FLOWER POWER. . .

To visit the English countryside is an experience I will never forget.  The gardens, the villages, the shops, the businesses and just about any other venue you could imagine is filled with the magic of flowers~ EVERYWHERE!  I have been to England before, in fact quite a few times, but for some reason, my impressions of flowers this time were magical, they were breathtaking, romantic and very often whimsical.

Every village we visited was as though every seed packet from the local

nursery  had exploded

into a thousand blooms all over the town, on every wall and at every

entrance!

This was the front of a home of a garden we visited. . . .

A window box alongside of a restaurant door . . .

Along side a shop wall. . . .

At the Sherbourne Nurseries. . .

Hanging baskets loaded with annuals. .

More hanging baskets

. . . and still more

and more.

Wedding flowers in a local cathedral.

A huge Cosmos planting in front the Sherbourne Cathedral.

THE WHITE HART RESTAURANT in the town of Sherbourne.

This little apartment was in the town of Weymouth, a seaside town.

As we were walking back to the car,  I spotted these flowers down an alleyway.

Who ever lived here had to duck to get into their front door!

Such a simple little abode, made so beautiful with baskets,

hanging baskets and wall baskets.

These Dahlias were grown for competitioin  at the

BATH & WEST NATIONAL GHARDENING SHOW.

These had won second prize.

This Dahlia had placed FIRST!

This had been The Old City Jail and

was now a restaurant.

Where ever a planting could fit, there they were.

The local patisserie . . .

An ancient stone wall at Athelhampton in Dorchester

The private home of the heir of Athelhampton. . . . . family owned

for over a century.

 

One of the wonderful gardens visited, thatched roof and all.

A trug loaded with miniature Cyclomen.

A welcoming sight at one of the private gardens we visited. . . .

a moss covered mushroom and all!

A floral basket hanging on the wall of a 14th century barn

where we watched a flower demonstration followed by tea, clotted

cream and scones. . . . and of course home made jam.

The meeting place on the village square in

the town of Wells where we visited the famous

Wells Cathedral.

The gothic doors and that centuries old stone wall!!!

Yee gods, it makes me crazy!!!!!

Displays of boxes and yews gifted with little surprise inside.

Ancient stone walls at Athelhampton and hydrangeas.

An old cement drinking trough repurposed unltimately. . . note

the contrast of the old grey cement, the delicate white, lavendar

and purple flowers. . .

Someones upper flat. . .

The walkway leading from the parking lot in Salisbury to

the streets of shops.

Gilbert of Salisbury. . . .

Impressionable, alive with color, breathtaking and certainly

one of the most memorable displays of color I have ever experienced.