old vicarage hotel gardens Bridgwater
I dislike hotels as a rule and the uncertainty of what to expect when you arrive only adds to the bother. Whether it be hotel or cottage holiday break, I could not care less about wi-fi, tv, swimming pool or the like. I just want a clean, comfortable bed for the night in relatively quiet and pleasant surroundings. Thus last month when it came to staying away on a Tai Chi weekend I opted for the ‘Old Vicarage’ hotel, Bridgwater primarily because it had such lovely gardens. My guess was that any hotelier with such an obvious love for plants must surely be ‘mein host’. I was not far wrong either – neither the hotel nor the gardens disappointed.
There were white, butter cream and damask pink roses draped over arches, ox-eye daisy and foxglove marooned in unmown islands, whilst Nigella misted the gravel paths with shocking pink snapdragons for company. And then there were mounds of these dainty miniatures:-
white butterfly pansies
I thought it would be easy to find the name of the white butterfly-bloom pansies but none of the search terms brought up anything remotely like Viola cornuta ‘Minor Alba’. Instead I found the answer whilst searching for something else, probably white osteospermums.
double osteospermums ‘Flower Power’
I’d bought a pot of these pale ruffle-centred daisies thinking they were an unusual mutant that could make my fortune, only to discover that they debuted from Sutton’s last year and are making a bit of a splash in 2012 with their tubular doubling effect and 3 colour choice of white, pink or purple.
It’s just as well that these ‘Flower Power’ sun lovers are also tolerant of cool and damp conditions for we do not need seaweed to foretell the wet weather.
bladderwrack seaweed weather predictor
Day after day of rain, showers and deluges since the parched winter, have now filled the reservoirs, rivers and water tables. Gardens are enjoying all this natural hosing and the freshening of our waterways is evidently beneficial to fowl and the myriad fry, slip-sliding along the polished surface of the Regent’s canal.
Sunny days are indubitably joyful and invigorating to the spirits but I also love moody, misty hues and the heavy, aqueous breath of air.
And lest the rain never stops, it’s fortuitous that Mr G and I have the chance to stay in an artist’s houseboat whilst she is away. It will be a pre-birthday treat out of London for the coming week…
“So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out” Genesis 6:4
and in a favourite place too…
Postscript: With less opportunity to garden since last year, I’ve turned to honing basic photography skills and artfully tweaking the images. Instead of them gathering virtual dust, I’ll be posting them up on my other blog : eljaygee. Do stop by there too sometime – it could even prove serendipitous!
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Featured Flowers:
Viola cornuta ”Minor Alba’
Osteospermums ‘Flower Power’
Useful Links:
Bridgwater: The Old Vicarage
Guide to Woodbridge
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©Copyright 2012 Laura Thomas.
All rights reserved. Content created by Laura Thomas @PatioPatch
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Hi Laura,
Can I come please?
Asking ever so nicely……
The gardens are beautiful and your description had my romantic nature captured.
A house boat, how divine….like you I do not like hotels (I do stay in them). We are thinking of taking a break in the autumn in two railway carriages. They have been converted and apparently are surrounded by the most beautiful gardens and landscape. I only hope it is available when we want it ……
Have a lovely time Laura…..you photography is always stunning.
only if I can come to the railway carriages Cheryl- evocative of the romantic age of steam. Used to dream of living in a station master’s house, complete with hollyhocks and roses round the door
Silly me, I’ve never thought about the gardens when booking a hotel. I’m going to do that from now on! Staying in a houseboat sounds like so much fun! Enjoy!
an important criteria Holley!
I am quite happy to stay in hotels as long as the management has grasped the concept of providing a good service to their guests. A surprising number seem never given this much thought.
I hope the weather improves while you are enjoying your stay on the houseboat
easygardener read my post..Saturation point
management often seem to act as if they are doing guests a favour by letting them stay. Forecast fair to middling I think
A house boat!
Esther Montgomery read my post..FOLLOWED TREES AND INCIDENTAL INSECTS
it floats!
The Old Vicarage Hotel looked absolutely beautiful. What a delightful garden. Staying on the house boat will be a great treat as well. Lucky you.
Bernieh read my post..Not A Whole Lot Of Garden Goings-On Happening … My Dry Tropics Garden Journal … Week 28, 2012
Lovely! I’ve been trying to grow those delicious white horned violas, but nothing germinated, so finally caved in and bought a plant. Hopefully it will spread gently around the garden, it appears that the seed must be very fresh hence my doomed attempts from a packet.
Sara
hillwards read my post..Pink Frills
Laura I see you are going to be celebrating a big birthday that is also my niece’s birthday…I somehow missed you had another blog and am glad of its mention so I can follow. I am loving your photography. Your recent trip and the one of the houseboat sounds heavenly.
Donna@Gardens Eye View read my post..Grocery Gardening
I do love white flower gardens. I am happy that you had a lovely vacation.
Mary Pellerito read my post..Weather
Hotel experiences can be very hit and miss and as a result we generally self-cater. Woodbridge is in such a lovely part of the country. I hope you have a great time. Don’t know if you know about the walled garden nursery just outside Aldeburgh? They’ve got a website and it’s a lovely place to visit.
wellywoman read my post..The Usual Suspects
have seen the signposts but still never visited. Must try again soon
The bladderwrack looks like it’s about to explode. Hope that’s good news.
Have a great holiday and happy birthday.
b-a-g read my post..Carbon Cycle (08 JUL 2012)
What a delightful place to stay! Hotel gardens here in the US are usually an afterthought, if they exist at all. The old Vicarage Hotel must be quite romantic! Of course, staying on a houseboat must be an equally charming experience!
Hi Laura, I forgot to mention above that the plant with the red lines you asked about in my Midsummer post is a kind of caladium, a shade lover in my woodland garden.
ah so that is was that beauty was
Looks as if it was the perfect place to lay your head Laura. Cleanliness and quiet are at the top of my list although I must admit that I am partial to wi- fi access. Hope that you are have a great week on board
Sounds like you made a wonderful choice for your lodgings. Right now, I would give just about anything for a few days of soaking rain. But I know you went through a dry spell, too. That Daisy is delightful.
PlantPostings read my post..Cheap ‘green’ gardening practices that work
been reading about the widespread drought in the States – it’s as though we inhabit different planets
Some beuatiful images of your trip. I wish they appeared larger on your site so that I could see them better. I am aure you have a reason for keeping them small but I just thought I would mention it.
Carolyn @ Carolyn’s Shade Gardens read my post..Row Your Way to Color with Annuals
this point has been raised before but appreciate the comment Carolyn. It’s easy to click on and enlarge each one unless you are viewing via Blotanical for example. Big images slow site loading and I have so many per post. They do take up room lengthwise and also am limited to width with this template format. On my other arty blog however, the images are few but enormous…eljaygee
And finally, thank you all for you good wishes and comments whilst I was away. What a lovely bunch of garden bloggers