Posted in Glamorgan, History, Wales, tagged Dyffryn Gardens on August 30, 2015| 16 Comments »
Stained glass window at Dyffryn House
The National Trust took over Dyffryn House and Gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan in January 2013. The trust has not yet been able to “dress” the interior of the house with historical furniture, furnishings and paintings, which must be an expensive task, but the permanent fixtures are still worth a quick look. (more…)
Posted in Nature, Street plants, tagged Nature on August 22, 2015| 24 Comments »
Bee on some sort of brassica flower beside the street, July 2015
In a normal summer I would expect the street plants of Cardiff to be shrivelled and brown, but we have had so much rain this July and August that the pavements abound with lush greenery. Here are some of my favourite sightings… (more…)
Posted in Cardiff, Gardening, Uncategorized, tagged Bute, Cardiff, flowers, Gardening on August 16, 2015| 10 Comments »
My favourite flower from the latest trip to the Bute Park borders – I’ll tell you what it is later…
Just as I have been following a tree every month in Bute Park, Cardiff, I have also been “following” the herbaceous borders there since they came to life in spring. My latest visit was on August 6. This is a view of the borders taken while standing near my Paulownia tree, but zoomed in quite a bit…
Bute Park herbaceous borders in August
Posted in Cardiff, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Bute, Cardiff, Paulownia, Trees on August 11, 2015| 8 Comments »
Fallen branch of empress tree in Bute Park, Cardiff, August 6, 2015
August is usually a rough time for the trees here. The summer weather dries them out and diseases take their toll. But this year we have had a very wet July and I was pleased to see that the empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) I am following in Bute Park, Cardiff, still looked lush and green when I visited on August 6.
I’m following it every month as part of Lucy Corrander’s tree-following project.
Posted in Garden visits, Gardening, Glamorgan, Uncategorized, tagged Dyffryn Gardens, Gardening on August 7, 2015| 11 Comments »
Low winter sunlight at Dyffryn Gardens in January 2015
Dyffryn Gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan has just been voted the top Special Place in Wales in a National Trust survey. I went there on January 2 this year, but never did get around to blogging about it. I visited again on July 7, so now I am combining the two visits into a series of blog posts on different themes. This first one contrasts the garden treasures of midwinter and midsummer. (more…)
The Squirrelbasket 