Frosty morning

We had the first hint of frost last night so it was just as well I brought in the frost tender plants a few days ago. The morning have been crisp and bright and we have had some lovely days, really nice to appreciate all the autumn tints.

Last week I went up to Rydal Hall to take a look at the restoration work which had been done on the Mawson garden. It is really lovely and they are making a champion job of it. It is great to see how Thomas Mawson is now appreciated as a garden designer, he designed so many lovely gardens and for too long had been ignored.

The picture above is of the Hall itself with some of the garden in front. The Hall belongs to the Diocese of Carlisle and the grounds are open every day for visitors between 10am and 4pm and they do not make a charge, the only condition is that you respect the peace and appreciate the tranquility.

The picture on the right is of the stream which runs through the grounds. There is a lovely lakeland backdrop to the park itself and you can pop over and take a look at Wordsworth's home Rydal Mount which is on the opposite side of the road to the Hall.

We hope to feature a more indepth item on Rydal Hall on the website so keep logging in to check on that.

There are still a few Dahlia flowering in the garden which is lovely and plenty of colour so autumn is advancing but not at a break-neck pace. Again today is bright and sunny so I might be tempted to pop out and just snip here and there as the mood takes me. I can't do heavy work in the garden any more but I can still snip!

Just read the late great Christopher Lloyd's book "Exotic Planting for Adventurous Gardeners" which has just been published. Will make a smashing Christmas present for the gardener in your life. Don't forget to check out the website for Christmas present ideas as we will be putting quite a few on site in the next few weeks.