Monday 4 July 2011

Gardens in Wales

In my last post I promised (threatened) a few photos of my trip to Cardiff last week. As I'm not going to have any books to review for a few days (reading several at once) I thought I would put a few up today. And then I realised it was the 4th. of July. So... Happy Independence Day to all in the USA! Even if many will not be here to read the greeting...

Anyway. One of the places we revisted on our trip was The Museum of Welsh Life. 'Revisited' because last year we only saw half of it - it was huge and it was a very hot day, so we decided to return this year to see the other half... the other half being the gardens.


It turned out to be a very nice surprise because this is the view you get as you walk down the path.



Looking down on one of the three small lakes.



Formal gardens in the top part of the gardens.



Roses! The scent was wonderful.



I was fascinated by these fruit trees that had fallen over and then sprouted from the trunk. Never seen that before.



Bit of an Italian theme going on here I think.



Can't you just imagine sitting in this gorgeous spot with a good book?



I must admit I thought this was a fairy lurking in the undergrowth. On closer inspection, I don't actually think it is... LOL! Hmm.





The Museum of Welsh Life is well known for its outdoor reconstructions of houses through the ages, most of which are in the other half of the grounds. Just these two in the garden half, the first barn being used as a demo of roof thatching and the second a very old barn, beautifully constructed.



Full circle and nearly back at the beginning. We were very impressed with the beauty and tranquility of these gardens, they're well maintained with thoughtful planting and delightful aspects from many vantage points. Worth a visit if you're in the Cardiff area.
~~~oOo~~~

9 comments:

My Gallery of Worlds said...

Oh, how gorgeous!!! You must have been in heaven. The work that must go into that formal garden must be astronomical.
I can't believe those trees, they're like twins, I wonder how that happened. I'd love to get the story behind them :D Fabulous post Cath

Anonymous said...

Here, reading you, early in the morning on our Independence Day - thank you.

Oh, what a lovely place this is and how I long to visit it one day. I would need two days to see it all no matter the weather. Those trees are so interesting and a reminder to not give up when we've fallen down, isn't it?

DesLily said...

hooray! I've been waiting for these pics! I saved most of them lol.. i sure wish my ancestors had stayed put in england! lol

(my word verification is "dogypena" I don't think I wanna know! lol)

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Cath,

I love visiting gardens, especially at this time of year, although many of the roses have bloomed so early this year, that they are already long past their best!!

Some gardens have loads of 'hidden' areas, where you could just sit with a book and let the world pass you by.

The forethought that previous owners had, when designing gardens is amazing. Every view and vista was constructed with a purpose, oh to be back in those times, although the notion that I would be one of the 'landed gentry', with enough money for such projects, is a dim and distant dream!!!!

Great pictures.

Yvonne

Cath said...

Kelly: Yes, it was like a little bit of heaven, so quiet and peaceful. I know... those trees were very odd weren't they. If I ever come across a gardening expert I'll ask about it.

lifeonthecutoff: Yes, you could easily spend two days at the museum. It is truly a fascinating place and in the reconstructed buildings they have people there to tell you all about the social history of the houses. We'll definitely go again next time we're in Cardiff.

Pat: Glad you enjoyed the pics... more to come, probably over the weekend. I'd put them up today but annoyingly I have a bad back/shoulders so shouldn't spend heaps of time at the pc today (not sure how I'm going to resist). I wish your ancestors had stayed here too!

Yvonne: We're serial garden visitors too. LOL. Luckily there are a lot in this country for us to indulge ourselves in.

Yes, the thought that went into the construction of these old gardens is amazing. And they never reaped the benefit... it's us that's doing that now that the gardens are mature.

There's no way I would have been landed gentry either. My Cornish family were from very humble stock - tin miners in one case and stone cutters in the other. My grandmother went into service in the early 1900s, and I've no doubt that would have been my lot too!

Danielle said...

What lovely photos--threaten all you want--I'd be happy to see more! :) Everything is so lush and green and yes, I could happily sit on a bench and while the afternoon away in the sunshine reading! The Fourth was Loud and lots of mosquitoes, but the extra days off from work were great!

Vintage Reading said...

Lovely pics. Like you, I was struck that some of the spots would be perfect to read in - we're hopeless book addicts aren't we?!

Daniel Pattinson said...

Wow! these pictures are very beautiful..I freakin' love them!
Accredited High School Diploma Online

Cath said...

Danielle: Glad you enjoyed the photos. Yes, everything is very green here at the moment. Hardly any rain in the spring and then the weather made up for it with biblical deluges in June... just as the country was going into drought mode.

Nicola: Yes, us book addicts all think the same way it seems. LOL.

Daniel: Glad you like them. :-)