Friends of Hodsock Priory, Open Morning, 15th October 2015

Quite the tradition now to be invited to Hodsock Priory for an address by George Buchanan and a troop around the grounds.  There were so many of us the kitchen staff ran out of cake! George provided us with the latest news about the estate, most notable being that Hodsock was voted the best wedding venue of the year (the inaugural I Do Magazine's Wedding Awards 2015) in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. They deserve it.
 
The Norman gate house has had its scaffolding taken down though newly discovered World War 2 asbestos denies it, as yet, from public access. Still, it looks a fine sight, as does the house itself as seen from across the lake.
 
 
 
The garden tour was a delight. I had hoped to see a show of the earliest narcissus imaginable, "Cedric Morris", but it was not to be, unlike last year's astonishing display. There was much to admire though. Fungi are always showy at this time of year, not least the Fly Agaric Fungi.
 

The management (George) has responded to concerns about dirty shoes at snowdrop time by having the paths properly drained and gravelled over. A big improvement.



We were much taken by the plant below and as the gardener had momentarily encountered a bout of amnesia, I can only guess this was a variety of Euphorbia, very much like the milii I encountered earlier in the year in the Canaries.


Autumn crocus, or to be exact, Colchicum autumnale, are a spectacular sight at this time of year and were all over the estate in a variety of colours and states of collapse. The day breeders produce a truly robust specimen ..........


The autumn lily, Nerine bowdenii, is a robust plant, surprisingly hardy for such a tropical looking bulb.


And asters ... The cool of autumn.






And my plant of the day, a variety of nerine, I guess, with strong dark stems and no droop, see above!


 

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And remembering .....

Galanthus 'Mighty Atom'