A visit to Anglesey Abbey, August 2023
Petit Pois and I made a strong start to our summer break with a visit to Anglesey Abbey, including some plant identification, shinrin yoku, and delicious hot chocolate!
I'm finally off from work for a summer break so Petit Pois and I decided that a visit to Anglesey Abbey was definitely in order. We enjoyed our previous visit greatly, following the Mog trail and smelling the roses; in fact, Petit Pois felt it was imperative that Mog join us on our new adventure this time around, too, so she came along in our backpack! Papa Pea needed to work for the afternoon, so he dropped us off during his lunch break and we set off on our adventure..
We started with a mandatory visit to the shop to purchase some of the wildlife-themed chocolate lollies that we had enjoyed so much on our previous visit. This time, Petit Pois chose the chocolate rabbit, and I chose the chocolate frog. One must have sustenance for a long trail walk, don’t you know?! We wandered the winding path of the Winter Garden while enjoying our chocolate treats, stopping to inspect plants that interested us along the way. I’m always trying to diversify my plant identification repertoire, and Petit Pois certainly brings some humorous creativity to the experience! I shan’t mislead you; it was definitely me that requested most of the plant stops, but Petit Pois was very obliging and frequently gave his opinion about the identity of the plants that I stopped to inspect. For example, see here the plant declared by Petit Pois to be a ‘Zombie plant’, which I think is probably a raspberry plant of some sort, of the Rubus genus…
Rubus fruits, probably raspberries...?
(aka "Zombie Plant" according to Petit Pois!)
At the end of the Winter Garden, we came across the birch trees (Betula), which are always a joy to behold. I would recommend going to see them if you ever manage to visit Anglesey Abbey. The white bark of the birch tree orchard is always striking, no matter how many times I witness it, and the sound of the wind through the branches is an instant stress reliever. Birch trees are some of my favourite trees; I appreciate their stoic, understated structure in Winter, and their whispering, twinkling canopy in the Summer months. We took a minute to enjoy a fleeting moment of calm, with some restorative shinrin yoku, broken suddenly by an excited exclamation from Petit Pois when he spotted a little cricket on the path. Back to planet earth…
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Cyclamen peeping through
Shortly afterwards, as we continued along the path towards the Mill, it was my turn to get excited. I spotted the first of the Autumn cyclamen poking up through the ground! Autumn is my absolute favourite time of year because I adore the colours in the leaves, the red berries in the hedgerows, the sound of dry leaves piled high as they are kicked by little wellies, and the distinctive smell of Autumn in the air; a crisp, sunny day with blue skies in late August or September is simply unbeatable. Therefore, the appearance of these cyclamen was a cause for celebration!
Soon we reached the Mill itself, where we enjoyed watching the electric blue dragonflies whizzing around the banks of the water. It was a reminder of the types of wildlife that we hope to attract into the garden at The Cottage by including some water in the new garden design. We have plans to include a wildlife pond somewhere in the back garden, but we have yet to draw up the designs for that area...
Of course, all gardens change with the seasons, as do the highlights of each visit to Anglesey Abbey. For instance, the highlight on our previous visit had been the rose garden, which inspired me to start work on designing a rose garden for The Cottage. The rose garden next to the abbey was still looking pretty on this visit, with plenty of blooms still showing, but it was not as intoxicating as it was previously. Instead, this time the star of the show was the Formal Garden, with bright red Canna flowers and what I believe to be orange and yellow marigolds (Tagetes). Petit Pois particularly enjoyed the layout of the Formal Garden, with the neat beds and grass paths providing the negative space for the backdrop to the bold, bright planting. Not that he phrases it that way, of course; his delight is expressed by chasing the grass pathways to find the central statue, and then demanding he has his photograph taken to prove his success to Papa Pea later in the day. I didn’t have the heart to explain that it wasn’t actually a maze...
Canna flower in the Formal Garden
The nearby Herbaceous Garden was also a delight to behold on this particular visit. I was delighted and somewhat surprised when Petit Pois was able to correctly identify seed heads of finished foxgloves (Digitalis), and I was less surprised when he tried to hurry us through this section for fear of being there all day with me trying to identify all of the plants! He did kindly humour me by choosing his favourite plant of the day from within this bed, and I believe it is known as Crocosmia. Conversely, my favourite plant was what I believe to be Helenium autumnale (although I am happy to be corrected if I have misidentified any of these plants!) I just really love its bold, warm colour and the beautiful shape that is typical of the Asteraceae family. As for Mog, it was easy to work out which plant was Mog’s favourite…she chose the Nepeta, of course!
From left to right: 1) Crocosmia, 2) Helenium autumnale, 3) Nepeta with Mog
Next time we visit, the Dahlia Garden will be taking centre stage; we were only a few days early for its grand opening on 18th August. We shall have to go back once the display is open to the public. I have been considering companion planting for the roses in the Rose Garden that I am designing, and I’m keen to include some Dahlia varieties to prolong the flowering period of the beds, so I will enjoy seeing a range of varieties and colours on display all in one place!
The Dahlia Garden, open to the public from 18th August 2023
We slowly headed back towards the pinetum with a brief detour through the woodland trail, at which point Petit Pois started flagging, but the suggestion of a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows soon perked him up. We timed it perfectly because the heavens opened as soon as we arrived at the café, putting a stop to our plans to sit outside. However, the delicious, frothy hot chocolates and comfy seats were just what we needed to restore some energy and rest our legs while we waited for Papa Pea to take us home.
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All in all, we had a wonderful visit, and enjoyed the highlights of this season. It's well worth a visit if you are nearby! No matter the season, there is always something interesting to see and something new to learn in the gardens of Anglesey Abbey.