A short drive from where we live is a reservoir and two garden centres set in extensive grounds overlooking the valley. There's a café in both garden centres so we're drawn there often for a few hours of relaxation without having to go far to find beautiful views and ideas for our garden.
There are many mature trees and areas where plants are growing so one particular garden centre is a favourite as it's more like wandering around a park and you can sit outside at the café and watch the birds feeding from the bird feeders surrounded by beautiful plants. It also has a loyalty card system so if you go often you can get a little off the price of plants and there's a good stock of unusual plants. At the moment I go and look for bargains in the end-of-season sale section.
Usually there are different varieties of bird. The little sparrows are
just as welcome as the more colourful ones.
I
I like the way the garden ornaments are displayed alongside pots of plants that would look good together to create a themed area. The peacock was standing on a display surrounded by bonsai and Japanese garden accessories.
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Delphinium 'Excalibur Pink and White',
'Excalibur Dark Blue and White'
I found two delphiniums in the bargain section £2.50 each
and also a yellow hollyhock for the same price.
Yesterday we went back to the garden centre to get a lining for a hanging basket and there were lots of new plants in stock so we chose a tray of mixed Sweet William. Thinking ahead for next year I chose a packet of oriental poppy seeds 'Lauren's Grape' and an aloe vera. The aloe vera has seedlings that I can transplant later.
