. I’d love to go – I need to take at least three weeks for my next trip, I think, so I can visit more of the UK outside of London.
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I remember reading an Agatha Christie mystery (I think it was Nemesis) where Miss Marple goes on a bus tour and visits the gardens and great houses of England. That would be an awesome vacation! I’m enjoying your posts about your trip to England. I’ve always wanted to go there so it’s cool to learn about the things you enjoyed on your trip.
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That would be a dream, Melissa! I’m glad you’re enjoying the posts. It was such a wonderful and inspiring trip for me. I hope you can get there yourself someday – you won’t be disappointed.
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Gorgeous! The flowers are so, so pretty. I wish I could grow flowers — I’m crap at gardening, and all my plants die.
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Haha! That’s how I feel too, Jenny. Well, the sun kills everything I try to grow so it’s not entirely my fault.
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Thank you for sharing your lovely plant photos. I too love taking photos of flowers, plants and trees. Even living in England myself I am blown away by the greenness of the place…all that rain is good for something 😀
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Yes, the rain is an advantage! I know it must be wearying sometimes, but you do get to enjoy the green and lushness that it brings. Lucky you!
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If you came to the UK in high summer you would be even more impressed. You should try to find time to get to Scotland when you next cross the pond, you could see where your great-grandmother (?) came from – Edinburgh, and lots more.
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I would LOVE to go to Scotland! I will plan on it for my next trip – maybe even starting there. I’m sure it is just beautiful.
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You make me realise how much we take our lovely gardens for granted over here – perhaps we shouldn’t grumble so much about the rain!
Next time you’re here, Chelsea Physic Garden is a lovely place to visit – and only five mins away from Carlyle’s House for literary interest. I sometimes take visitors to Bonnington Square – off the tourist track, but a great example of community gardening.
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Haha – it would be hard not to grumble about the rain, but it does bring the most beautiful gardens to you!
I had the Carlyle House on my list of places to visit, but we ran out of time so it’s top of the list for next time and I will make sure to go to the Chelsea Physic Garden as well. And Bonnington Square sounds wonderful – I’ve always wanted to see a great community garden. Thanks for the tips!
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It’s lovely to see the UK through someone else’s eyes. It also reminds me how much I probably take for granted and how much more I need to get out and see what is around me.
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I think we do really take where we live for granted because we get in such a routine that it’s hard to see outside of that. I am disenchanted with Phoenix right now, but I do know that visitors and newcomers love it and think it is marvelous and that helps me to see it in a different light.
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I love English gardens too. And I’ve been dreaming of visiting Hampton Court for years now… One day, I hope! My favourite of your pictures is the one of the holly – wonderfully seasonal and evocative!
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I loved seeing real holly in the wild. I’ve never seen it before! It was in a small Georgian garden in Bath that was just lovely.
You must go to Hampton Court – it is so so so fascinating!
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Gorgeous pictures – when I go to the UK I realise how the green there is such a different green to Australia. So lush and beautiful.
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