Snowdrop Season

[puddleshark]

Sunshine, and a pale half-moon hanging above the winter trees, in a cold blue sky. I went to Kingston Lacy, on a sunny February day, with the snowdrops in flower.

This may have been because I was brave. Or it may have been because I had forgotten how busy Kingston Lacy is during snowdrop season. The gardens were heaving with visitors.


One of the many varieties of snowdrops, big and small, in the Fernery.











Also in the Fernery, hellebores & pulmonaria.






Drifts of snowdrops along the paths and in the woods.



Crossed the road into the Kitchen Garden, which has now been planted with a lot of drought-tolerant palm trees and ornamental grasses, but which no longer feels very kitchen garden-y. Wandered round the potting sheds and greenhouses in a mild fog of garden envy.



Then wandered back along the Camellia Walk towards the house.


A cold northeasterly breeze stirring the first few flowers.




Witch hazel.



Sat on a picnic bench near the entrance to the gardens. Drank coffee. Closed my eyes in attempt to feel warmth in the sunlight.

At a table nearby, two elderly ladies were having a winter picnic with flasks of soup, having a conversation about who wanted the leek and potato soup, and who wanted the golden vegetable soup, with some delicate enquiries to establish that the person having the leek and potato soup really wanted the leek and potato soup, and hadn't just asked for the leek and potato soup out of politeness. ("Leek and potato is my favourite!")