Rowallane Walled Garden

~ Ashley

In the walled garden - Rowallane

This photograph was taken towards the end of May and with all the greenery it looks like the summer has arrived. We were in Rowallane Gardens, a favourite haunt of ours when we don’t have to travel too far from home.

There weren’t many people visiting and anyway the gardens are big enough to absorb the crowds. We arrived early and brought a box full of books for their used book shop. That’s at least 40 books we’ve donated this year (only another couple of hundred to go).

I’m a terrible one for plant names and writing them down just makes matters worse!  Here they are, from left to right:

Chaerophyllum hirsutum ‘Roseum’ – Marrubium vulgare Horehound – Ranunculus constantinoplitanus ‘Plenus’

Personally, I prefer hardy geraniums and here is a cracker:

Geranium hybrid 'Ann Folkard'

Geranium hybrid ‘Ann Folkard’

We did have some lovely warm sunny days at the end of May and the first day of June was a scorcher. However, temperatures have dropped back (10c feels like 8c) and today I actually put the heating on for an hour. It’s supposed to be the summer and in a few weeks time it will be the summer solstice, the longest day! Are you ready to celebrate?

Ashley

65 thoughts on “Rowallane Walled Garden”

  2. Thank you, Ashley, for the beautiful flowers! This year’s summer is reluctant to come, no doubt due to climate change, it could be more of the cold rain. In other places in the world, the temperature is 50 degrees, and rising, so even cold rain is a better option.

    Joanna

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    1. Thank you, Joanna for your comments. You are right about the climate & it seems it might get worse before (if) it gets better. I also saw those reports about India reaching 50c! I certainly would not survive that heat. Many thanks, Joanna 🤗💓🙋‍♂️

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      1. You are more than welcome, Ashley, my friend in Delhi wrote that she has air conditioning day and night, and at home they are comfortable, but outside…

        Joanna

  4. Hi Ashley. What a wonderful walk. Such a beautiful place and that first photo is, well, so deliciously green!
    I know, Solstice is so near!
    Happy June, my friend. 🌿✨

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    1. Dear Marina, thank you. Happy June also to you. I hope the temperatures won’t be extreme for you this summer. Stay cool. 🤗💓🙋‍♂️

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  6. thanks for sharing such beautiful pictures with us Ashley. i am finding it strange that lately I have had to use my heater for the cold of these mornings when we are well on our way to the summer. I suppose next month it will be different.

    can’t wait to see the photos from your next walk! Mike

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    1. Many thanks, Mike. We’re also still eating porridge at breakfast 😋 We have had some warm days but they haven’t returned since 1st June which was glorious.

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  7. Beautiful gardens and photographs, Ashley. Yes, we seem to have gone backwards a month. Very cold today, and it even felt like a touch of frost here tonight, but that’s can’t right. We’ll see. Keep well!

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    1. Thanks, Michael. Frost? Yes, it certainly feels frosty at night but, wait, the longest day, midsummer is only a couple of weeks away! 😎

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  8. Ashley, it’s wonderful that you can get away to visit the beautiful Rowallane Gardens 🙂 After a ‘gray May’ and ‘June gloom’ here in Southern California, I’m looking forward to sunny days.

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  9. Lovely photos, thanks for sharing. I’m in the South-West and indeed temperatures have dropped! It’s amazing how we get used to the sun-filled days and the warmth of the sun on our faces and even bones! Mine have been crying out for natural heat all winter! And Ashley, I can understand your need for heating the house. I’m ready for summer solstice and fingers crossed it will be a sunny day so we can get the most of it… Let’s enjoy and appreciate each sun-filled day… Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thank you, Elaine, for your lovely comments. Here in the Orchard County (Armagh) it is raining & cold again & we can only hope that as we get closer to the solstice there will be some sunshine & some warmth. Regardless of the weather, we should still the make the most of our days. 💐🤗🙋‍♂️

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    1. Thank you, Indira. It was cold & raining this morning but now coming up to 2pm it is still overcast but the temperature has risen & I’ve just spotted a Small White butterfly. We haven’t seen any butterflies in the last 5 or 6 days. 🤗🙋‍♂️

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  11. was thinking just yesterday how ridiculous it was having to have the heating on in

    June

    -✧✦☆❖◈❋✤☆✦-∞-♡-∞-✦☆✤❋◈❖☆✦✧-

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  16. Enjoyed seeing photos of your walk. They’re so beautiful! Hard to comprehend that you had to turn your heater on! Maybe the Solstice will be warmer. Thanks for the post, Ashleaf-sama!

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    1. Thanks, Edo-san. We are certainly looking forward to warmer weather. We have had some warm days but overall it’s been a cold & windy start to June. Throughout the year I record all butterflies that come into the garden & in the last 8 days, not one! Strange! 🙋‍♂️

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    1. Thank you, Hien. Hardy geraniums are one of my favourite flowers & I’d love to have this variety in my little garden. The vibrant colour is amazing!

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  20. I love those Geraniums, I saw them in Kew as well 🙂 This garden looks lovely and I am sure I would love walking there too. That is brilliant that they take books, these day s it is hard to find places who take second hand books. in Germany it is even more difficult. It is nice to give books for a second read to other homes.

    Well the weather seems to be cool here as well and we all hope for a bit more warmth.

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    1. Thank you Ute, for your lovely comments. That particular geranium (Ann Folkard) I would really love to have in my garden, it is such a vibrant colour. I have about 6 different hardy geraniums as I find them easy to grow. I will have to add a post with some photos soon as they are now just starting to bloom. I think that all the National Trust properties here in N.I. take used books; I do like the idea of other people reading them. Still cold here, even in the sun. 🤗🌹🙋‍♂️

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  24. Lovely photos! Sounds like a top day. If there’s green spaces like this, used bookshops and somewhere to get a nice cup of tea – that is a great combo! I agree, June is unseasonably cold. I should not be reaching for my leg warmers this month but I am! 🙂

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    1. I think most National Trust places here have a used book shop & of course they also have a tea room. Even now, as we approach the longest day, the temperatures remain low. Many thanks, Sunra, for visiting my blog. Lovely to hear from you. 🤗🌹🙋‍♂️

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    1. Thank you, Friedrich. Unfortunately, most days it is overcast & cold, like today! It’s hard to believe that in a couple of days it will be the summer solstice, the longest day!

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