Oh, and by the way, I've lost my map of the garden, so the 'labelling' is my own.
Looking back from the pond and fountain towards the house.
The planting next to the house. I thought it made the house look quite snug, which is saying something given the house is quite grand.
Main lawn and borders.
View from the shady walk towards the long border.
I loved this kind of double Hollyhock.
A shady walk
The Long border, from each end.
This planting was inspired. I love the different shapes of the leaves, combined with the airiness from the fennel(?) and the flow of the plants following the sun.
I thought the pink and yellow worked really well, which kind of surprised me. Having since read Helen's (aka @patientgardener) post on the importance of yellow in a border, I think it might be because the yellow lifts the other planting.
I would love to know what this plant is - that is, the one with the thin leaves with pinkish-red and yellow flowers. Very pretty. If you happen to know, please leave the info in the comments :)
Such a wonderful deep yellow petals contrasting beautifully with the purple-dark green stems and foliage. Rudbeckia, I believe.
Foliage. Great shapes and textures.
Another flower I don't know, possibly Campanula or Gentian? Such a gorgeous blue.
It was a day of temperamental weather, however the late summer flowering of these sunflowers contrasted rather splendidly against the dark sky.
Vistas. It is rather excellent the way the yew hedging mimicked the turrets and chimneys on the house.
The variegated box border on one side of the house. I think the box and trees against the light-dark sky looked really moody and invited your attention.
Alternative view of the box border. With further yew hedging around this garden, it made for an intimate and peaceful space.
Renishaw Hall Garden did have a bit too much lawn for my liking, although that's my prejudice. To me lawns are just planting spaces waiting to happen. It's borders and vistas are delightful and it was a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.
I should mention for the garden & cake connoisseurs out there that Renishaw has a great cafe, including cream teas and puddings with lashings of custard. Finally, although I didn't get to see it this time, Renishaw Hall has a vineyard which until 1986, it was the most northern vineyard in the world. You can take tours of the vineyard, and also the Hall, which I plan to do on a return visit in the future.
