Borde Hill Garden 9 July 2016

In July I continued my travels and spent a lovely weekend with Matt and Dayne in West Sussex. On a pleasant Saturday afternoon Dayne and I took ourselves off to the Borde Hill Gardens which is really close to Haywards Heath. It's a private home and only the gardens are open to the public. Lunch first!

Then into the gardens. With full summer coming on eventually, there are flowers everywhere - to be expected in a garden I suppose, but still, there are a lot so I've done collages again - too much of a good thing and you'd all be wandering off.

These must be the saddest red hot pokers I've seen - I think they need sun!

The garden was created in the early 1900s and Colonel Robert Stephenson Clarke was the first owner to plant the gardens and woodlands. Plants were gathered by plant collectors from their travels to China, Burma, the Himalayas, Tasmania and the Andes. Someone must have been to Africa too.

There are various "rooms" which take you into completely different worlds. This is the Italian Garden.

There is also a sculpture exhibition in the garden.

This next room is called "the potting room"

Around the next corner we came in sight of the manor house. The first record of the estate dates back to 1534 and the house was originally constructed by Stephen Borde in 1598.

Beyond the house, a tea garden! Very welcome.

Refreshed we continued walking. There are lovely (but hazy on this day) views out over the fields from the back of the house and of the Ouse Valley Viaduct. One of these days I'll get close enough to take some better pictures.