I do enjoy a visit to Waterperry Gardens at this time of year to see their amazing display of Asters. I asked a few friends if they would like to join me, and although many couldnt make it, we had a nice group of 4 with Clare, Louise and Linda joining me. I took our van, and with the cost of fuel now £2 a litre, I asked each of them for a £5 contribution. (now paid to John!) Thanks ladies.
The forecast today was for showers, some heavy, but we got lucky, and not one drop of rain. I say lucky... we are desperate for rain, and it seems to miss us every time there is a slight chance.
Clare had not been to start a ride from Ewelme before, and Louise not been to Waterperry before, so some new routes for them today. Linda has been with me on a Monday over the years.
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| Clare was charmed with the views from the car park in Ewelme. |
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| A trip to the loo at the Almsehouses... then into the church. Linda said she has never been in the church. I was amazed by that! |
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| The service was due to start within 30mins, so a quick look to show them the alabaster tomb of Alice de la Pole (Alice Chaucer, Dutchess of Suffolk) |
Route link screenshot at end.
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| Little Hazeley |
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| Linda and Clare, Little Hazeley |
Through Great Hazeley and passed the windmill, to dogleg over the A329 passing Le Manoir, which is currently closed and under renovation. Looks like pretty serious work going on.
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| dropping down to climb up to Cuddesdon, as we cross the river Thame. (not Thames) |
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| Clare was first up and pulled over here, almost at the top arriving in Cuddesdon. |
Past the impressive Ripon College, then down the huge into Wheatley, and around the one way system to get over the A40 towards Holton. A long downhill through Holton, then soon along the road towards Waterperry, where we also climb over the M40.
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| We arrived around 12.15, so had lunch in the garden before our garden visit. |
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| An exhibition currently on in the gallery of stitched pictures inspired around the gardens. (lots of red dots, infact all but one was sold. prices between £400-700) |
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| Or limited prints of the work available for around £150 |
I have not been on a Sunday before, but had checked that I could use my RHS card or 2for1. No concession on a Sunday, so we all had to pay the full price today of £12.50.
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| Ceratostigma Plumbaginoides. (I have this in my garden and its looking really good despite the drought) |
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| Our first glimpse of the big perennial border with Asters looking as good as usual. |
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| Me, Linda, Louise and Clare with the yellow Golden Rod plant behind Solidago rugosa Fireworks. (looks great, but a thug, so not tempted to plant at home!) |
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| Squirrel busy collecting nuts, from this Chestnut Tree. |
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| I saw these Chestnuts in 2023 and remember the unusual smooth casing |
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| Aesculus flava, also known commonly as the common buckeye |
Aesculus flava, also known commonly as the common buckeye, the sweet buckeye, and the yellow buckeye, is a species of deciduous tree in the subfamily Hippocastanoideae of the family Sapindaceae. The species is native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States.
To the Pool next for the obligatory silly pose😂😂😂. Clare gave her phone to a young lady to take a picture of the 4 of us. But she stood miles away and didn't zoom, so not the best photo. ( I have cropped it a bit but we are still tiny)
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| One with my camera |
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| The trial beds where all the plants are named, were also looking brilliant. |
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| Might order this pink one for home. |
A wander through a few more areas. Roses pretty much past now, but the grasses borders were looking amazing. The grasses were blowing.... a lot.. .doesn't bode well for our ride back!
A bonus visiting at this time of year, is a wonderfully colourful display of Dahlias inside the walled garden area.
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| Dahlia Cornel Brons. I like this one! |
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| Dahlia Wizard of Oz. I like this too! |
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| Dahlia Hillcrest Suffusion. Nice. |
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| It was interesting that different plants appealed to different tastes. Linda and I didn't agree on any! She liked the "fussy looking " ones better. |
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| photo by Louise. Today was a bit like gardeners questions time. 😂 |
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| A final splash of colour with annuals, and Dahlias mixed. |
A nice day now with blue skies and sunshine as we left. So much for the rain. But the wind on the way back was a pain as we rode head on into it.
A different route back from Wheatley to gradually climb to Great Milton, and Little Milton, to retrace our route from Chalgrove back to Ewelme on a few different lanes.
Thanks all for joining me, and hope you enjoyed our day out.
