Preamble Sitting on a veranda with an Aunt and Uncle and their friends and family, The view from the house is another tropical paradise filled with both the decorative and useful plants. After the informal greetings and acquaintances from days or years gone by, drinks being delivered for the feasting Read more…
Somerset has a diverse range of habitats, one of the best in the country, Shapwick Heath has a little gem for me at least. The sweet track is one I like to visit each year if I can. Your feet may only be few centimetres above the water table and Read more…
These are two of my favourite Magnolia species. First the Purple Magnolia or Magnolia liliiflora. Next the comparatively delicate looking Siebold’s Magnolia or Magnolia sieboldii. Can you chose your favourite of the two?
Sunrise Sitting here each morning on the veranda, watching the sunrise over the nearby mountains. The noise is coming across the valley from the other side like dogs barking vehicles moving around on their daily business. A scattering of small houses dotted across the mountain side. Itself being topped with Read more…
Lytes Cary Manor painted from the east. Including the Chapel.
The Walled Gardens of Cannington lie within the grounds of a medieval priory. The gardens had undergone extensive redevelopment when officially opened by HRH the Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward. The Gardens, located near Bridgwater, provide a superb facility for students at Bridgwater College. As you walk around look out Read more…
Sunflowers in the Field of Dreams This painting was inspired by a visit to the Field of Dreams at the Barcroft Hall Estate in South Petherton, Somerset. The owners reclaimed some abused land and planted one of the largest collections of annual wild flowers from around the world. Several years Read more…
Man made river in the Wetlands of Somerset Originally created to drain the Somerset Levels it never really worked. Luckily as part of the wetlands of the Somerset Levels it still has scenic and wildlife value. Finding myself here for the fist time in years, having moved away. I took Read more…
Lytes Cary Manor Lytes Cary Manor is a medieval house with it’s own chapel, seen here at the right of the picture. A remarkable building and garden in rural Somerset. The house was lived in by Henry Lyte, where he translated the unique Niewe Herball. Feeling the responsibility of their Read more…