Wednesday 4 May 2011

Thorpe Perrow Arboretum - again.










I make no excuses for posting another blog about Thorpe Perrow. This will be the third this year. We first went to see the snowdrops, then the daffodils and now - this morning - to see the bluebells. And what a blue. It made forget-me-nots look quite pale.

The bog garden had a beautiful display of candelabra primula, the bright blue poppies (meconopsis) were in spectacular bloom, the ferns had unfolded and were their newest green, there were wonderful vistas of green sward and newly leafed trees, and there were bluebells.

In the lake the frogspawn I showed you last time has hatched and every bank side stone was covered in tiny tadpoles sunning themselves.

Laburnum is quite an unpopular tree now as the seeds are known to be poisonous; here there is a laburnum walk glowing yellow in the shade. Interestingly, on one tree one branch appears to have come pink-flowered instead of yellow-flowered - I intend to send that photograph to Stuart Dunlop (Donegal Wildlife) to see if he can offer an explanation.

Where a tree has lived its life and had to be cut down then a sizeable trunk has been left, moss has grown and the whole has been colonised by insect life - what a lovely 'after-life' for a tree.

Meanwhile, back at the excellent cafe, savoy cabbage, ham and puy lentil soup was busily brewing and a bowl of that with a brown roll and butter satisfied my hunger, while W opted for a pork, apple sauce and stuffing baguette and that was delicious too.

Coming out on to the road again as we left we spotted a sign leading to the road to the Ice Cream Parlour, so we ended up our jaunt there - W opting for 'cinderella' (chocolate and cinder toffee) and me for 'vanilla and almond toffee'. As we sat in the sun it seemed more like a mid-June day than a day in early May.

Isn't it good to have friends who think of taking me out on such a jaunt now that I am unable to drive - so thank you for that W. And speaking of driving - at the beginning of June I may be able to reapply for my driving licence if all goes well.

18 comments:

mrsnesbitt said...

Ooooooooooooh pat the soup sounds fabulous!

Heather said...

Thankyou for sharing your trip to such a gorgeous location with us Pat. Your photos are beautiful as usual - I love candelabra primulas and meconopsis but can't give them the conditions they want. Lovely to see the little tadpoles - I think newts have eaten all ours. Hope the news will be good for the renewal of your driving licence.

Acornmoon said...

What an amazing place, it is a pity it is so far from us but lovely to read about it on your blog.

I hope all goes well with your new driving license application x

H said...

I've been promised a visit to Thorpe Perrow this year. My friend's mum's ashes are scattered there and she has a tree.

I hope your driving licence app goes through ok. Not being able to drive must be so restrictive!

steven said...

weaver i stopped reading when i saw the bluebell wood. one of my dreams is to see an english bluebell wood. when we lived in altrincham we had a print of a bluebell wood hanging in our tiny living room and as a boy i looked at that image so often it became for me a place i needed (and still need) to walk through. one day! steven

Penny said...

What a wonderful wander and the lunch sounds delicious, and the ice cream even more so. I do hope you can get your licence back.

angryparsnip said...

Can our two posting on where we live be any farther apart ?
You can post about the Arboretum anytime you want, Beautiful !
Your Header is lovely.

cheers, parsnip

Cloudia said...

Tadpoles take me back to days of childhood!




of course yours have English accents


Warm Aloha from Waikiki


Comfort Spiral

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Rarelesserspotted said...

A lovely trip at a place I have never been - thanks for the pictures and the accompanying story. You are making me VERY hungry with your food description - time for lunch!
XX

Bovey Belle said...

WOW to those Bluebells. I have seen lots in my travels recently, but your header picture is STUNNING. I loved all the photos and wish I'd been there to see it all first hand.

Elizabeth said...

I think it was the bluebell wood that almost made me weep!
So very very English.

Jo said...

Please don't apologize for sharing your visits to the beautiful botanical gardens with us...what a treat they are!

The bluebell wood looks absolutely magical. I wonder how it felt to stand there.

I look forward to your next visit to Thorpe Perrow...thanks for this one.

Raph G. Neckmann said...

This sounds like my kind of place, Weaver! I'll have to try and find a secret intergalactic portal and bring all the family, hopefully while the bluebells are still out!

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Goodness, what a gorgeous Spring you're having!!

Dinesh chandra said...

nice flowers

Totalfeckineejit said...

Love the tadpoles! And a great time of year to go to the arboretum. Thanks Weaver!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Isn't that just the most beautiful blue in the world? Thank you for visiting.

Golden West said...

Always such a pleasure to join you on your outdoor ramblings - your countryside is especially beautiful this time of year and you've captured it so well with your photos.