Posted in Art & Design, Garden visits, Glamorgan, Uncategorized, tagged art, Dyffryn Gardens, Glamorgan on March 24, 2016| 12 Comments »
Fujin, god of wind, a bronze statue at Dyffryn Gardens
There are several Japanese bronze sculptures at the National Trust’s Dyffryn Gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan, all of them donated by Grenville Morgan in 1951 or 1952. I’m afraid I don’t know much about the gentleman.
I will start with bronzes of a pair of fearsome nature gods, Fujin and Raijin, not currently on full display – or at least when I last saw them they were tucked away in a glasshouse. (more…)
Posted in Garden visits, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Dyffryn Gardens, Gardening, oak, Trees on November 27, 2015| 18 Comments »
The Lucombe oak at Dyffryn Gardens, Vale of Glamorgan, in January 2015
In May last year I blogged about some magnificent turkey oaks, Quercus cerris, in Llandaff Fields, Cardiff. You can read the post here.
Well if I thought that was a quirky Quercus, I have now seen one that is even more unusual – the so-called Lucombe oak, Quercus x hispanica ‘Lucombeana’. I first spotted it in January at the National Trust’s Dyffryn Gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan. (more…)
Posted in Garden visits, Gardening, Glamorgan, Uncategorized, Wales, tagged Dyffryn Gardens, Gardening on November 20, 2015| 11 Comments »
Bright leaves of a rockery plant at Dyffryn Gardens in September
That headline will mean nothing to you unless you are familiar with The Dubliners’ Rocky Road to Dublin song, but hey-ho…
In September we visited the National Trust’s Dyffryn Gardens again. This time I was mainly going to look at some absolutely splendid old trees I hope to blog about soon, but I was also sidetracked by the rockery area you can see from the house. So here are my pictures – and I am sorry there are quite a few flowers I haven’t identified yet. (more…)
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 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 