Visiting some of my favourite gardens ...

Today we visited some of my favourite gardens at the Hamilton Gardens. I just love visiting these gardens and seeing the level of maturity they now have, I also enjoy visiting through the different seasons. Today however, was very hot and as a result we didn't get through all of the gardens.

The Indian garden. The last time I saw this garden I was very impressed with design and the hard landscaping, today I was blown away with the vibrancy of the colours in this garden. From comments I overheard I wasn't the only one who thought this way.

The Italian garden - just love this garden, the contained way that plants are grown. I particularly like the citrus in containers and the espaliered plants.

Another one of my favourite gardens is the kitchen garden, no surprises there really. I love the way the walls protect and define the garden. I love the sheer size and scale of this garden and would love a garden just like this. Again there are fruit trees espaliered on the walls in this garden and decent sized raised beds that allow growing of a lot of vegetables. 

I always find looking at gardens very interesting and it doesn't matter how many times I visit a garden I always notice something different each time I go.

Tomorrow I need to check my own garden and get down to the allotment and see what is going on there. Until next time

Happy gardening

Quick visit to Hamilton Gardens

My daughter and I did a day trip to Hamilton and while there visited the Hamilton Gardens. I absolutely love the Hamilton Gardens and it has been a long while since I have been there.

It was at the Hamilton Gardens that I did Landscaping papers at what was Waikato Polytechnic and we walked around the gardens just about every day learning and identifying a huge range of plants and their uses. It has lots of good memories for me and is somewhere where I definitely feel at home. The peace and tranquility along with the inspiration, as well as the smells is what also makes it so special. The fact that it was Georgia that was with me this time was also poignant as I was expecting her when doing the last of my classes and exams.

While the gardens are definitely in their winter mode, it is a fantastic time to see the structure that each garden has, and how it holds the garden together especially without the prettiness and abundance of leaves and flowers.

Just a few of the photos that I took but these show the variety of inspiration that there is here. I love the way that the gardens are laid out and how they interconnect but have their own definite boundaries. You are constantly drawn through into the next area with peek-a-boo vistas that entice you on.

I will share more photos in the next couple of posts as there are too many for one, plus I want to talk about some of the photos in greater detail, especially the sustainable and kitchen gardens. We didn't get around all of the gardens, but I am planning to return soon and to continue my exploring and seeing what has changed at the gardens since my days there.

Until next time, happy gardening everyone.