Saturday 10 March 2012

Walmer Castle & Gardens, Kent Pt. 2

Enjoyed the castle and our tea and now it is time for the garden
The present layout of the gardens is largely the result of the personal enthusiasm of two Lords Warden - William Pitt the Younger (Lord Warden from 1792 - 1806) and Earl Granville (Lord Warden from 1865 - 1890)  


This garden that we are in now is the garden of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother





I'm sure the thistle's represented her Scottish ancestry





Walking across the various lawns, this one being the croquet lawn


The Broadwalk


The armillary sundial on the upper terrace


Entering the woodland walk


The statue of Mercury in the paddock



Approaching the kitchen garden
where flowers abound amongst the produce










We will be making our way back soon so hope you enjoyed the walk


16 comments:

Kay G. said...

You better believe I enjoyed this walk with you!
Did you mean to type "croquet" lawn instead of "crochet" lawn?
I like to crochet and I love the idea of sitting there crocheting so thank you for giving me that imagery!

Terri said...

I feel quite enlightened and refreshed after our walk. Thank you so much for bringing us along. I love that there are lawns for various pursuits. The flowers are so cheery. The castle so strong and I love the color of this one.
All in all, a wonderful experience, as always!
Hugs!!!

Bernideen said...

Oh ...what love gardens- thank you for sharing this adventure with us!

Annie Jeffries said...

I love English gardens and one of the things that is most striking to me is how the formal gardens appear to be side by side with kitchen gardens. The one so formal and manicured; the other wild and lushly abundant. I especially like all the flowers that grow in the kitchen garden. The frangrance must be maddingly delicious.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

It was a very colorful walk, thank you! It must be lovely to have such gardens to wander about in whenever one wishes, and a whole battalion of gardeners to care for it. I enjoyed seeing the purple agapanthas (lilies of the Nile) and they seemed like old friends as they are everywhere here in my locale.

Interestingly, this is the second time today I've run across mention of William Pitt too. The other was in a book I'm reading.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

I too enjoyed that walk tremendously. It is wonderful to see all the green and plants growing and blooming. Just what I needed to start the day. It's still very chilly and pretty grey looking here. Hope to see some sunshine later today! Hope you have a wonderful Sunday.

CherryPie said...

Thank you for the walk and reminding me how lovely the gardens are :-)

Lorrie said...

A lovely walk. Thank you. It's windy and cold, but sunny here today.

England is full of wonderful gardens, isn't it?

nikkipolani said...

When I first saw those thistles, I thought they were artichokes left to bloom. So much was in bloom when you visited. I wonder if anyone picks bouquets from these lovely gardens (for my hands are itching for pruners).

La Petite Gallery said...

I just can't imagine living in a fantastic place like that.
It must be fantastic. England has such beauty, and unbelieveable castles.
Love the garden.
Thanks yvonne

Bishop Stone said...

What a wonderful garden. I so love the green lawns, since I dont have one due to the wallabies eating everything. The pond is wonderful too. Were you able to go inside the fantastic castle as well. What a great back drop.

Midwest to Midlands said...

It is so wonderful that these places are maintained and we are able to visit them. I have not seen much of Kent but you are showing areas we hope to see.

Tracey@Breathing English Air said...

I always enjoy looking at the kitchen gardens, and if they are large enough to contain flowers too, then so much the better.

c. Joy said...

Beautiful. Texans are always quick to brag about how big things are here. I've never seen thistle like that. Is that the normal size for thistle in your part of the world? And the kitchen garden - I'd like to spend a day or two there. Thanks so much for taking us along.

Vee said...

Truly beautiful gardens...croquet is one of my favorite lawn games, though I like bocce ball, too. I can see the Queen Mother playing a game croquet game there with her friends. She always seemed the dearest lady.

Thank you for taking such great photos and for showing all the various angles.

Lori Zehr said...

Your posts never cease to amaze me!