In the coppiced woodland here, where the wood anemone was in bloom a month ago, the English bluebells are taking over. It is a beautiful sight to see and it almost seems as if your eyes are playing tricks on you. 
They are not even at their peak yet but the woodland is filled with a blue haze, almost as if a fog is creeping in.
Here is the star of the show, well one of the large cast anway, is the English bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta. The foliage emerges first while the wood anemone are still blooming and then there is just an explosion of blue everywhere with it eventually disappearing underground to go dormant for the rest of the year.
The Hornbeams are finally leafing out too!
The wild garlic is also in bloom, Allium ursinium. When the foliage first came out, about 4-5 weeks ago, we would make soup with it. It was really tasty but unfortunately it has a very short season.
On a very warm and sunny day, we went walking on the footpaths along River Rother. There were lots of crop fields that the paths went through with some pretty amazing Oaks. Even though this one is dead it still caught my eye. 
About 200 feet away were all of these white birds moving around a bit. Turns out there were about 12 white swans that were nesting in the middle of the crop field, just out in the open. When walking on the paths they would crane their heads straight up to see what kind of danger we were to them. I have had some pretty close encounters with swans as a child and know how nasty they could get. I didn't even try to get any closer because I wasn't about to get my butt kicked by a gang of pissed off swans. That would've been a sight to see though. The swans were a surreal sight.
The Bluebells again in the evening......
They are not even at their peak yet but the woodland is filled with a blue haze, almost as if a fog is creeping in.
Here is the star of the show, well one of the large cast anway, is the English bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta. The foliage emerges first while the wood anemone are still blooming and then there is just an explosion of blue everywhere with it eventually disappearing underground to go dormant for the rest of the year.
The Hornbeams are finally leafing out too!
The wild garlic is also in bloom, Allium ursinium. When the foliage first came out, about 4-5 weeks ago, we would make soup with it. It was really tasty but unfortunately it has a very short season.
On a very warm and sunny day, we went walking on the footpaths along River Rother. There were lots of crop fields that the paths went through with some pretty amazing Oaks. Even though this one is dead it still caught my eye. About 200 feet away were all of these white birds moving around a bit. Turns out there were about 12 white swans that were nesting in the middle of the crop field, just out in the open. When walking on the paths they would crane their heads straight up to see what kind of danger we were to them. I have had some pretty close encounters with swans as a child and know how nasty they could get. I didn't even try to get any closer because I wasn't about to get my butt kicked by a gang of pissed off swans. That would've been a sight to see though. The swans were a surreal sight.The Bluebells again in the evening......
From this angle I thought the rocky cliffs with Old Town underneath it looked like a model train city........ (Uncle Dan!)
On Saturday it was Marks birthday and Aaron organized a trip to Beth Chatto's garden. 
You can see from a distance, with the shape and form concept being apparent. Here is a closeup of Dicentra formosa and Pachysandra terminalis 'Variegata'. Mark took this photo. 
A Camelia in bloom with an Azalea.
Here is Phormium tenax, Bergenia crassifolia, and Poa labillardieri. Phormium is hardy here and can get to be about 6' or higher.
The beds are all irregular circular beds with turf paths winding throughout. 
Another form and shape garden bed on display. 
Mark, Beth Chatto and I. 
Lunch was homemade soup and bread that Beth made herself. She told us all about the history of the garden and how she had a strong love for propagating plants in the beginning of her career. Her design principles were explained too, these being always planting the right plant in the right spot and her laying of the beds out based on Japanese flower arranging rules. Plants are laid out so when viewed the heights represent a triangle. One high to bring the eye up, one medium to have something to focus the eye on and carry to the low plant which should ground the trio together. You'll notice this in the photos above. Alot of kind words and inspiration came from Beth Chatto during our time there. She invited us to sit on the couch next to her as she told stories of her life and advice about being in the horticultural field. One thing Beth said in speaking about different gardens was, "Everyone has the right to tell their own story." This I found to be very exciting to hear. Upon leaving she gave us big hugs, invited us back and said she was so glad to see the future of gardening.. Inspirational! And I leave you with a shot of our dessert at lunch, just an idea of how sweet the visit was........
The pots in front of the house looked especially cheerful.
Red tulips between the bird topiaries in the Peacock Garden.
Pyracantha in bloom.
All of the ponds looked like dark mirrors .
Mark wanted to show (Joyce) what a palm looked like with snow on it.
As the sun was setting it cast a pink glow all over everything.....
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