Bodnant Gardens - North Wales - September 2009

Gorgeous, Sid! Lovely blog, amazing pics! :~))

The close up views of the house are very effective and the lovely blue sky overhead shows what a nice day you had. I really liked the second photo of the plant growing through the cracks in between the stone. Do you know what the plant is? You got some great shots of the pin mill with it's pond. It was roped off and I think they were just finishing it's renovation when I visited. It was nice to see it with more water, the reflection and lily plants thriving in your photos. Well done blog which I really enjoyed - thank you. BTW - what a very good subject choice you have made.lol I particularly appreciated seeing the seasonal differences in our photos of the same location.

Lovely photos and good blog. Thanks for sharing them. Will get there myself one day

Beautiful layout of grounds. Satisfying garden "fix", eh?! Thanks for pointing the way to GardeningFriends blog of the May views. Did you both plan this or is it serendipity?!

Thanks for showing it Sarah. The time I was there we had a servere storm and floods, so they closed the gardens and I couldn't see them. I'd like to go again one day.

looks a great place....pity the conservetory was private

Good blog, Sarah... Well done :o)

Looks a lovely place....nice pic's...thanks for sharing.

nice to see Bodnant in a later part of the year,Sarah...I was very interested to see the rose gardens in bloom..I missed it in May, they were just beginning to set bud...thank you for taking the time to do this..~Cat

Surely that plant growing in the wall is also a Japanese Anemone? What a strange place for it to grow!

Lovely photos - I've been there years ago, but I can't really remember it - except that terrace and the views! :-))

Thanks Sid for the blog and photos, which are lovely.

Really enjoyed your blog Sid, thank you :)
It's been a few years since I visited Bodnant....my lasting memory though, is of the famous laburnum arch, underplanted with alliums....it was a fantastic sight!

Lovely blog, Sid. Looks a brilliant place to visit; the house looks great too. Love the shot of the waterfall and that cheeky little robin :)

Thanks for the nice comments everyone - glad you enjoyed visiting Bodnant with me :-)

Gf - Barbara is quite right - the plant is Anemone japonica (syn A. x huphensis I think) common name, Windflower. Did you see the recent documentary about Bodnant? The pond in front of the Pin Mill was leaking so they had to empty it, so maybe you were there just after they did that and it hadn't been filled right up yet?

Orgratis - this was a case of Sychronised Blogging. I'm thinking me and Gf should enter into the Wellie Olypics as the official Sychronised Blogging Team LOL

Cat - there were some lovely roses in the Rose Garden. I couldn't get a good shot of the whole lot because there were so many people milling about sniffing the flowers!!

Crazydi - the laburnum arch was of course not in flower when I went, but if you take a peek at Gardeningfriend's blog, there's a lovely couple of pics of it!

Sid & Barbara thank you for answering my question but I don't think you should mention the war on here.
Sid you got the best shots of the Pin Mill and it's pond but I bet you did not get a photo of the back of the Pin Mill did you? Yes I saw the documentary. As regards the synchronised Great Orme blog car you cable to say when it will bloom?

LMSO! It took me a minute to get the war reference! :~))

lol....there is nothing you cannot toy with, is there Sir Bear?..lol..Sid..he cannot help him self..lol..he has gotten into his honey pot of words again..he-he-he...

If he has the honey, let's make tea not war! (I don't get it at all, Marie)

I don't get it either Orgratis....can someone explain please....sorry, I must be getting slow....lol

Hee hee! Japanese an..........enemies!

no-no-no-no....Anemone japonica...

Yeah!! Thats what he's on about, innit, Shakespeare??

Marie - you are worse than a herb gone wrong

Nope, dont get that one, Shakespeare!

It is not really a gardening riddle - Who said what GF said in this garden?

All our overseas members probably won't get this great british comedy till the answer is revealed.

I'm none the wiser either!

Sid - I am sorry about this on your blog. They are very cold in Scotland.

Marie - No,- It was not the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.

Clues this way -> Great british comedy with a charachter whose name was "a herb gone wrong" who said "Don't mention the war." but then spent the rest of the episode inappropriately doing just that himself. The guests were "no-no-no-no....Anemone japonica..." but a different species of Anemone who are now good friends and Market gardeners.

I know what you are talking about GF. Certainly not Morecombe and Wise....they were much more intelligent.

BASIL is the herb gone wrong! Weeee......I actually solved a riddle! (with the help of quite a lot of pointers lol)

lol...giggle..lol...lalalalala....I... knew... the... answerer...hehehe

Lol! Of course!! Mr Fawlty!

Yes - The Monty Python's Flying circus team were staying at a Torbay hotel whilst filming. The real hotelier at that time was a man of infinite rudeness with a rabid dislike of guests. He inspired the British comedy series Fawlty Towers. John Cleese played Basil Fawlty the hotel owner and the Germans episode was in series one first broadcast on BBC television in 1975. The clue Market Garden was the code name for the air borne operation in World War 2 that later inspired the film called "A bridge too far" at Arnhem. Well done Sid for solving the riddle.

:~))
I liked Fawlty Towers, but I'm NOT a Python fan (quite like the snakes, just not the programme!)

I think the wiring in your head had to be a bit wrong for you to like Monty Python's Flying Circus. I liked it. Nuff said.

I'm told my wiring's fried! But I prefer Billy Connelly

I like Billy Connelly - but I do wish he'd wash his mouth out!!!

I liked Monty Python....except their animated bits. I never really liked Fawlty Towers though.

I checked out Billy Connelly on some YouTube blips after you mentioned him, and I confess I didn't find him funny at all, just vulgar. You've mentioned, Marie, that Monty Python was "too English" (whatever that means to you tartaned terrors) but we're all using that language for our own purposes, and manage to slip in a few cross cultural puns despite that handicap (put that in your tam & smoke it). As Shirley MacLaine said, loosely translated, whoever can laugh at themself will never want for entertainment.

I used to not like Fawlty Towers, but then later in life I kinda 'got' it and now I think it's hilarious. Bit like mushrooms. Wouldn't touch em at one time and now I look like one. Hey ho.

I like Jasper Carrot. His mole sketch has me in stitches.... such a shame he's retired.

I like Jasper Carrot too! He's really funny!

I had to go look for the Mole Sketch since I thot oh..this would be something to do with gardening..lol..anyway..found a link for an animated cartoon with Jasper Carrot narrating..too funny..very cute..reminded me of my dad..he was on a mole hunt all time and he did blast, dig, smoke, drown,windwheel and eletrocute moles or tried too..I am sure the moles are still there..many generations gone by..lol.. Here it the link.. lol..enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fePU5CIHpas

LMAO!! Brilliant! Thanks Cat!

I've seen that one on You Tube. I actually prefer to see Carrot's face when he's telling the stories - his expressions are priceless!

they did not have one of him...would have liked to see him..but know what he looks like from other sites I saw him on..
if you run across anything let me know.. :o)

Yeah I know - I've looked before. Surprising really, as I would have thought he was very popular. Anyway, how'd we get from a garden in Wales to a Brummy named after a root vegetable?

And as to moles, if you really insist on getting rid of them, putting out bits of Juicy Fruit gum near their holes works: they are attracted to the fruity scent, and then it plugs up their stomachs/ GI tract. Will have to track Carrot when I have some free time.

It is all My Sir Bears... fawlty towers!

Queen Catfinch - Are you trying to get me all grizzly pointing your paws at me? Anyway who is talking about an america town whose name you have forgotten on my Bodnant blog then and what is the connection? Try doing a search using the words Carrott confidential to see what you wish to see.

Sid - in answer to your question: I'm not going to mention what it was that sent us down the wrong garden path. In any event I wasn't really talking about Fawlty towers but a herb called Basil and I'm sure there will be some at Bodnant. What were you saying about driving down the wrong side of the road on my Bodnant blog?

If you are Grizzly..then I suggest you do visit the Rocky Mountains...uh-hemmm...that is where I saw my first real live Grizzly Bear..just owning the mountain prairie, smack dab in the middle of the Continental Divide... :o) We can go visit the Botanical Gardens in Colorado after..... sorry Sarah..and on your Bodnant Blog... .Silly Bear..he is just out of sorts...getting ready for winter hibernation you know...

No need to apologise, oh tracker of the Great Grizzled Bear. How sad when blogs get forgotten and unvisited. If Bodnant is only visited by a riddling grizzly bear and his Queen, then sobeit. You are always welcome.

Why thank you for your graciousness..Sarah...I loved Bodnant so much..it was so much fun to see it in the spring...it was like a fairytale land of so many sorts of gardens ...totally magical..and seeing the gardeners there all working on it with such love and care..it was so nice..what was your favorite part..if you can choose, I loved the ravine with all the paths winding through it..so much fun amazing place to walk and look forward to what was around each corner...

There were many bits I liked very much. I liked the ravine too - with its waterfall and the stepping stones across the brook and the big trees, though I must say it looks amazing in Gf's spring blog - just couldn't believe it was the same place! So much colour! I really, really want to revisit in the spring! I also liked the terraces and did you see the little cat cemetary? I met a cat while walking round the garden - a little torty. On his coller tag it simply read 'Bodnant'. I wonder if that was his name, or just his address? What a wonderful place for a cat to live! And I bet he doesn't take the blindest bit of notice of the 'Private Property' and 'No Entrance to the Public' signs :-)

Yes..Sarah..I met Bodnant too! I photographed him with a mouse in his mouth! Steve pointed him out to me..and in one of his photos on his Bodnant blog, you can see the top of my head in the Rhodies..I am bent down trying to get the shot..lol..

Sid - Do you mean to tell me you didn't photograph Bodnant the cat? I think you will be in big trouble if HRF Birtie finds out. See my blog photos 18a and 18b at your service my ladies.

OH BOY!!!! I am going to go look right now..Bodnant, oh kitty, kitty, kitty!

Ah, no, I'm afraid I failed to get a photo of Bodnant the Mouser. He dutifully stood and let me stroke him a while and then he mooched off towards some other folks. If I had taken a photo, then it would only have been of his bottom lol

It is a pity you didn't get that photo as one flaw I have spotted in our synchronised blogs is that on your blog Bodnant the cat is male but on my blog Bodnant is female. I hope we are not going to have a cat fight over this.

Yes, I noticed that. Well, I'd say he was a he.......but then I also thought Birtie was a he to begin with and we all know how that turned out......

Sid - Bodnant the cat is female, I have checked.

Wearing lipstick was she?

I told him it was hunting and had caught a mouse...that tells you something right there..doesn't it? lol

The Female is more deadlier than the Male? lol

It all depends on who is the cat and who is the mouse and whether it is a cat and a mouse at all as well as what the cat is hunting for. Another big mistake in all this often made is overlooking what the so called mouse wants and does. It is necessary to be sure on all these points before anything is known.

As regards Bodnant the cat I believe we can be totally sure she is female. The reason I believe this is that I cannot think of a reason why I cannot rely on the answer provided by Bodnant the cat's owner when I rang them up to find out. So with regard to killing the cat gender question it is obvious who is the deadlier. I should mention that I did have another reason to ring up just in case you or they thought I had lost the plot

Ohhhhhhhhhh! You spoilt it there, Shakespeare!
I was just giggling away to myself (still am) thinking about them getting a call out of the blue asking what sex their cat was!! Hee hee!

Transcentental philosophising aside, I think that even with the prefix of a sensible, if unrelated, question, followed by, "oh and by the way, what gender is Bodnant the Cat?" still probably threw them about a mile.....

I have thought of a reason why Bodnant might not be female. I have seen another cat that is female but black and white in the garden centre whose name is Bonnie. So in the light of Sid's comment then I suppose there is the possibility of mistaken idendity over which cat I was asking about when I phoned and asked about Bodnant's gender. The gardens are closed now for the winter but I will try to visit the garden centre at the weekend to resolve this, floods permitting.

I wish you luck in your quest. It is something that needs to be resolved if we are all to sleep easy........

I'm sorry but I did not get to go to Bodnant Garden Centre at the weekend for the one day buy one get one free plant sale. Now if the garden had been open I bet there would have been some interesting photos to be had in this weather.

Bet the little stream would have been more of a torrent...

I had lunch at the Bodnant tea rooms today. The wind has wreaked havoc with the plants in the garden centre. The weather was so bad last Saturday I understand the sale was cancelled in the absence of customers. No cats were seen and I did not own up to having phoned with regard to Bodnant the cat's gender. The garden is closed now till 20 February and was securely locked. I am sure you are right about the stream. A lot of activity seems to still be going on at the garden. You would not believe the gardens are closed based on the number cars/vans approx 25 in the car park. These belonged to staff/contractors rather than customers.

That's a pity. The mystery of Bodnant's gender will have to continue until the spring then! Now is a good time for getting bargains at garden centres. I've managed to get some real gems at this time of year. Last year I got a couple of bearded irises and siberian irises for £1 each - down from about £9 each (at Wyevale, which is always pricey anyway).

I suppose this must be a busy time of year for the gardeners - they'll be busy putting the garden to bed, trimming, tidying, mulching and lifting and storing the non-hardies. I wonder how many staff belong to the house? They must have a butler and cook and maid I would think? That's 3 cars......then there's the gardeners, the management, garden centre staff....list goes on....

The only sign I saw for price reductions was 25% off trees. The only trees I saw were fruit trees and acers but these and magnolias were excluded from the offer.

In addition to the gender of the cat and staffing levels is there anything else I need to find out?

Can't think of anything right now......

I think I will go back to my blog for a while to let you think in peace. I will see if I can ask myself some questions there.

I think Weeds has opened a whole new can of questions for you over on your blog Gf ;-)

Its a bit much if you're wandering into asking yourself questions, Shakespeare! What questions shall you ask, I wonder?
Is this a dagger I see before me??
To be, or not to be.................?
Lol!

I like Japer too Marie but in real life he is miserable, he use to go into my sons works to fill up with petrol.

Lovely blog Sid wonderful views and pictures of the water and plant sections.

Wonderful blog and pictures Sid. I have never been, but it is now definitely on my 'wish list'. Hope the conversations when I get there are as interesting as those above !! lol
ps: Have also clicked on like ;~))

Thank you Morgana and Sue - glad you enjoyed it :-)

Sid - I have temporarily removed my springtime Bodnant blog. I have been making significant changes. In particular I have incorporated some of Queen Catfinch's pictures. Next I will be reviewing the hundreds of pictures I did not include in the blog to see if I can find anything different to include. The next improvement phase will be to add new or review existing photo captions. When I publish my improved blog members who so desire will again be able to tour the fabulous garden contrasting the two seasons in our blogs.

Rightio then.....

Sid - I have today published part 1 of my improved serialised spring Bodnant blog. There are over 50 new photos included in the series.