At the end of July I will be moving down to Sussex. A big move involving changing job and home. I have been in Burnham for almost 2 years now. The excitement of living in England has settled down to be my new normal and though I've met some really lovely people, I miss my family. So, what I'm getting at, it's been regular trips down to Sussex to set things up, fulltime work, trying to learn Italian - that's been going on a while, and just regular life have been filling up the time which means that the blog is the part of life that gets neglected. It does require a commitment of time and sometimes there just isn't the energy. It is one of my favourite things to do though, so I'm not giving it up. I may just be a bit delayed in posting. Thanks for sticking with me.
So, back in May with Spring in full bloom it was back to the Windsor Great Park and the Valley Gardens. Part of the Crown Estates, they are 220 acres of botanical gardens and apparently have the largest planting of Rhododendrons - 50 acres - in the world. In 2006 there was a proposal to fence the Garden and charge entrance fees. There was outrage! King George V had granted free access to the public in 1930 - if you think back - this was between the great wars and a time of great austerity. Free entrance was a valuable gift to the man in the street. There was local, national and international protest and a petition to the Queen, whereupon the Crown Estate backed down and deferred the plans. Which probably means that sometime in the future, this will happen, but for the time being, it's still free. For which I'm grateful.
Past the Obelisk
These dogs were having the best time.
Many routes, pick one ..
Past one of the more unusual features of the park, the Totem Pole
I had brought a book along with me, as you do, and parked off on this bench for a while.
Contemplating life for a while, it occurred to me that the rings on this bench represent an annual growing season for the tree it is made of - many, many years ..
Now for the Rhododendrons. They have such a short season, but they are spectacular. And the fragrance here was quite lovely.
Rhododendron Sappho - I'd never seen these before. Aren't they gorgeous?
These look like green bear claws.
Pheasants, you see them all over the place but they don't stay still long enough to get a decent shot .
The same goes for bees. There were lots on this bush, but elusive.
The Magic Far Away tree! Just as I'd always imagined
This is quite a strange one, I'm not sure what it is, but the flower seems to come first and then the leaves through the centre of the flower!
Red carpet.
Just as you're thinking - how far to the nearest tea room - voila! Perfect spot.
Acers, with their beautiful red foliage.
Rejuvenated - able to cope with the next week - time to head home.
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