The last Sunday in June was oh so hot! The perfect excuse for me to persuade himself to take time off from a major domestic plumbing job. Instead of having his head stuck under a bath I persuaded him to accompany me to a garden festival. No that's not him above but this manly chip off the old block was wearing the perfect headwear for the day. His arms must get tired though!
Our destination was the nearby Arley Hall which is about a twenty minutes drive away. This was the fifteenth Arley Hall Garden Festival . We have seen the event grow over the years. From a small affair there are now about forty nurseries selling as well as gardening accessories and other stalls.
We had to enter through the back way this year ~
- a shame as some visitors may well have missed out on the impressive avenue of pleached limes at the front ~
We were serenaded by this rather smartly attired trio before we made tracks for the floral marquee ~
Unlike the Chelsea Flower Show gnomes are not personae non gratae at Arley - see if you can spot the little chap lurking in the flowers ~
A dazzling display of hostas but with some of the miniatures costing up to £18 a plant, I was not prepared to risk providing my slugs and snails with a free breakfast ~
I admired this iris ensata 'Rose Queen' but was not tempted ~
Back out again from a most humid and muggy marquee into the open air. We enjoyed looking at the entries in a children's competition ~
There are no show gardens at Arley but many of the nurseries had put together attractive little display areas ~
Then of course down to the serious business of the day - plant perusal and oh what a choice ! ~
We finished our visit to the festival with a stroll round the beautiful gardens. Arley is famous for its double herbaceous border which was at its peak ~
I could have quite happily settled here for a snooze once we had walked round the garden but resisted the temptation ~
Of course I bought some plants and will 'fess up later this week as to what came home with me !
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