Hillier Gardens

This isn't Winchester, but I think there's no harm in occasionally straying outside of the city limits, especially as I've been rather lazy in posting, so I'm going with the idea of a post on something is better than a post on nothing! So this is Hillier Gardens between Winchester and Romsey. It is 180 acres of gardens, with a variety of different areas, very pretty, and probably even nicer when all the flowers are in bloom

Spot the new bench

 

***I am away at the moment so have scheduled this post, back at the weekend***

Sad Sunflowers

Spotted these sunflowers with their heads down at the Edington Road allotments. I am on the waiting list to get one of these allotments, and there are 70 people ahead of me...! I was on the way to watch Winchester City Football Club whose ground is nearby, unfortunately I didn't manage to get any photos from the match due to my camera battery expiring soon after this shot!

Sundial

This sundial here is in Abbey Gardens

Abbey Garden

Abbey Gardens sit behind Abbey House (the Mayor of Winchester's official residence) and is a public garden. The gardens were once part of the site of St Mary’s Abbey, once one of the largest religious houses in England.

*** Am on holiday & have scheduled these posts, back mid August ***

Dean's Garden

In the Dean's Garden there is a stream which is a tributary of the River Itchen, with these interesting large plants growing next to it. Does anyone know what they are?

Lavender

Some pretty lavender at the gardens of Peninsula Square

Gardens at Peninsula Square

Another view of Peninsula Square, it has some lovely communal gardens, I bet the service charge for their upkeep is quite a bit though!

I guess there's enough green in this photo for it to glass as a 'green' theme day photo!

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Christmas Trees

Around the corner of the Deans Garden I saw a lot of Christmas trees in pots. I remember during the Christmas Market they had Christmas Trees like this dotted around, could these be the same trees? Could they stay alive in a pot that long?

Give & Gain Day

Last Saturday was Give & Gain Day which is the UK's national employee volunteering day. The scheme gives employees a unique opportunity to make a difference to the communities they live and work in. Shepherds Down Special Needs School in Compton, to the south of Winchester, was able to benefit from this as it was given a new lease of life by employees from OM Property Management who manage a number of properties in Winchester and Hampshire.

The volunteers armed with paint brushes and overalls spruced up the school's resting area and Woodland Trail made up of gazebos and wooden animals, giving the area a touch of colour. (L-R Luke Phillips, Emma Darch, John Benjamin, Lisa Terry, Mark Lancaster, Michael Udonwa, Esme Mcmenamin.) As the school spends 90% of its budget on staffing costs it has little left to undertake this type of project itself, so I am certain it was appreciated by the school and pupils.

View from garden

Another photo from the Dean's Garden which had an open day last weekend. As the weather has been pretty grey and rainy here this last few days I thought it would be nice to post of photo in the sunshine as a reminder that it is almost July!

Gazebo

A gazebo in the Dean's garden that recently had a open day.

View from Deans Garden

This is the Dean's view from his garden, I'm sure he doesn't mind viewing his workplace from his garden in the same way that we might!

Deans Garden

On Saturday the Dean of Winchester opened his usually private gardens to the public. The gardens are lovely and so is the building itself.

Allotments

I'm not sure if allotments are just a British thing or maybe they have them all round the world? An allotment is a small piece of land, often owned by the local council or another community group that people can lease for gardening, usually for growing food or flowers. These allotments are in the St Cross area of Winchester. They appear to be very popular and there are usually waiting lists to get one.

Fish Sculpture

Within the Dean Garnier Garden at the Cathedral is this fish sculpture which was created by Charles Normandale and installed in 2006. It depicts fish, the age old symbol for Christ rising from a rock and ascending into heaven.

Hyde Abbey Garden

Hyde Abbey Garden, Winchester's Golden Jubilee project, was opened on 2nd June 2003 to mark the 50th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The garden is a to commemorate the last known resting place of King Alfred the Great, his Queen Ealswith and their son Edward the Elder. The 3 stone slabs mark the site of the 3 royal graves and the garden itself marks out the medieval church of Hyde Abbey which was founded in 1110 and dissolved and demolished in 1538. Hyde Abbey Garden leads onto the North Walls Park

Bench with dog

In the Dean Garnier Garden at the Cathedral I spotted this stone bench with a little stone dog underneath.

** I am on holiday now for a week so I have scheduled some photos whilst away - sorry if I don't respond to any comments straightaway - thanks for stopping by **

Dean Garnier Garden

Thomas Garnier was Dean of Winchester from 1840-1872.  He was passionate about plants and was a founding member of the Hampshire Horticultural Society and many of the trees that surround the Cathedral were planted by him. A small peaceful garden by the cathedral was created in 1995 in his memory.

** I am on holiday now for a week so I have scheduled some photos whilst away - sorry if I don't respond to any comments straightaway - thanks for stopping by **

Fountain number 3

Here's the 3rd fountain I found in Winchester at Queen Eleanor's Garden set in a small secluded area behind the Great Hall, Queen Eleanor’s Garden is a modern reconstruction of a 13th Century garden which was opened in 1986. The garden is named after the wives of Edward I and Henry III who were both named Eleanor. The fountain is made from Purbeck stone.