No! this is not a maze . . .
. . . it's a knot
another knot
and a rose garden
In the previous post I said that a visit to the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden to see Edward Bawden 1903-1989 – Watercolours, Drawings, Prints and Illustrations, would be a perfect plan for a rainy day, so that's exactly what I did this afternoon. But before I went into the gallery I took a short detour around the beautiful Bridge End Gardens, and although it was a little muddy under foot and I got a bit damp, I think the rain gave it a certain glossy greeness that suited it rather well!
The Maze Festival is still in full swing, but as you saw from the notice there are things that look a bit like mazes that aren't mazes!
There's also a very lovely newly restored walled garden . . .
with a little theatre to show off your potted plants (I want one of these!)
As you can see, it was still raining, and I was becoming rather bedraggled! Time to walk back to the Fry to see those Bawdens – it's just along this path, through the archway in the red wall . . .
Well! get down there quick . . . there are still some Bawdens without red dots on them ;-) No I didn't buy one, although the watercolours filled me with an urge to paint!
But what I did was call into here to order some of this fabric to recover our dining chair seats.
Well worth getting wet!
Celia
x
It is an amazing knot........
ReplyDeleteWhat a great garden! a-mazing..
ReplyDeleteI love those plant theatres and the knot gardens look luscious and green in the rain.
ReplyDeleteThe alleyway to the gallery looks intriguing ...
Thanks for all the links Celia.
Jeanne
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Just beautiful, thanks for sharing this, it looks just beautiful
ReplyDeletei want a walled garden!
ReplyDeleteThe fabric looks not unlike some of your lino cuts!
ReplyDeleteBridge end gardens is one of my favourite places to go locally and you can mix it with shopping or a little art viewing with ease. I often photograph the boys next to the blue door in the wall. The theatre is fab I think you have only been able to get into that bit this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the auricula link in my comments I can feel my interest growing fast.
Rhi x
you could offer them a fabric design?
ReplyDeleteRight. It's on my list of 'to do' days - thankyou! Knot.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. I'm off.
Brilliant garden, how can anyone "knot" say it was a-mazing. good posting, I love the quirky side of life.
ReplyDeleteIt's knot that amazing. That fabric is pretty cool though xx
ReplyDeleteCelia, I love seeing gardens like this one, and thinking about how it was planned, and the years that it's taken to get it to look so perfect...as if it was always there.
ReplyDeleteI also want to comment on the fabric from that last link. How is it that your wonderful prints are not being produced as textiles? Yes, I know that you are creating original art and textiles are another branch of the tree, but. I saw these textiles and thought...these remind me of what Celia creates, but perhaps these are not quite so good as hers.
xo
I am fascinated by knots, or parterres as they are called here in France. It is one of the aspects of garden design which I have concentrated on in my thesis. Thank you so much for sharing those pictures with us.
ReplyDeleteI also adore potted plant theatres. I remember Vanessa in Do you mind if I knit once showing us one with snowdrops displayed on it; heaven.
Celia,
ReplyDeleteLovely photographs as ever. That auricula theatre gone mad looks just lovely, perfect for a walled garden like yours I would think. Will you be building one now? You didn't mention the Bawdwen prices - were they outrageous? I picked up a cook book a few weeks ago that he did the line drawings for. What an all round talent for design he had. Lesley
It lovely - the maze sign made me smile though, as I know had I been there with nephews and nieces their perspective would have been very different :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on what to do if it rains (I think we're gonna need it!). Those gardens look aMAZE-ing! Sorry!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful garden, worth getting wet! Love that fabric, it matches that gorgeous wall.
ReplyDeleteoh now that looks like my kind of day...beautiful gardens and an exhibition to inspire.
ReplyDeleteperfect!
xxx
I still haven't managed to visit Saffron Walden - something I must recitfy.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to the comment you left me, it is a very small world as my Grandma and all her other siblings were born in Willingham. I have part of their family tree going back to around 1534, all from Willingham (through a family name of Few). They must have known each other!
Thank you for all the comments - I really enjoyed reading them.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll have to work out where I can put an Auricula Theatre against our wall - an old bookcase or cupboard could easily be adapted.
And, yes I'd ove to design some fabric! I did toy with the idea of printed my own for the chair seats - but I admire the work of Mark Hearld and St Judes, so I decided to buy a couple of metres of the Bird Garden in the lovely shad of dark teal blue.
Su - well I never!!!! ... to be continued!
Millefeuilles - the knot garden in Bridge End Gardens has a fascinating history... it's worth doing some research. I think it was featured on a garden history TV programme that Chris Beardshaw presented.
Celia
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