Bodnant Gardens

On a day when it was still summer, before the winds came, we took a drive out to Bodnant Gardens near Conwy in North Wales. I'm afraid I went into camera overdrive and came away with hundreds of photographs.

I'll just show a few of the things that caught my eye.

The house is not open to the public, only the gardens.

It was Hydrangea time, with glorious blooms at every turn. I love the blue shades that grow here. They are pink back home on the Wirral.

Lots of water lilies open too.

The scent from the rose garden was heavenly.

Proof that it was actually warm enough this year to wear sandals. 

Possibly our favourite part of the gardens was down in the dell by the river.

My husband was very impressed with the largest sequoia tree in the U.K.

A cheeky robin came to join us as we sat eating ice cream.

I loved the hot colours in this border.

I can't believe this is the first time I've been here, considering I've known about it since I was a child. We were probably nudged into coming after seeing the recent TV programmes about the gardens. Well, it won't be the last time. I'm already making plans to return in late spring when it will be Azalea time. The best thing is it's only just over an hour from home.

Of course every National Trust property has a wonderful shop, and this place was no exception. We came away with a few plants for our own garden, which is thankfully small enough to manage without a team over over twenty gardeners and forty odd volunteers!