Rare Plant Fair

This afternoon I went to a rare plant fair at Holt Farm in Blagdon.

Such restraint was needed! I went with Himself, which served the dual purpose of curbing my spending and of having someone to carry the purchases that I did make back to the car.

This isn't my car, although, on occasions, it has looked rather similar!

We wandered through the gardens heading for the tearoom, past waving grasses and a decorative vegetable area.

Holt Farm is an organic garden  www.theorganicgardens.co.uk in a beautiful setting, with gentle hills in one direction and views towards a lake in the other.

I left Himself at the tearoom, a happy man, eating jam, scones and clotted cream, and looked around the rest of the gardens at my leisure.

There were beautiful sculptural forms and pleasing small details to be discovered in plant supports, gates and latches.

There was generous planting; a carpet of poppies

and a meadow of wild flowers.

The farmhouse looks down onto a large gravel garden with a stream-fed pool.

When I returned to the tearoom, a trip to the ladies toilets put me in the company of Charles and Camilla,

although what Prince Charles is doing in the 'ladies' I do not know.

I wondered who would be hiding in the gents. Himself provided the answer - along with Monty Don, two favourites, Carol Klein and Alan Titchmarch.

This poster hung on the back of the door!

I was pleased with my purchases when I got them home, a dainty blue aster sedifolius, a white Japanese anemone, 'Honorine Jobert' and yet another tree peony, 'Blue Moon'. I can't wait 'til next spring!