Rode Hall in Cheshire, a beautiful home that opens up its 10 acres grounds for the snowdrop walks at this time of the year. We were there anyway for the monthly farmer's market and thought we would go and look around their gardens too.
Beautiful splashes of winter colour in this well thought out garden - snowdrops everywhere and the yellow witch hazel (Hamamelis), all giving me some great ideas to plant in my garden for some colour next winter. 
The rose garden, bet this looks stunning in the summer and I'll definitely be making a return visit as they have a huge kitchen garden that annoyingly we completely missed. 
A bizarre sunken ship in a field and my initial searches online could not find anything. But then I see that they have hosted the Just So Festival....mystery solved!! I'd love to go to the festival but it would be too much for Toby to manage. 
Pretty purple cyclamen and the swans of the mile long Rode Pool walking on the ice. Up in the trees we spotted an incongruous sight, like prehistoric creatures silently watching.....
Past the creepy water dungeon, or whatever it may be, you can see them watching............the herons in their herony on their own little island. Herons come back to the same herony for generations every February and lay their eggs. Weird birds aren't they!
The sugar pool, a nice little trickle of water to calm the senses and then a tranquil woodland walk. 
Hellebores are so pretty and great in shaded areas, I'd love some in the garden for they flower from late winter to early spring but poisonous apparently so maybe not until Toby is older!
This pink shrub smells amazing, the fragrance is divine. It is called Daphne Bholua and I will be looking for this in the plant nursery. I spied a behind the scenes potting area and I know that Rode Hall do plant finder fairs so I may come back to see if they have a specimen to buy. Love it when places do that and you can buy what you have seen. 
I still have another part of the gardens to show you next time, the Italian garden which was so interesting and unusual. Until then go and have a look at all the joyous gardens joining in with How Does Your Garden Grow with Mammasaurus.
7 comments:
Looks like there's so much to explore here - it'll be really interesting to see what's changed when you visit again in a different season.
I've been after a Daphne for our garden for ages but have recently admitted there really isn't enough room for one... although you've got me thinking that maybe I could squeeze one in after all!
Looks like you had a fab visit - I love that statue as that's how I'd like to think I'd look if I were to flit joyfully through the garden all elegan and serene. In real life it's probably not so, I suspect there's a reason why my dad used to refer to me as a herd of fairy elephants!! #hdygg
snowdrops and hellebores are my favourite spring flowers
Looks like a lovely place for a stroll, but oh my goodness, creepy Herons indeed! Their beady eyes and the noise as they fly.....waaaaaah! That sunken ship is amazing! Katie x
I love Herons, the look so silly on those twiggy legs!
I think I might try some hellebores, there's a corner in the garden that struggles to get any sun
Herons freak me right out as does that creepy water dungeony thing! The rest of it though is positively lovely! I like the idea of the farmers market there too -visiting gardens AND walking away with some chutney and a sausage roll? Heaven!
I've been looking at rose gardens this week too and imagining what will be!
Thanks for joining in again x
I rather like herons! Not sure what the dungeony thing is but there was something similar in the park where I used to live ... for naughty children maybe?
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