This and That

We're really enjoying our garden this season as there's so much to see with new flowers appearing every day. The best way to show some of them is in collage format.

When we met our son on Friday it was a good opportunity to exchange gifts instead of arranging to post them.  I was given a belated birthday present of a beautiful calla lily plant and boxed sets of occasional plates and bowls and they'll be very handy when we have family gatherings. 

On Sunday we visited our local daughter and sat in her garden where we had afternoon tea, talked about our time in Kenilworth and Mr P lightly trimmed the grape vines as he knows what he's doing with these plants. The vines are climbing along the fences and growing long and straggly. Most of the young branches were tied in to the supporting wires. I made some small chocolate biscuits and daughter M made fruit scones which we ate with strawberries and blueberries.

Last week I went to the library and then walked around the Walled Garden.  More about that another time.  I saw that the new community café has opened up for refreshments so I shall have to go back soon and see what's going on there.  

Thank you for coming by and for your kind comments.  Commenting seems to be a challenge at the moment which must be a Blogger issue.  To simplify my blogging experience I may not always reply to comments, but appreciate your visits nonetheless and will keep in touch. 

Have a good day and week!

Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire

Last Friday Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire was a good place to meet our son, take a walk around the grounds and have lunch there.

Managed by English Heritage the history of the castle ruins is told in creative ways. Now that our son has moved to Kenilworth no doubt Mr P and I will be back on another occasion to see some of what was missed during this visit. There's an interesting exhibition about the history of the castle through the ages in the stable block and a café area at the other end. Many information boards have also been placed in the grounds and gardens.  I was interested to see the restored Elizabethan Gardens that Queen Elizabeth I would have walked around.  Much research has been done and the plants are ones that are authentic to the Tudor period when Robert Dudley, the 1st Earl of Leicester lived there. He was the Queen's favourite courtier.  Elizabeth I stayed in the castle as it was her habit to visit aristocratic families at their expense. Lavish entertainments were put on for her benefit. 

Before we toured the grounds we walked through the fields to get to the castle entrance.  At one time the castle was surrounded by water and we saw yellow flag irises growing there demonstrating the fact that it's still quite marshy especially along by the river.  The castle stands on high ground so at the end of the path we climbed up high stone steps to get to the entrance.  The site has been given as a gift to the people of Kenilworth so residents like our son and family can visit whenever they like.

Views of the stable block where we had lunch.

a carved panel on the marble fountain basin

The Elizabethan Gardens are terraced and separated by yew hedges. There are features such as a large aviary containing unusual small birds and a white Carrara marble fountain with panels depicting classical scenes of Neptune, sea creatures and sea nymphs. The garden parterres are set out in a formal pattern. There are obelisks and two bowers at the end of the terraced walkway planted with climbing honeysuckle.

This season there are pink thrift flowers, sweet-smelling old-fashioned roses and pink peonies.

a briar rose bush and wild strawberries in the Elizabethan garden

the aviary

The Gatehouse still stands as a complete building.

In the Gatehouse gardens there are several knot gardens with a terracotta pot in each of them.

The rooms in the Gatehouse are furnished with Tudor period furniture with wonderful carvings on them.  A theatrical costume on a stand is similar to one that can be seen in a portrait painting of Robert Dudley.

more photos of the Gatehouse gardens

the stable block exhibition area

The above carving shows a carved ragged staff which is a heraldic device associated with the Earldom of Warwick.

  

 Exhibits of carvings that would have adorned the buildings. The top photo is of a lion.

A visitor can climb up and walk around some of the higher storeys of the ruins. There must be wonderful views from these walkways.

the river 

The English Heritage shop is housed in this wooden barn-like building.  In the foreground of the photo you can see part of the tilting yard that was used for tournaments/jousting competitions. Apparently there was a dam, a lower pool, a great mere (lake) and water channels that surrounded the castle which made it into a fortress.  

The long tilting yard with the ruins of the castle and gateway in the distance. Mortimer's Tower had two D shaped towers that formed a gateway and was the main medieval entrance into the castle. It was built by King John as part of the ring of stone defences for the outer bailey between 1210 and 1215.

 

A row of cottages and lawns opposite the castle.  

I hope you enjoyed the tour around.  Thank you for visiting and for your comments.  Have a restful Sunday and a peaceful week.