And now for a contrast.
Here’s the
terrace of Rydal Hall itself.
. . . And here’s a view from the
terrace where it overlooks the gardens created by Thomas Mawson in 1909. Our
eyes are drawn along the path, past the fountain - to the fields and hills of
Cumbria which are wonderfully framed by a break in the balustrade. It’s as if
we are looking into a painting. The view leaps from formal to wild. The narrow
link between garden and hills is a sheep field. It softens the contrast but don’t be deceived by that green pasture. Farming here can be tough. If you are able to enlarge the
picture of the hill in a mist near our tent (in the first post of this series) you’ll see white dots - sheep
on rugged ground. In the winter there is snow.
(Incidentally - those balustrades
are not made of stone but of pre-cast concrete. An early example of its use in
this way.)
I wish all pergolas had partial
roofs. It wish I could have been a little more sheltered from the rain while
sitting there. (I might have stayed longer!)
But, none the less, for a short while, I sat on a bench and admired the
croquet lawn where slugs were feasting. (I’d never seen so many slugs on a lawn
before; wouldn’t you say this is an odd place for slugs to hang out; do they
eat living grass?) And, beside me, there was a hosta in a pot, a small bamboo
and, beyond them, rosebay-willow herb. An odd combination - but here, always,
there’s a wild-beyond.
For, below me - there was the grot which I described in the first of these posts.
And here, as a reminder, is the bit cut out from the picture with the colour changed. See? There is the 'summer house' (bottom left) and there is the bench in the Rydal Hall garden (top right) almost back to back; divided merely by history, style, and a steep bank.
That's why I've called this series 'Tension in the Landscape'. Wonderful contrasts side by side.
* * *
For information about sheep breeds in Cumbria - click HERE.
For a picture of sheep farming in winter - click HERE.
For more information about the restoration of Rydal Hall Gardens (including a picture of the Pergola under construction!) click HERE.
Except on the Yellow Book Day, entrance to the gardens is free - with donations welcome.
For more information about the restoration of Rydal Hall Gardens (including a picture of the Pergola under construction!) click HERE.
Except on the Yellow Book Day, entrance to the gardens is free - with donations welcome.
6 comments:
By very wild coincidence (and collision of my two worlds), the husband of a walking chum of mine is a Mawson, descending rather closely from this landscape architect of note. He and his wife went back just last year because there was a retrospective of Mawson's work somewhere. This is a beautiful site. Love the use of concrete. You are very brave to camp cheerfully in that kind of wet... especially so far from the loos. Interestingly, my word verification word is "swess" -- perhaps some level of swishy wetness?
There's tension within the wild and within the formal too. The gardens look so controlled except for the beatiful flower bed under the balustrade. The river looks so wild except for the tidy little stone house sitting right in it. What a fun way to think about things!
To see anything so organized and contrived successfully is amazing to me. I have had ideas over the years of how I wanted certain areas to look, but try as I may, I seldom am successful. Thank you for sharing that beautiful place with us.
I love the far-from-grotty grot, and the wild landscape framed by the immaculate lawn and topiary. Not so keen on the immaculate lawn and topiary though. Prefer the rosebay willowherb!
How wonderful! I take it that these are from your recent trip? I must read back.
Hello Helen. It's surprising how often the separate parts of our lives collide and mesh.
Hello Katie. I liked that flower bed too. Being in a formal garden is interesting but I'd be likely to get bored and lonely if I had to spend too much time there - not enough changing through the year. (Or, in this case, years.)
Barbee - I think your garden would sustain interest for longer than the formal one at Rydal - which is not to say I didn't like the Rydal one, I did. It was very peaceful to sit in. (I was, you may be unsurprised to know, given the rain, the only one sitting there.)
Hello Janet/Plantelicious. Rosebay Willow Herb and Ragwort in flower were the other constants (apart from rain) throughout our holiday. However many hundreds of miles we travelled - they were there. Lovely.
Hello Bom. Yes. We visited these gardens, in August, as part of our journey through England and Scotland.
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