Chelsea Physic Garden

 While at Chelsea I had the opportunity to pop just down the road to the Chelsea Physic Garden.  Started hundreds of years ago by the equivalent of pharmacists today the garden was used to grow plants of pharmaceutical uses.  The garden also has a small fernery, lovely potager, and a interesting section of plants with uses.  Though the garden is of small size it holds some very important plants.  Back in the day plant hunters would go out and buy or forage for new plants themselves and then grow them to make remedies from.  This was quite the garden it really packed a punch for its size.  Its quite fortunate that a garden with a rich and important history still remains in the heart of Chelsea, London today.   

100 Years of Chelsea Flower Show

What an incredible year to be at the Chelsea Flower Show than when they are celebrating 100 years of Chelsea.  It was quite cool because the Garden Club of America was celebrating their 100th anniversary as well.  Monday was the first day of the show but the week leading up to the show was full of preparation and installation to make the show what it is.  I was able to attend the show on Monday which is press day where all of the TV programming is filmed and all the celebrities come out to check out the show.  It was such an incredible week to spend at the show I met some really amazing people and saw some fantastic things.  It was a totally exhausting week but totally worth it.  Most of my days at the show were spent manning the GCA booth which involved handing out leaflets about the garden and answering any question the public had.  I was really surprised by how many Americans were there checking out the show a lot of them GCA members themselves.  As well as it being a historic year for the show it was also the year of the garden gnome.  It was the first year that the gnomes were allowed to make an appearance at Chelsea which was a bit of a controversial topic in the gardening world.  We were very pleased when our display which highlighted the conservation efforts of the GCA in the coastal red wood groves was awarded the silver gilt medal just one step below gold.  There were several other amazing displays from show gardens to floral art.  I had never really been to anything like Chelsea and we don't really have anything comparable in the US.  What an experience it is something I will never forget!!

Dove Cottage Nursery

 Monday I got the amazing opportunity to go to a local nursery for work.  We loaded the truck with crates and we were off for the hour drive to Halifax.  It was a nice trip up to the nursery we took the scenic route rather then the motor way which was quite nice.  We arrived at Dove Cottage Nursery and were greeted by the couple who runs the nursery and of course a cup of tea.  After some introductions we got a tour of their small garden which accompanies their nursery.  It is a garden of summer interests which highlights many of the herbaceous perennials that they grow in their nursery.  After the garden tour we loaded up the truck which we just managed to squeeze the couple hundred plants on.  After loading the truck we ate a quick lunch.  Then we wandered around the nursery checking out the amazing selection of plants they propagate and sell.  They travel all around the world especially to Holland and other parts of Europe to seek out new and interesting cultivars of plants.  They find interesting new plants meet new people and make amazing contacts.  After touring the nursery and picking out a few plants for our own gardens we squeezed back into the truck and were off.  It was a lovely visit to an amazing nursery; quite the place with some really nice people who are very passionate about plants!!!!

Knaresborough

On Sunday I went to Knaresborough a nice quite town near Harrogate.  It is a picturesque town with a lot of history.  There is a river that runs through the town with a really nice path along it for a walk.    Some of the towns history revolves around the remnants of a castle that still exists in the town.  I took a tour of the castle checking out the kings chambers, the main hall, as well as the dungeon.  It was interesting to see such an old and historic place.  In a museum near by they had some bits and pieces that people have found over the years from jewelry to armor.  The town also had a few nice public gardens that people could sit and enjoy.  This is one of my favorite town visits because of the quietness as well as the history.   

Brimham Rocks

 One night Philomena the women I live with took me to Brimham rocks a park area similar to Devil's Lake State Park.  There are some incredible rock formations that were formed when this area used to be under water millions of years ago.  Now the rocks are weathered by wind and rain.  We walked around the area checking out the numerous rock formations most of them having names the formation below is calling dancing bear which I thought looked more like a dog.  The view from the rock formations was amazing you could look out across the country side looking down into the valley below.  it was another chilly windy night in North Yorkshire but we enjoyed the walk and nice views. 

Valley Gardens

Located in Harrogate the valley gardens is a park/garden used by the community for walks, recreation, and nice place to spend time with family.  Most of the work in the garden is done by volunteers from the community.  Not only was it a lovely garden it is an amazing space for people to gather.  I have noticed that the British  really take advantage of lots of green spaces in their cities which is really nice.  The gardens had a lot of bedding schemes which I heard they did a Olympic theme last year with people doing Olympic activities in the flower beds.  Also there are lots of permanent plantings and some really great tree specimens as well. 

International Dinner Night

 Friday night I went to an international dinner hosted by some friends.  We all made a dish to share and made a very lovely meal out of it.  We stated the night with some lovely spring punch with a dip we ate with pretzels which was a German dish.  There was another starter which my roommate Maria made she salted some eggplant slices then coated them in flour and fried them in some olive oil.  After frying them she drizzled honey on top of them OMG they were amazing; I don't like honey but it was so nice.  This was our Spanish dish.  Next we had the main coarse made by an Italian was homemade ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta.  Then drizzled with a little olive oil, sprinkled with sage, and topped with parmesan they were ready to eat and they were incredible.  The next dish was mine the not very American French toast bake which is more of a breakfast food but it was a nice desert as well.  It was a very lovely evening filled with chatting and really good food so it was a great time!!!

Harlow Carr Plant Fair and Biological Control in the Nursery

The other weekend their was a plant fair at Harlow Carr the garden where I work I went to that.  Lots of nursery's from around the area came to sell their plants at the garden.  It was a gorgeous day almost felt summer like.  I bought a small living stone to keep in my room; its nice to have something to look after.  The alpine department as well as the bulbs were looking in top form.  There was also a lovely craft exhibition I checked out.  This past week I was working in the nursery again potting up thousands of plants to go out in the garden this summer.  During the week we released biological controls in the glasshouse to try and control pests like white fly, aphids, and red spider mites.