A Visit and So Much More to the University of Bristol Botanic Garden!

Entrance to the University of Bristol Botanic Garden

Floral Diversity Display

Marion with Gloria and Debs

Floral Diversity Garden and Pool

Wonderful Whimsical Structures in the Garden! 

Chinese Herb Garden

 Ginkgo Tree in the Chinese Herb Garden

A Very Happily Blooming Rosemary!

Western Herb Garden

Blooming Scented Geranium in the Glasshouse!

Very Happily Blooming Scented Geraniums in the Glasshouse!

One of the Tropical Zones in the Glasshouses

Three weeks ago, my English Herbal Companion, Gloria and my English friends, Debs and Simon Cook met with Marion Monahan at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden.  Marion is a Facebook friend of both Debs and now me and did I tell you I want to grow up and be like Marion?  She actually came to the United States in her college days and was going to go to the University of Pittsburgh  until a tragic accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike cut her plans short.  Marion obviously has survived that time very well.  She has had a full life as a chemist, a wife, a mother of seven and now volunteers at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden on a limited basis.  At the age of 85, Marion is a Scottish energizer bunny!  Constantly on the go and always learning about the plants she took care of in the gardens.  The University is lucky to have her and we were as well!

There were lots of beautiful parts of the gardens, but I'm going to focus on two gardens in particular, the Chinese Herb Garden and the Western Herb Garden.  The main part of the Chinese Herb Garden displays the plants in 'use categories'.  The ginkgo tree was planted by the Victorians and is a female which produces many small fruits which are highly prized in China both as a medicine and a vegetable, but that are foul smelling.  An ornamental collection of paeonies and bamboos are being planted with the herb garden.  "The Chinese Herb Garden has been developed through a partnership between the University Botanic Garden and the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine.  The partnership was founded in 1998 and each year students from the Register study at the Garden.  The garden and many of it plants are unique in Britain.

The Western Herb Garden has been designed as a circular garden surrounded by a beech hedge (which I think is in the process of being replaced).  The Garden is influenced by an ancient physic garden at Padua in Italy which was founded in 1545 and is thought to be have been the origin of the modern botanic garden.  The last several photos are of plants (scented geraniums in the glasshouses) and an overview of one of the five tropical zones in the glasshouses.  If you click the link above, you will find out about the history of this wonderful botanic garden.

So this is part one of our fabulous day with Marion.  Yes, you may be guessed what was next, we were invited to her garden.  Part two next time.  It has been a beautiful series of days here in the 'Burgh.  Have been working to get the beds planted and weeded.  Maybe should give you an update next time!  Talk to you later.  I received a comment from Marion to my post and I wanted to add it for you to read.

Lovely account and pictures, Nancy. But I did manage a year studying at Pitt before the accident drove me back home and know Pittsburgh well. Loved the Mellon Conservatory in a circle and the way the university campus came to life in the spring with forsythia gold in almost every garden. I enjoyed taking you round the Garden immensely.

A Visit with Jekka McVicar, the Queen of Herbs, Bristol, England!

Herb Plants for Sale At Jekka's Herb Farm!

Hannah, Jekka's Talented Daughter and Me!

Jekka's Logo on WoodBlocx Bed!

Those Circular Beds Are Going to Have Jekka's Favorites in Them!

Wonderful Collections of Rosemarys and Mints!

The Mints Are All Contained.  This One is Basil Mint!

A Thyme Named for 'Jekka'!

A 'Green Ginger' Rosemary!

A New Lavender to Me called 'Pale Pretender'!

Greek Sage

English Mace

My Favorite, Lemon Verbena Making an Appearance!

2014 Herb of the Year for the US, Artemisia, French Tarragon!

A Very Happy and Healthy Salad Burnet!

Scots Lovage

Broad Leaved Sorrel

So Happy to be with Jekka!

She Is Always Excited to Give Tours of Her Herbetum!

My English Herbal Companion, Gloria, and my English friends, Debs and Simon Cook and I got to attend one of Jekka's Open Days at Jekka's Herb Farm in early May!  We couldn't have asked for a better day to share with Jekka!  Always happy to see her and her lovely and talented daughter, Hannah!  The new herbetum is beautiful.  So full of all varieties of herbs, big collections of mints, lavenders, thymes and rosemarys and British native herbs as well.  Of course, my favorite lemon verbena was included!  The herbs all had signs with uses.  I had never seen Scots lovage (Ligusticum scoticum) and the sign said the young leaves can be used in soups and seeds in breads and with vegetables and has a taste like celery similar to the regular lovage (Levisticum officinale).  I also got to see English mace which I grew briefly in my herb garden.  That sorrel is an herb that The Herbal Husband loves and we lost it in our severe winter this year.

Soon there will be a garden of Jekka's favorites.  I think 30 different herbs in all.  She is also still sells herbs at the nursery.  Just does not do mail order.  And if that all wasn't enough she was also busy getting ready to go to the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

She lead us on a tour of the new herbetum which is her pride and joy.  The beds give you the growing habits of herbs and how to contain them if necessary.  I think every visit will probably be a new and different experience as it should be.  I am learning daily about herbs and I hope to continue to do so until I go to the big herb garden in the sky.  I'm going to try next visit to find a time of year when I can take her out to lunch or dinner and spend some time with her.  Jekka (and Hannah) are two of my favorites.  We had such a great time together when Jekka came to the US for the national herb society meeting.  You can read about her visit with me in Pittsburgh in The Herb Channeler's Adventures with Jekka McVicar.  Jekka is a special herbal spirit and I am lucky enough to call her my friend.

We are madly planting in the herb garden.  I'll show you those photos in the coming days. Hope you had a great day.  It was a beautiful day here in the 'Burgh.  Talk to you later.

I Can Never Buy Just One Herb!

A Mix of Pineapple Sage, Tomatoes, Lavender, Lemon Verbena and Viola in This Box!

Mostly Scented Geraniums in This Box!

Parsley, Summer Savory, Rue, Sweet Marjoram, Sage and German Chamomile in This One!

Well, Bonnie and I went on one of our annual herb buying trips to Beech Creek Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve in Alliance,Ohio.  I have been buying herbs from Paul and Melinda Carmichael since their days selling plants out of the back of a box truck at flea markets.  They grow great plants and have a very good variety selection considering they have down scaled somewhat since they sold Lily of the Valley Herb Farm a couple of years ago.

I am expecting a box from Well-Sweep Herb Farm to arrive this week and then the chaos of mixing and matching everything I picked out will begin.  I'm also getting some lemony additions from my friend, Carolee Snyder of Carolee's Herb Farm.  I have a bunch of herbal holes to plug and hopefully I will put the right combinations together.   When I visualize the space I have at the nursery and then get the plants home, it is just never quite the same space!  Always like to have that problem though, herbally speaking!  So I hope you have had a great day.  We certainly did!  Talk to you later.

My New Favorite in London, Liberty's!

An Unexpected Look for a Department Store!

Toasted Tea Cake at Cafe Liberty!

Old and New in the Liberty's Interior!

Somehow no matter how many times I have been to London, I can always find something new to explore!  My best friend, Mar, wanted me to buy her some fabric for quilting and she has always loved Liberty's.  Always loving architecture and married to an architect, it was a no brainer for me to fall in love with Liberty's as well.  I'll add an interior photo by my English herbal companion, Gloria as soon as I can.  Couldn't get a scone for our morning break, but we did have a toasted tea cake at Cafe Liberty that was for me like a toasted hamburger bun with fruit.  Not quite like a scone at afternoon tea, but still delicious.  I got quite used to morning or afternoon tea breaks.  So European and English!

Spring is a cool one this year!  We were in the 30's last night! Goes with the very cold winter we had.  Unfortunately the four-lined plant bug is back already!  Out looking in the herb garden this morning and I have quite a few holes to fill.  Yippee!  Bonnie and I are going to Ohio tomorrow to try and fill up the empty spots.  Also waiting for a box to come from one of my favorite herb farms in New Jersey, Well-Sweep.  Think I'm going to like my lemon themed gardens this year.  I also remembered a lemony herb that I lost this year named sorrel.  It loves this time of year.  Very easy to start from seed, but I'll be on the lookout for it in my travels to purchase herbs.  Thought I had weeded pretty well before I left, but the weeds can get the best of any garden in a hurry.  Hopefully, it will warm up in the coming days and make it nice to work outside.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

What You and I Missed While I Was Gone!

A Perennial Forget Me Not!

Daffodils Still Blooming in Early May!

Chives Starting to Bloom!

The Scented Geranium 'Charity' Planted in the Herb Garden!

Rosemary Planted Near the Wall in the Herb Garden!

A Dianthus called 'Chocolate'.  Doesn't Smell Like It Though!

Wire to Foil the Deer!

A Purchase from the Local Garden Club Plant Sale!

Volunteer Sunflowers Come Up in the Garden!

Fingers Crossed the Grapes Will Bloom and Flower!

Peony in Bud!

The Garden Looks Beautiful!

Well, hopefully you can see what a lot of work our garden can be especially when one of us is gone.  The Herbal Husband did a great job.  He was very happy to see me come home.  It has been raining so much that we can't get the lawn mowed.  We are going to have a field soon!  It is still cool here, but the forecast is looking by the end of the week it will be warmer.  Hope so!  Itching to get in the garden and do some weeding!  Well, I hope you are having a great weekend.  I'm going to try and intersperse England with the garden.  Talk to you later.

An Overview of My England Trip 2014!

Liberty's My New Favorite Shop in London!

Debs Cook and I Visiting with The Queen of Herbs, Jekka McVicar!

A Gardening Dynamo, Marion, our tour guide at the Bristol Botanic Garden!

My English Herbal Companion, Gloria and I in the Palm House at Kew Gardens!

My Favorite Meal Salmon Kabobs at Kazan's!

Scones and Dessert at The Claridges!

New Statue of Sir Hans Sloane at the Chelsea Physic Garden!

Afternoon Tea at St. Paul's Cathedral with Ros!

Royal Needlework School at Hampton Court Palace

A Bathroom with a View at Great Malvern!

Stonecrop Nurseries at the Great Malvern Flower Show!

Third Time Was the Charm at the Geffrye Museum for the Herb Garden!

A Return Visit to the Walled Garden at Fulham Palace!

Well, I know some of you (Carol) have been waiting patiently for my return.  I'm back but not on the same time zone as I should be.  So here is an overview of some of the stories I will be relating to you in the coming days.  Going to also try and catch you up in the herb garden.  I asked The Herbal Husband to take photos of the garden so you will get to see his perspective on the garden.  He was a bit overworked while I was gone.  I'll be back shortly with my adventures.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.