Cozy Casita II, The Lovely Courtyard

It has been hot, hot, hot in the last couple of days here in San Diego inland with highest temperatures reaching 99F/37C yesterday. Needless to say that my garden is suffering and I often wish, that I had planted a more drought and heat tolerant garden at this time of the year.

There is just one catch, even though it is not politically correct to say, I have to admit that often drought tolerant gardens are not very appealing to me. I simply love my roses too much. But two years ago I had the chance to visit an incredibly beautiful one which was a true exception. I blogged about it already here, showcasing the front yard and today I will continue to introduce you to it and take you into the very lovely courtyard.

You enter the courtyard through a small insignificant wooden door from the street and suddenly you are in a completely enclosed very cozy and colorful space decorated with many, many containers holding drought tolerant plants. I was very impressed by this big cactus, adorned with, what I believe is, Spanish Moss.

The attention to detail in this garden room was incredible. Look for example at the foot of the cactus from the photo above. It is underplanted with many pretty succulents in all shapes and sizes and a small blue and white ceramic sphere is placed just for a pop of additional interest.

Details of the fountain that you can see in the first photo of this post. It looks like all the objects are loosely placed in the stone bowl that is the actual fountain. That certainly makes for a captivating display. The Mexican tiles add plenty of color and cheerfulness to the space.

A view of one corner of the courtyard. Plenty of beautiful containers in many different shapes, sizes and materials and some art objects are keeping your attention.

This looks like an old fireplace, that is not used anymore. More fascinating containers planted with small drought tolerant plants. I love the blue ornate sphere in the right corner. Blue was definitively a color that was often used and tied it all together.

Another container vignette. I love the blue-gray hues of these plants.

This one was my favorite. It really looked like that. The photo is not photoshopped.

This unique table was placed in the middle of the courtyard and shaded by a white sun umbrella. I think this is an amazing place to have breakfast or to end the day with a nice drink. I definitively would feel very comfortable here. 

This is the left side of the actual entrance to the house. The door to the house is open, visible to the right of the photo.

Another interesting pot parade to the right side of the entrance to the house. Do you see the beautiful copper rain chain?  And the Mexican violinist made out of metal? To reach the back yard, which was actually located on a very difficult to plant, steep, hilly terrain, you needed to walk through the house. The backyard was nothing short of spectacular, but this is material for another post.  

If you liked this courtyard and you haven't seen my first post about this garden, yet, I highly encourage to click the link below and go back and take a look at the front yard. I think it is truly special as well.

Cozy Casita I, Front Yard

Hope you are able to stay nice and cool and enjoy the summer if you are living in the Nothern Hemisphere. I am not a big fan of water, but I may consider taking a dip in the pool later today, the heat is really getting to me.

See you in the garden!

Warm regards,

Christina

I am linking up to 
Rustic & Refined - Dishing It & Digging It  //  Everyday Living - Gardens Galore  //  Between Naps On The Porch - Metamorphosis Monday  //  Dwellings - The Heart of Your Home - Amaze Me Monday  //  Cedar Hill Farmhouse - The Scoop  //  Sweet Sensations - Celebrate Your Story  //  A Stroll Thru Life - Inspire Me Tuesday  //  Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday  //  A Southern Daydreamer - Outdoor Wednesday  //  Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup  //  21 Rosemary Lane - Share Your Style  //  Eclectic Red Barn - Thursday Favorite Things  //  A Delightsome Life - Home and Garden Thursday  //  French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday  //  Rattlebridge Farm - Foodie Friday & Everything Else  //  Shabby Art Boutique - Create, Bake, Grow & Gather  //  How Sweet The Sound - "Anyting Goes" Pink Saturday  //  My Soulful Home - Sundays at Home  //

Hidcote Manor Garden I

The first public garden that we visited during our vacation in England in June this year was Hidcote Manor Garden, located in Hidcote Bartrim, near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.

Hidcote is a world famous and very influential 20th-century country garden, known for its extraordinary design and plantings. The garden covers 10 1/2 acres (4 hectares) and is designed in the Arts and Crafts style by the American anglophile Lawrence Johnston (1871 - 1958). It is divided into formal garden "rooms" close to the manor, each with its own character and planting scheme, and spreads out into a more naturalistic planting style the further you come away from the house, that blends with the surrounding beautiful landscape of the Cotswolds. Hidcote is under the custodianship of the National Trust since 1948 and is one of its most visited gardens.

Given the reputation and description of Hidcote, understandably my expectations were quite high, when we arrived and I couldn't wait to finally explore the garden myself. The photo above is taken from the The Circle looking back to the manor house showcasing the magnificent, attention commanding old cedar tree and part of the Old Garden.

But let's start with the beginning of our garden visit. The entrance of Hidcote is quite nondescript and if you didn't know better, you wouldn't guess that you are about to visit one of the world known English country gardens.

Once you are through the entrance gate you are finding yourself standing in this courtyard. I like how the huge climbing plants are softening and embellishing the buildings. You enter the garden through the door that both signs are pointing to. We were one of the very first visitors there that day, but after we had renewed our membership with the National Trust and were ready to enter the actual garden, unfortunately already coach loads of tourists had arrived and flocked into the garden.

You can't visit the manor house itself, only two rooms are open to the public that you have to cross through to get into the garden. Loved the build in bookcases.

I tried to imagine that Lawrence Johnston has been standing here looking out into his garden already plotting the next garden room that he was about to develop.

Johnston transformed this former stone barn into his personal chapel.

I don't know anymore in which part of the garden this white flowering shrub was located except that it was relatively close to the house, nor what its name is, but I think it is quite beautiful.

Looking back at the manor house from the Old Garden. I was surprised that in June so many alliums were still in bloom. They always look great when planted in masses. 

In this part of the garden the color scheme was rather traditional, with different shades of lavender and pink blooms at the time of our visit. I think these colors go rather well with the house and are soothing and pleasing to the eye. To me this area looks like the quintessential English country garden.

I did love the old cedar tree,...

...but wasn't so keen on the gaps in the borders where lots of bare soil was to be seen. Maybe the cold and wet spring this year in England had taken its toll?

This extraordinarily beautiful shrub caught my eye. Could it be a type of mallow?

Here are two close-ups of the flowers.

Aren't they pretty?

A long tunnel constructed out of beech, I believe.

One of the parts of the garden that impressed me the most were The Red Borders. I think they are truly a masterpiece. At the time when we were vising there weren't many red flowering plants in bloom, but the combinations of green, dark red, burgundy and purple foliage were exquisite.

Zooming in at the green and burgundy (Beech?) hedge. A lush foliage feast for the eyes.

Beautiful combination of bright green ferns, purple-leaved smoke bush, gunnera, cannas and bronze colored cordylines.

People, who read my blog regularly probably know by now, that if there is one color that I don't like, it is red. But I was so fascinated by these borders, they truly changed my mind. My biggest takeaway from Hidcote is that there is no color per se that I dislike. It all depends on the color combinations and surrounding plants, then any color can be totally stunning.

The Red Borders seen from the other side. Unfortunately there were boundaries made out of pliable wood branches that prevented you from strolling over the grass path through the Red Borders to admire the plants up close. Such a pity! But they probably tried to preserve the lawn.

I have read that there are red flowering roses and dahlias and orange-red daylilies planted in these borders. Imagine the vibrancy that these blooms would add.

There are big patches of bare soil to be found in these borders, too. I am surprised by that, since one of the planting principles that Lawrence Johnston would follow is to "plant thickly".

Love the beautiful terracotta container with the cordyline planted in it.

One plant, that was in bloom, was this red beauty, which identity is unknown to me. I would love to find out what it is. So if you, dear readers, have any ideas about its name, please leave a comment.

The Red Borders were created by Lawrence Johnston between 1910 and 1914, and I wonder how original the planting scheme is that you see today in comparison to what Johnston may have used when he designed these borders.

In any case the color scheme and plant selection of these borders must have been mind-boggling at the time of their creation and probably have caused quite a stir. Even nowadays you can't help but be in awe of them and admire Johnston's braveness in garden design and his great plantsmanship. No wonder that Hidcote is considered to be one of the most influential gardens of its time.

I intend to write more entrees about our visit to Hidcote, so if you liked this one and are curious to see more of this great garden, please come back and pay my blog another visit until then:

See you in the garden!

Christina

I am linking to

The Charm of Home - Home Sweet Home
Rose Garden Malevik - Saturday Show Off