The Walled Garden

A few months ago I was in the UK visiting family and friends and had the opportunity to visit my dear friends Frank and Sue who live in north Yorkshire. Their lovely stone cottage is just steps away from a picturesque little village with the requisite local pub, green grocer and other accoutrements we Americans associate with English country life. Their house has a much-coveted walled garden, within which are a huge assortment of shrubs, flowers, bees, birds and potted plants. We were extra-lucky with the weather during my visit and I was afforded some lovely day trips with my hosts to take in some of the local sites, among them Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden. I highly recommend a day trip there  although if I published Frank and Sue's address and suggested you look them up for accommodation that might not be a good idea. Suffice to say, they were gracious, generous hosts and we had a grand time catching up on what has been going on over the intervening past few years.

Without further adieu, I have included a few photos of my host's beautiful house, gardens and drive to give you a sense of the serenity and peace that abounds at Frank and Sue's Yorkshire oasis. I'm also including a photo of the painting I did for them as a thank you for the wonderful time I had with them. This can go under the heading "Unsolicited Advice" in terms of what to send as a thank you gift to your hosts.

The entrance to my host's lovely Yorkshire stone cottage through the walled garden.

 


The view I woke up to each morning. Sigh.



This is their Lady Bug house (notice the teensy holes). It can also be home to other small insects that eat bad ones lurking in your garden. I need one of these as we have a lot of lurkers.

I love their driveway leading up to the house. The gate is usually left open and the path is especially inviting when the shrubs and flowers are in bloom.

 

This is their garden gate, which was the subject of the painting I did as a Thank You gift for my gracious hosts Frank and Sue.

This is my interpretation of the gate. Normally I would have cropped the photo to eliminate

the tile countertop in my kitchen. I just painted the front hallway floor, however, and can not access my office computer containing Photoshop. The floor is the subject of a future post, btw. 

The floor dried (sort of) and I was able to crop this.

You don't have to be a painter or have any artistic ability to create something to commemorate your visit, though. Save a few flowers from your host's garden, or snap a photo of their house, and frame it for them to remember you by. Be sure to enclose a simple, yet heart-felt little note of thanks as well (yes, I am channeling my late mother here when it comes to etiquette).